Fed govt plans volunteer force at national level to tackle coronavirus

ISLAMABAD: Special Assistant to Prime Minister (SAPM) on Information Firdous Ashiq Awan on Wednesday said that Imran Khan has once again expressed his resolve to fight coronavirus challenge faced by the nation, ARY NEWS reported.

Addressing a presser to divulge details of the cabinet meeting, she said that the meeting chaired by the premier mulled over all measures needed to tackle coronavirus in the country.

“The economic package announced from the premier yesterday is aimed at resolving the issues faced by masses due to lockdown in parts of the country,” she said adding that the cabinet meeting was briefed on the package from Adviser on Finance Abdul Hafeez Shaikh.

The special assistant said that a strategy was being devised at nation level to prepare a volunteer force to deal with the coronavirus-related issues.

“The cabinet approved exemption of taxes on payments of profits,” she said and added that the country has received US$15.1 billion in terms of the remittances from Pakistanis living abroad.

She further said that Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi briefed the members on efforts taken from the incumbent government to ensure lifting of sanctions imposed on Iran.

Firdous Ashiq Awan said that cabinet was also briefed regarding performance of different sectors of the economy. “The meeting took up national electric vehicle policy and called for more deliberations on it other than approving lease of Evacuee Trust Property Board land in Nankana Sahib at the rate of Rs 4500 per acre.”

Lamenting the PML-N tenure, she said that Shehbaz Sharif’s rule in Punjab saw a decline in health facilities across the province. “Shehbaz Sharif should now play his role for uniting people to fight coronavirus rather than criticizing government’s efforts,” the special assistant said and further demanded him to bring back his foreign assets to support fight against the virus.