Photo: Deccan Herald
Photo: Deccan Herald

Imran Khan Warns of Total Lockdown if Opponent Rallies Continue

The Premier has warned of a total lockdown which will commence if rallies do not stop.
Published 26 Nov, 2020 03:27pm

Pakistan's Prime Minister Imran Khan has cautioned of an all-out lockdown the nation over if the resistance kept on holding public meetings notwithstanding a continuous second flood of the Covid-19 pandemic, the media covered Monday.

Over the last week, Pakistan detailed 2,665 new cases (and growing), which denoted the most elevated single-day increment, and 59 fatalities, Dawn news announced. With the expansion of the new cases and fatalities, the general disease count and loss of life have flooded to 374,173 and 7,696, individually.

Taking to Twitter, Prime Minister Khan said the opposition’s Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) would be responsible for the consequences if it continued with public gatherings despite a surge in Covid-19 cases. “In (Pakistan), the PDM by continuing with Jalsas (public gatherings) 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,” Mr Khan said in his tweet.

"Opposition is callously destroying people's lives and livelihoods in their desperation to get an NRO (National Reconciliation Ordinance). Let me make it clear: they can hold a million jalsas but will not get any NRO. "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 and the country's economy."

In another tweet, Khan likewise said that there was a 200 percent expansion in the quantity of patients on ventilators in Peshawar and Multan during the last 15 days. He said the information was very disturbing as there was a 200 percent expansion in the quantity of patients on ventilators in Peshawar and Multan during the most recent 15 days. It was 148 percent in Karachi, 114pc in Lahore and 65pc in Islamabad.

70% ventilators were being used in Multan and Islamabad, he added. About PDM's public gatherings, Mr Khan said the resistance was unfeelingly devastating individuals' lives and occupations in their urgency to get alleviation in arguments against their chiefs.

“Let me make it clear: they can hold a million Jalsas but will not get any National Reconciliation Ordinance-like concession,” he said, adding that unfortunately the opposition’s only goal was to get an NRO at the cost of people’s lives and the country’s economy.

Khan's declaration came after the PDM arranged its fourth force show in Peshawar on Sunday regardless of a restriction on open get-togethers and furthermore without consent from the city organization.

Peshawar dismissed PDM: Minister for Information Senator Shibli Faraz on Sunday said by putting lives at risk when the country was seeing a spike in cases was ‘political cruelty’ and ‘oppression’.

Senator Faraz said people of Peshawar had rejected PDM’s public meeting by not attending it. In a tweet, the minister said: “Mentality of selfish political coterie was exposed as it was playing with lives of innocent people and workers for minor political advantage. The criminals who maligned the national institutions and destroyed the national economy now went after lives and employment of people.”

Because of their [opposition] flippant conduct, individuals' occupations were getting influenced, he said. "Individuals would consider them responsible for 'Covid of defilement' as organizing public gatherings regardless of the court orders was infringement of law," he added.

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Mahmood Khan said individuals of the region had indeed demonstrated that they remained with PM Khan, blaming the PDM administration for dismissing public security for political addition.

The CM said Peshawar was and would stay a fortress of the decision Pakistan Tehreek-I-Insaf.

Likewise, Punjab Governor Chaudhry Sarwar said the resistance should abstain from playing with the lives of the individuals by holding rallies. "The public authority isn't holding rallies and huge get-togethers in light of the pandemic," he added.

He lamented that it had become a standard for the resistance to offer need to political and individual interests.

Exceptional Assistant to CM on Information Firdous Ashiq Awan said Covid-19 was a reality and the whole world was playing it safe. She said the resistance was doing governmental issues just for face sparing notwithstanding the way that the subsequent wave was more deadly. "Your life is a higher priority than legislative issues. On the off chance that life keeps going, so will legislative issues," she stated, adding that it was unrealistic to authorize SOPs in open social events. "In the event that individuals' lives are in question, the public authority will make an exacting legitimate move," she added.

NCOC information

As indicated by the National Command and Operation Center, 2,665 new cases and 59 passing were accounted for from the nation over during the previous 24 hours.

With the expansion of new cases, the count of affirmed cases flooded to 374,173. As of now, 1,653 Covid-19 patients were in basic condition, while so far 329,828 have completely recuperated.

Irresponsible behavior is high threats for the second wave of the virus to hit us again as SOPs is already being violated at so many places and they are being sealed. For the country to be safe and sound people need to become responsible enough and to take precautionary measures to control the second wave from hitting us and from playing with livelihoods and people dying due to the disease will be another chaos for the country as another lockdown is not a beneficial option looking at the downfall of the economy as well and the inflation rate increasing with so many people unemployed and starving.

The loss of lives and economy will eventually take the country down the drains which will become a more hectic situation to handle. Pakistan already being an under developed country and drowning in so many debts as mentioned before by them Prime Minister cannot afford another lockdown but if the situation remains the same these strict measures will have to be taken then.