Sindh Governor Imran Ismail has said that more than 157,000 people in Sindh province have registered for the Tiger Force, which will start operating across the province immediately after Eid-ul-Fitr, initially it will be deployed at Ehsas Centers and Utility Stores.

He expressed these views while addressing a press conference at the Governor House here on Thursday, said a spokesperson to the Sindh Governor.

Member National Assembly Aftab Siddiqui, Members of Provincial Assembly Khurram Sher Zaman, Ashraf Qureshi and others were also present.

Giving details in this regard, Governor Sindh said that 48416 students, 2275 medical workers, 9251 engineers, 5931 teachers, 10293 civil servants, 1877 Armed Forces employees, 3959 NGO workers, 591 journalists, 15822 private businessmen, 1099 lawyers, 21124 social workers and 3788 people associated with the corporate sector have been registered for this force.

In terms of academic qualifications, they include 31751 Matriculation / O Levels, 34207 FA / FSC / A Levels, 22558 Bachelors Degrees, 11671 Master Degrees, 533 MBBS, 943 M.Phil / MS, 264 Doctorates, 98 Post Doctorates degrees and 16928 middle schools level and more, he said.

The Sindh Governor said that the Sindh government has refused to take the services of the Tiger Force so the Prime Minister has given him the responsibility to take along the Tiger Force.

He said that the members of Tiger Force will ensure that nothing is being sold expensively at the utility stores while Tiger Force will also provide assistance to those who come to the Ehsas Center to collect money. He said that there are people in the Tiger Force who do not belong to any political party and they have come forward only in the spirit serve selflessly.

He said that after the refusal of the provincial government, the Tiger Force would be used in collaboration with other political parties. It was unfortunate that Sindh government was not using Tiger force, he added.

To a question about Governor Rule in Sindh, he said that at present there is no such thing, I just watch it on television.

To a question about the differences between the federal and provincial governments, he said, "We have to work jointly with the federal government for the betterment of our province.

He said that "the prime minister has been saying from the beginning that we cannot have a complete lockdown," he said. "By the grace of God, we are better than other countries, but we must not careless and take precautionary measures. He said that the people should follow the SOPs announced by the federal and provincial governments," he said.

The Governor Sindh further said that due to the economic situation of Pakistan cannot go towards a complete lockdown.

When asked about the measures to provide relief to the people during the lockdown, the Governor Sindh said that we have provided ration to more than one lakh people. But all this is not enough, the federal and provincial governments, all social welfare organizations together can not reach 100% of the people, he noted.

He said that if SOPs were not implemented then everything could be closed again.

To a question about the development projects of the federal government, the Sindh Governor said that a facilitation agreement had been signed with the Sindh government yesterday and tenders for the Greenline would be issued immediately after Eid. To another question about the rising incidence of dog bites in the province, he said it was a matter of concern and the provincial government should pay more attention to this.

On the question of non-provision of personal protective equipment to doctors and medical staff, the Governor Sindh said that our doctors, paramedical staff and cleaning staff are on the front line at the moment, I stand with them they need gloves and masks.

The Sindh Governor added that he had sent a container of PPEs to hospitals in Larkana, Shikarpur and Ghotki along with Member Provincial Assembly Haleem Adil Sheikh.