• Says opposition will be responsible for consequences
• NCOC reports 2,665 new cases, 59 deaths
ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Imran Khan on Sunday said the government would be compelled to enforce complete lockdown if the opposition did not desist from holding public gatherings at a time when the country was reeling under the impact of Covid-19.
During the last 24 hours, the highest number of positive cases was reported with 2,665 people getting infected and 59 losing their lives.
Taking to Twitter, Prime Minister Khan said the opposition’s Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) would be responsible for the consequences if it continued with public gatherings despite a surge in Covid-19 cases. “In (Pakistan), the PDM by continuing with Jalsas (public gatherings) is deliberately endangering lives and livelihoods (because) if cases continue to rise at the rate we are seeing, we will be compelled to go into complete lockdown & PDM will be responsible for consequences,” Mr Khan said in his tweet.
He said the data was quite alarming as there was a 200 per cent increase in the number of patients on ventilators in Peshawar and Multan during the last 15 days. It was 148 per cent in Karachi, 114pc in Lahore and 65pc in Islamabad.
Seventy per cent ventilators were in use in Multan and Islamabad, he added.
The prime minister said the world was facing a second wave of the virus with many countries going for complete lockdown. “I do not want to take measures like a lockdown that will start hurting our economy which at the moment is showing signs of a robust recovery,” he tweeted.
About PDM’s public meetings, Mr Khan said the opposition was callously destroying people’s lives and livelihoods in their desperation to get relief in cases against their leaders.
“Let me make it clear: they can hold a million Jalsas but will not get any National Reconciliation Ordinance-like concession,” he said, adding that unfortunately the opposition’s only goal was to get an NRO at the cost of people’s lives and the country’s economy.
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COURTESY DAWN NEWS
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