‘Sindh government will follow NCC directives’

Minister says divisiveness on Covid-19 strategy will confuse public, lead to disobedience

KARACHI: The Sindh government will ensure that the decisions taken by the federal government are implemented across the province, stated Sindh Information minister Syed Nasir Hussain Shah, adding that the National Coordination Committee's (NCC) decisions will be followed.

"A united voice and unanimous decision must reach the people so that they follow these directives seriously," said Shah during a press conference on Tuesday, further maintaining that if differences and disagreement came to light after the NCC's meeting, then the public would increasingly begin to disregard the decisions regarding the lockdown.

Shah asserted that the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government was fortunate to have a 'sensible and mature' opposition in Punjab, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan, but Sindh had not been so lucky.

He alleged that "whenever the Sindh government discussed the imposition of a lockdown or the implementation of a health advisory, in an attempt to save the lives of the people in the province, the opposition would immediately hold a press conference opposing it."

Need for precautions

Reflecting on the increasing number of cases in the province, Shah revealed that around 25 per cent of the total coronavirus tests being conducted in Sindh at present resulted in positive cases, which was extremely alarming.

He stated that this was the reason the Sindh government has been repeatedly stressing the need to follow the health and safety guidelines issued. "If a complete lockdown had been imposed in the beginning, coronavirus would not have spread so much today; now we have to live with it for a long time," he said.

He stressed the need to take precautions, warning citizens to take the provincial government's warnings seriously, adding, "Our [Sindh's] healthcare system does not have the capacity to handle so many patients, therefore people have to take coronavirus seriously." He appealed to the people to wholeheartedly take precautions against the virus, especially when travelling between cities.

Shah also revealed that the Sindh government would have no objection if the services of the Pakistan Army are sought to ensure the implementation of the standard operating procedures.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 3^rd, 2020.