In a bid to combat coronavirus spread, Prime Minister Imran Khan on Thursday called a emergency a meeting of the National Security Committee (NSC) on Friday (today) as the number of confirmed cases in the country has now jumped to 21.
The announcement came just a day after the World Health Organization (WHO) declared the coronavirus a "pandemic" after it affected 129,771 globally, of which 4,751 were killed and 68,670 have recovered.
Besides chief ministers of all four provinces, the meeting will also be attended by ministers of defence, interior and foreign ministries as well as PM's aides on health Dr Zafar Mirza, economy Abdul Hafeez Sheikh, information and broadcasting Firdous Ashiq Awan and national security division Moeed Yusuf.
The number of confirmed cases of novel coronavirus "COVID-19" infections in Pakistan has risen to 21 after Gilgit-Baltistan reported its third confirmed case on March 12.
Karachi has been the worst affected city so far, with 15 of the total confirmed cases.
Of the remaining, two cases have been reported in Gilgit-Baltistan, and one case has been reported each in Islamabad, Hyderabad, and Quetta.
The prime minister, while chairing a meeting of the parliamentary party of the ruling Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) and allied political parties, said that the coronavirus was under control in the country, and any negligence in that regard would not be tolerated.
He stressed the need for further gearing up the efforts to ensure that all the passengers at airports, entry and exist points were scanned properly to avoid the spread of the pandemic.
"I'm personally monitoring the issue of coronavirus, so far the arrangements are quite satisfactory, but I'll not tolerate even a small negligence," the prime minister warned.
The sources told Business Recorder that lawmakers from both treasury and allied parties complained to the prime minister about non-release of development funds, which was creating problems for them whenever they visited their respective constituencies.
The prime minister assured the MNAs that all their genuine issues would be addressed on priority besides release of development funds, so that they could undertake uplift projects in their areas.
"I'm well aware of the issues faced by the MNAs in their constituencies, and we'll ensure release of development funds soon," the prime minister was quoted assuring the participants of the meeting.
The lawmakers also complained to the prime minister about bureaucracy, saying the "baboos" were not ready to cooperate with them, and some of them holding important and senior positions, did not even pay any heed to them.
They also proposed to the prime minister to formulate a national policy for speedy resolution of the issues faced by the masses, and to ensure no government functionary challenges the elected representatives of the people.
However, the prime minister, without any further deliberation on the complaint, said that the issue would be looked into, said the sources.
The lawmakers from Karachi from the ruling PTI and allied parties complained to the PM that 140 cheques given under the Ahsaas Programme had not been encashed, which was sending a wrong message to the masses.
The premier directed Dr Sania Nishtar, the special assistant to prime minister on poverty alleviation and social safety, to look into the matter immediately and make sure there should be no such complaint in future.
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