Must balance life and livelihood: Asim Bajwa

SAPM Asim Bajwa says smart lockdown downs and SOPs key to fighting pandemic

ISLAMABAD:

Special Assistant to the PM on Information and Broadcasting Lt Gen (retd) Asim Saleem Bajwa on Sunday said balancing life and livelihood had been the prime focus of the government since the outbreak of Covid-19 in the country.

“[The] key to fighting this pandemic has been to contain disease through smart lockdown downs and adherence to SOPs,” he wrote while quote tweeting Prime Minister Imran Khan’s tweet on the government’s strategy to deal with the pandemic.

“Our nation adapted and showed remarkable improvement in wearing masks and observing the social distancing,” he added.

The SAPM’s words reflect the policy of the prime minister, who has stressed the need for striking a balance between poverty and lockdown from the start.

Earlier this month, PM Imran said a lockdown was not a cure for the coronavirus its purpose was only to slow down the spread of the disease.

The lockdown helped reduce pressure on medical workers and hospitals, Imran said, adding that he did not want a lockdown like the one that was imposed in the country but, due to the 18th Amendment, the provinces took their own decisions.

“I would not have stopped business and construction as we had to balance the situation. I was very clear from the very first day since the virus outbreak that the situation of Pakistan is very different from China and Europe and hence strict lockdown cannot be imposed here,” he said.

“People living in DHA and other upscale neigbourhoods see lockdown from [a] different perspective from the people living in slum areas,” he said. “[But] being the prime minister, I was looking at both the perspectives,” he continued.

“We had to stop the spread of virus while considering the needs of the

marginalised segment of society,” he said, adding” “This coronavirus is not going anywhere and we will have to live with it while striking a balance between poverty and lockdown.”

In addition, the prime minister said he personally believed that the lockdown was going to affect roughly 25 million labourers whose families would starve if they did not work.

He warned that the coronavirus would continue to spread.

“The world has agreed, the richest countries have come to the conclusion that the virus will spread no matter what. Nothing can be done about it. The virus will spread and our death toll will also rise […] I have been telling you that from day one.”

Apart from the government’s efforts, Imran emphasised that the onus of curbing the spread of the virus was on the public to take precautionary measures. “If we don’t take precautions then we will continue to suffer.”

(With input from APP)