Lockdown ineffective due to mixed signals from Centre, alleges Murad Ali Shah – Pakistan

Sindh Prime Minister Murad Ali Shah said Monday that the reason a blockade has not been effective in slowing down the spread of the coronavirus is due to "mixed signals" from the federal government.

Speaking at a press conference in Karachi, the prime minister regretted the fact that, despite his repeated warnings, the Center has received many comments on how to effectively tackle the coronavirus outbreak in the country.

"The Covid-19 pandemic is not a provincial or personal issue. I want to say this very clearly. We cannot make decisions in isolation because its consequences affect everyone."

Shah held the press hours before the National Coordination Committee (NCC) meeting, to be chaired by Prime Minister Imran Khan, to make political decisions for post-April 14 containment measures.

During today's press conference, Shah argued that the only way to effectively deal with the pandemic was to learn from the experiences of other countries in the world.

"That is what we did in Sindh, and we have been blamed for forcing a blockade without much thought. There is no one right way to deal with the pandemic. But the only way to do it is to take action," he said. .

Shah was addressing divisions between the federal and Sindh governments that came to light on Sunday after federal minister Faisal Vawda had accused the PPP government of being "inefficient" and not containing the spread of the virus.

"Due to the incompetence of the Sindh government, the number of cases is increasing," Vawda had said.

Shortly thereafter, Sindh's Information Minister Nasir Shah and Education Minister Saeed Ghani held a press conference in which they defended the measures taken by the provincial government and called the federal government for "lack of cooperation".

"We will make mistakes [in the fight against the pandemic] but the biggest mistake is not taking any action, "said Murad at today's press conference.

The prime minister added that he had tried to sound an alarm about the situation that could worsen exponentially at first during the first NCC meeting.

"I said we needed to move towards a planned closure. My advice may not have been practical at the time, but in hindsight, if we had, we would not have been in this situation at this time."

He added that he was grateful to the rest of the provinces that followed in Sindh's footsteps and that he imposed a blockade.

& # 39; I need to focus on saving lives & # 39;

Shah criticized the federal government's cash outlay program.

The Sindh government had also thought of an effective way to distribute the ration, but we realized that delivering it to people's homes was the only way, he said. "The problem we encountered was that we needed data from institutions like Nadra to implement this initiative."

By then, the federal government had introduced its program, and we support it wholeheartedly, he said. But we told them that the way to distribute the cash was not appropriate, he said.

"We made a blockade to prevent people from gathering in an effort to prevent transmission of the disease. But, people gathered in large crowds to receive the cash."

"I am tired of repeating this. The pandemic has affected economies around the world, but nothing is more important than people's lives," he said.

"It can revive a lifeless economy, but it cannot bring back the dead," he said. The prime minister added that if the coronavirus were to spread to rural areas, there would be no way to stop the spread.

& # 39; The federal government has given very little & # 39;

Shah went on to say that details of all contributions made to the provincial coronavirus emergency fund were available on the website of the financial department.

"Our MPAs contributed their wages to this fund, and I thank them for doing so," he said. All the money spent went to the field hospital at Expo Center, he added.

However, we cannot purchase items, Shah said. "We have asked the federal government for help in this regard. The federal government is in a better position to bring fans and personal protective equipment."

"We are grateful for what they have done so far, but they have done very little," he said. Provincial governments can only do so much, all points lead back to the Center, he said.

"If a provincial government can organize 10,000 test kits from day one, and an additional 50,000 after that, then we expect more from the federal government," he added.

& # 39; I want PM Imran to lead & # 39;

Shah added that the provincial government was conducting specific tests for the coronavirus, which has allowed them to effectively manage the outbreak.

"During a meeting two days ago, the World Health Organization said that Sindh is the only province that is conducting the tests according to the guidelines issued by them," he said.

He added that at least 90 percent of Covid-19 tests in the province were performed free of charge.

The prime minister also took the opportunity to tell Prime Minister Imran Khan to form a comprehensive national policy regarding the outbreak.

"We need a national narrative or a national action plan regarding this," he said. "We became one in the fight against terrorism after the APS attack. We are still expecting the same thing," he asked.

"We want Prime Minister Imran to lead. Do not allow confinement to be compromised in any setting. Do not say that the provinces are free to decide, that will be more painful," he concluded.

& # 39; Sindh CM should have informed PM about reservations & # 39;

Later in the day, the Special Assistant to the Prime Minister for Information and Broadcasting, Firdous Ashiq Awan, regretted that Prime Minister Shah had turned to the media instead of expressing his reservations to the Prime Minister.

"If you have any reservations about any decision or lack clarity on any issue, it would have been better if you mentioned it during the [NCC] get together instead of talking about it in the media, "he said in a briefing.

"The Prime Minister of Pakistan is fighting on two fronts right now. On one front he has to look for ways to defeat the coronavirus and how to ensure the protection of our people from it. For that, we are moving forward in accordance with national laws. Policy and narrative.

"On the second front, it has to find a way to protect our salaried workers and the impoverished class from hunger. For that, we have to develop alternative strategies that will be parallel [to our strategy to deal with coronavirus]"

Awan also responded to Shah's criticism of the Emergency Cash Program, saying it was an important step taken by the prime minister to ensure that low-income people are not left without necessary food and supplies. She told the prime minister to exercise his "administrative powers" to ensure social distancing in centers where people gathered to collect cash.

He urged Shah to work with the government "as a team with the prime minister as leader" and "to fulfill his responsibilities."

"This is not the time to escape responsibility," he said. Awan admitted that the Center's plans had some shortcomings, but said the federal government "will not take a minute to figure them out."