PM Imran Khan chairs Cabinet meeting on coronavirus pandemic

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Imran Khan is chairing a meeting of the Federal Cabinet to discuss the situation arising out of the coronavirus pandemic in the country.

The meeting will also discuss the future course of action, including a possible easing of the lockdown and the provision of medical supplies to provinces.

Other items on the cabinet’s agenda include the approval of decisions taken by the Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) and the National Coordination Committee (NCC) regarding measures to tackle the current pandemic and to endorse the decisions made by Cabinet Committee on legislative cases.

According to sources, the Federal Cabinet will also discuss the issue of raising allowances of EOBI pensioners and approve the decision to hand over the management of Islamabad's Murghzar Zoo to the Wildlife Management Board.

Read also: Centre, provinces likely to give unanimous decision on lockdown extension

Special meeting of NCOC to be held today

A special meeting of the National Command and Operation Center (NCOC) will also be held in Islamabad today to take major decisions, including the extension of lockdown in the country.

In his daily media briefing to the media on Monday, Minister for Planning and Development Asad Umar had said the meeting would take decisions regarding the ongoing lockdown in the country.

“The meeting would prepare recommendations for the National Coordination Committee (NCC) that would be held later in the day under the chairmanship of Prime Minister Imran Khan,” Umar said.

The NCC will take final decisions regarding the lockdown in the country. Umar had added that to support the decision on the lockdown, the federal government will provide all required information to the provinces before the meeting.

Testing and quarantining will help contain coronavirus: Asad Umar

PM Imran accepts CM Sindh’s decision to impose extension

During yesterday’s session of the NCC, Prime Minister Imran Khan accepted Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah's decision to impose extension in line with the centre's announcement.

In the NCC session held to review the country-wide measures taken so far to curb the spread of the coronavirus, the premier agreed that a unanimous policy regarding the extension should be given.

The prime minister had directed the provincial officers to submit their recommendations on Tuesday so that a formal decision could be announced.

The meeting had also reviewed different reports submitted by sub-committees and concerned departments about the arrangements to bring back Pakistanis stranded abroad, management of quarantine centres at Taftan Border and status of Afghan nationals in the country.

'National consensus'

Earlier, Shah had said that he wanted a national consensus over the extension in lockdown, adding that they want the prime minister 'to take the lead'.

Sindh wants ‘stricter’ lockdown for two more weeks: CM Murad Ali Shah

The Sindh chief minister, while addressing a press conference on Monday, had defended the decision to impose a lockdown in the province to stem the spread of the coronavirus. 

"We took the extreme step after reviewing and observing what other countries were doing to curb the spread of the virus," Shah said.

The chief minister shared that he put Sindh’s concerns about the surge in cases during the first meeting of the National Coordination Committee in front of the federal government.

"I had strongly recommended a complete lockdown in the country [from the beginning] but my advice was ignored back then,” Shah said.

The chief minister added that the federal government should lead from the front rather than leaving the decisions to the provincial governments.