PM reiterates resolve to win fight against pandemic with nation’s support

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Imran Khan has reiterated the government’s resolve to win fight against coronavirus pandemic with the support of the nation, saying that Pakistanis have always fought united and will also win the war against the crisis.

Speaking in a telethon programme of a private TV Channel in connection with PM’s Corona Relief Fund, the prime minister urged the nation to demonstrate unity in this critical time and defeat coronavirus through faith and wisdom.

PM Imran Khan said the incumbent government had announced a historic financial stimulus package worth $8 billion dollars to deal with the adverse impact of the coronavirus outbreak in the country. He added that it was not decided whether the dams fund will be used for the crisis as the mega-projects were also important for the country.

He said 12 million poor families across Pakistan are registered with Ehsaas Programme but the data of 80 percent labourers are still missing. He said the government would maintain a record of all the funds collected under Prime Minister’s COVID-19 Pandemic Relief Fund-2020 that would be spent on merit under transparent mechanism.

PM Imran Khan said members of Corona Relief Tigers Force would visit door-to-door to identify the deserving families on district and village level. He said the task force would be established purely on merit and transparency without any political influence. He said prevailing situation is adversely affecting the labour class and the government will utilize all available sources to provide relief to them.

The prime minister said the country is facing a severe economic crisis but still a large number of people donate money for welfare tasks, while the nation also has a large youth population. He said the government has a shortage of resources and the authorities are collecting donations to provide relied to deserving people facing difficulties during the lockdown.

PM Imran Khan announced that the federal government will transfer case worth Rs150 billion to the deserving people through the database of Ehsaas programme. He said the government is forming Corona Relief Tiger Force to support needy people to cover the remaining 80 to 100 million people affected by the lockdown.

The prime minister said a Facebook page of the Ehsaas Programme would link the charity givers with the receivers in order to ensure proper distribution of charity funds, ration and other things. The social media page will also guide welfare institutions and social workers for relief activities.

He also urged the artists and celebrities to support the government in collecting funds to support the poor families. He warned that strict action would be taken against hoarders and profiteers involved in exploiting the prevailing situation.