ISLAMABAD: Pakistani traders on Friday vowed to defy the government’s targeted coronavirus lockdowns as the country recorded more than daily 2,300 infections and 37 deaths—the highest in more than four months.
Amid warnings from ministers, the All Pakistan Anjuman-e-Tajran (APAT) held a press conference where they announced they would not comply with smart lockdowns and announced that they would keep all shops and businesses open even beyond mandated hours.
Upping the ante further, APAT President Ajmal Baloch and APAT Secretary Naeem Mir said if the government tried to force traders to shut their shops early, they would join the opposition Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) and participate in its anti-government campaign, according to Geo.
The representatives said that this time, they would not comply with any lockdown rules because the earlier lockdown already caused them significant monetary losses. They also called the ruling PTI “incompetent and corrupt”.
Their presser came as Pakistan’s active Covid-19 cases jumped to 23,641 after 2,304 more people tested positive for the virus in a 24-hour-period. Thirty-seven patients died in the same period. At least 1,405 corona patients are admitted in hospitals across the country, 195 of who are on a ventilator, according to government data.
As the second wave of the virus begins to take hold, Punjab Health Minister Dr Yasmin Rashid voiced concern that the country’s hospitals may not be able to cope with the rapidly increasing numbers of patients.
“The second wave of coronavirus will be more dangerous than the previous one due to changing weather conditions; the threat is real but no one seems to be taking it seriously,” she said while speaking to a private television channel.
She said while the provincial government had yet to take any decision on closing markets — and “are not in favour of market closure” — it would not hesitate from doing so if the business community fails to follow government guidelines.
“The government will opt to close shops, bazaars and markets in case of non-observance of SOPs,” she warned. “Everybody should realise their responsibility and ensure social distancing,” she said.
Dr Rashid said the traders association are responsible to ensure compliance with SOPs but those are being violated in the markets and thus increasing the risk of the outbreak.
Planning minister Asad Umar, too, called on Pakistanis to not lower their guard from the coronavirus and squander the government’s deft economic handling of the crisis.
“All signs are of strong economic recovery. The biggest risk is if we allow Covid to increase by making poor choices,” he said in a tweet. Umar said the Indian economy suffered a recession for the first time since its independence, with a 23.9 per cent and 8.6 per cent contraction in the last two quarters.
“This is what happens when you mishandle Covid. Pakistan must not allow our success and its economic benefit to be squandered by lowering our guard,” he added. On the other hand, he said, Pakistan’s economy was showing positive signs as large scale manufacturing grew by over 7 per cent in September 2020 compared to the same month last year. In the first quarter, the country’s industrial growth increased by 4.8 per cent compared to the same period last year and on a month-on-month basis, LSM grew by over 10 per cent in the month under review against August 2020.
However, the minister feared this achievement could be squandered if precautionary measures were not followed by the people.
