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KARACHI: Chief Minister of Sindh, Murad Ali Shah has warned that the provincial government would take action by itself if the National Command and Operation Center (NCOC) fails to heed its suggestion to close inter-provincial transport amid third wave of COVID-19.
Addressing a ceremony today (Thursday), the Chief Minister questioned the PTI-led federal government’s decision to impose a complete lockdown earlier when it was the one that criticised Sindh’s suggestion.
“If the decision of the Sindh government to impose a lockdown was bad, why did the federal government implemented it,” Murad Ali Shah asked, adding, “The decisions we made, in the beginning, helped us to contain the outbreak.”
He also pointed out that Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) led provincial government had recommended shutting down inter-provincial transport for some time and the minister in charge of the forum — Asad Umar — assured him that it would be considered.
“Pakistan was saved from a coronavirus wave as bad as India’s last year because it shut down domestic travel through airplanes and trains,” he said, adding, “The mistake that India made was to tell everyone to go home. Millions of people went towards their villages in trains and buses.”
The Chief Minister said he has called a meeting of the provincial task force on the pandemic. “If the NCOC fails to heed the suggestions, we will take them ourselves,” he emphasised.
According to CM Murad Ali Shah, he had also recommended to the NCOC to open registrations for the COVID-19 vaccinations to people of all ages. “Unfortunately, our country is among the bottom-most in terms of vaccination in the region.,” he claimed.
