PTI ‘vows to resist’ if PPP govt reimposes lockdown in Karachi

Zaman accuses PPP of wanting to cause economic damage by locking down the country's economic hub

KARACHI: Warning the Sindh government against reimposing a lockdown in the metropolis to check the spread of the novel coronavirus, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf MPA Khurram Sher Zaman stated that his party would oppose such a move by the provincial government.

Addressing a press conference on Thursday, he accused the Pakistan Peoples Party-led Sindh government of wanting to cause economic damage by locking down the country's economic hub.

"The world is coming to realise that lockdowns are not the solution [to deal with the Covid-19 pandemic]," he insisted, citing the examples of the United States and Europe, where thousands of people have died as a result of the contagion.



He further questioned the provincial government's decision to restrict the timings of shops and businesses, contending that this measure would not help control the outbreak. Zaman also demanded that barber shops and salons be allowed to reopen and public transport services resumed to mitigate the suffering of the people.

Holding Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah responsible for the spread of the virus in the province, he called on Shah to share facts about the situation rather than 'dramatising' it. "The Sindh government has created a scare among the masses about the pandemic, instead of taking effective measures to tackle it."

Alleging that the Sindh government had failed to provide relief to the people or regulate prices of essential goods, Zaman said the Centre had given relief to millions by providing waivers in utility bills