Fawad Asks Sindh To Revisit Its Complete Lockdown Policy

LAHORE, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 31st Jul, 2021 ) :Federal Minister Information and Broadcasting Chaudhry Fawad Hussain has said that the Sindh government's unilateral decision regarding complete lockdown in the province was unconstitutional and it will hit the economy hard.

Asking the Sindh government to revisit its coronavirus policy of complete lockdown in consultation with the federal government, he said Karachi was jugular vein of country's economy and the decision would have adverse effects on country's economy.

He was talking to a television channel after visiting the residence of senior anchorperson Ajmal Jami. He condoled with Jami the sad demise of the latter's mother. The information minister was accompanied by Minister of State for Information Farrukh Habib.

The information minister said decisions of the Sindh government to control coronavirus in the province had raised serious concerns, adding that complete lockdown in Karachi would hurt national economy and add to the miseries of the man in the street. He said a curfew-like situation in the country's economic hub � Karachi � was unacceptable.

He asked the Sindh government to immediately lift the complete lockdown on the industrial sector, adding that the provincial government could not take unilateral decisions in the light of the Articles 149, 151 of the Constitution and the verdicts of the Supreme Court of Pakistan.

Fawad Chaudhry said the Sindh government could not ignore federal government and National Command Operation Centre (NCOC) directions, adding that no province had the right to introduce complete lockdown as the provinces were bound by law to follow the government policies in letter and spirit.

He said that complete lockdown would badly impact the daily-wagers and labourers, adding that the industries, which had ensured 100 per cent vaccination of their workforce, should be exempted from the ban.

"The situation would have been different had the Sindh government implemented the coronavirus SOPs," he said, stressing that the federal government had been extending full cooperation to the provincial administrations to curb coronavirus in the country.

The federal minister added that Pakistan had successfully dealt with the first three waves of the deadly virus through its smart lockdown policy, adding that there was no need to change the tried and tested strategy if it was successful in warding off Covid-19 pandemic in the country in the past.

To a question, the minister said the fourth wave of novel coronavirus had originated in India and the Indian government of Narendra Modi could not take necessary measures to check spread of delta virus in the region.

Fawad said India was the source of delta virus spread in the region, adding that economies of the world were facing the worst impact of delta virus due to the poor policies of the Indian government.

"Delta virus has spread at a time when the coronavirus-hit economies are fast recovering from the economic crisis," the minister said adding that the Indian government badly failed to check the virus spread.