ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Imran Khan hinted on Sunday at a blanket lockdown across Pakistan if cases continued to rise at the rate the country is witnessing at present.
He tweeted: “Pakistan’s second COVID 19 spike data is of concern: Increase in Covid patients on ventilators in last 15 days: Peshawar 200%, Multan 200%, Karachi 148%, Lahore 114%, Islamabad 65%. Multan & Isb Covid ventilators capacity utilisation 70%. Across the world there is a second spike & complete lockdowns in most countries.”
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Lashing out at opposition parties’ Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) for “continuing with jalsas [public meetings]”, Prime Minister Khan said it is deliberately endangering lives and livelihoods because “if cases continue to rise at the rate we are seeing, we will be compelled to go into complete lockdown & PDM will be responsible for consequences.”
He said the opposition is callously destroying people’s lives and livelihoods in their desperation to get an NRO. “Let me make it clear: they can hold a million jalsas but will not get any NRO,” he reiterated.
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“I do not want to take measures like a lockdown that will start hurting our economy which at the moment is showing signs of a robust recovery. Unfortunately, the Opposition’s only goal is NRO at whatever cost to the lives of people & the country’s economy,” he added.
