Carelessness in taking COVID precautions could lead to dire results, warns PM

(Karachi) Prime Minister Imran Khan has again urged people to wear masks and follow SOPs to curb the spread of the third wave of COVID-19 pandemic.

Interacting with the people on Sunday via telephone calls, Imran said: "I will advise everyone to wear a mask."

Third COVID wave more dangerous

The PM said, "The third wave of coronavirus is way more dangerous than the first two waves and carelessness will lead to dire consequences."

He added it is the government's responsibility to protect people during the infection. He cautioned people to wear masks in closed rooms where there is no ventilation and in buses and other means of transport.

He said that the government is bringing reforms in the health sector and will provide health insurance to each and every person.

Reforms in HEC

Responding to callers, the prime minister said countries progress due to higher education among the masses. "We also have to think about what sort of high education we have [to impart]," he said. "Buildings do not bring about quality education; it also depends on what type of degrees they are handing out to students," he said.

PM Imran said the government is bringing about "huge changes" in the HEC. He said the government is bringing reforms in HEC.

Inflation

Regarding inflation, he stated that the prices of vegetables and other food items are increasing as the farmers who supplied them wanted their products to be sold at high prices in the market. "The middlemen are making a lot of money from this," he said.

He said prices of sugar were jacked up artificially to earn more profit and the Federal Investigation Agency’s (FIA) report into the sugar scam is ready and has been made public.

He highlighted that his government is making efforts to devise a strategy to connect the primary producers of these items to the final consumers.

Action against hoarders

Responding to a call against hoarders and mafias, Imran said it is for the first time that any government has taken action against hoarders. "We are going after mafias in Pakistan," he said.

"The FIA completed its inquiry for the first time to bring to everyone's knowledge how a few people hoard basic food items so their prices skyrocket and they make profits out of it," he said.

Imran Khan maintained that it is not only the government's responsibility to eradicate corruption from the society but the people should also put in their effort in this regard.

Land mafia

Declaring the land mafia as the country’s biggest problem, PM Khan said the mafia use to occupy government lands with the help and support of governments.

Land mafia cannot operate without the supervision of the government and police patronage. “PTI government is first in the country’s history, which is against the and mafia.”

Two-party system defeated

Answering another caller's questions, PM Imran Khan said in Pakistan, his party had brought about a "democratic change" unlike the revolutions in France and Iran.

He said the PTI had defeated a two-party system in Pakistan and helped new people take up ministries. The prime minister said previously, the two parties who were at each other's throats, were now demanding he step down and were on one page.

"This is the change," he said, adding that now, a government was in place which did not tolerate corruption and was not willing to let the menace go unchecked.

Citing his government's achievements, PM Imran Khan said the rupee had strengthened for the first time in many years. "It means we are doing something right," he said. "Have a bit of patience and this country will take off," he added.