Sindh govt may ask Centre to impose stricter COVID-19 restrictions

KARACHI: The Chief Minister of Sindh Syed Murad Ali Shah on Wednesday said that the provincial government might ask the federation to impose stricter coronavirus restrictions if the coronavirus situation takes a  critical turn.

He added that he had previously requested the Centre to impose a ban on inter-provincial public transportation to contain the virus and that he might have to do that again, as reported by Geo.tv.

CM Shah was addressing a press conference in Karachi, CM Murad Ali Shah said that if the coronavirus standard operating procedures (SOPs) are not properly followed, the virus could rapidly spread across the province.

Speaking about the current restrictions in place, he said that the transportation of goods has not been stopped by the government, while only public transport has been banned for the safety of the people.

The chief minister said that [despite its efforts] the government of Sindh is unable to vaccinate as many people as it should.

"This is a big failure [for the government]," adding that even if someone has been inoculated, they should continue to observe the government's mandated SOPs to keep themselves safe.

Talking about the economic situation, Murad Ali Shah said that the growth rate in the country is less than one-and-a-half per cent.

"We are changing the [economic] laws as per the guidelines of the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

He further said that the government has liberated the State Bank of Pakistan, adding that the institution is "not accountable to anyone anymore."

"The Centre has made the SBP so powerful that no one can do anything about it," Murad Ali Shah said.

He said that the federal government had promised the creation of five million jobs, but instead, unemployment is constantly rising in the country.

"There are many more ways to get out of the economic crisis, but the country's economic situation is in dire straits due to the policies of the current government," he said.