Complete Lockdown detrimental to country's economy: PM

Dunya News

Complete Lockdown detrimental to country's economy: PM

ISLAMABAD (Dunya News) - Prime Minister Imran Khan Saturday while once again emphasizing upon creation of public awareness about the severity of COVID19 and the need for strictly adhering to standard operating procedures (SOPs) to contain its spread, said Pakistan was amongst the pioneers of smart lockdown approach.

In series of tweets, the prime minister observed that a lockdown meant collapse of the economy & in poorer countries a steep rise in poverty, crushing the poor as happened in Modi’s lockdown in India.

“Only solution as world has discovered is smart lockdown which allows for economic activity with SOPs. We are amongst pioneers of this approach,” he posted.

The prime minister appealed to the civil society, media, Ulema and the tiger force ‘to create awareness amongst the public of COVID19’s severity and the need to strictly observe SOPs’.

He also tagged a video clip from Dunya News program “Dunya Kamran Khan Kay Saath” in which the interviewees were expressing their carelessness about the pandemic.

“This video shows the dilemma confronting our govt today: On the one hand we have the masses who are not taking the COVID19 pandemic seriously & on the other hand, understandably, we have our frontline doctors & health professionals, who are at great risk, & some of our elite wanting a lockdown – the elite who have the privilege of spacious homes & income unaffected by fallout of lockdown,” he further posted.