Cabinet gives nod to easing lockdown past 9th: NA session called to debate coronavirus crisis

Ag Agencies

ISLAMABAD: A session of the National Assembly — which had been delayed because of the coronavirus pandemic — will convene next Monday as the cabinet gave the go-ahead to ease the nationwide lockdown after May 9.

Speaking to reporters outside Parliament House on Tuesday, Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi announced that a session of National Assembly will be held on May 11 at 3.00pm, following a meeting of the Committee on Virtual Session of the National Assembly which was chaired by PTI’s Fakhar Imam. The committee recommended restricting the debate to three hours a session.

According to Geo News, Qureshi said the sessions will be held every alternate day and visitors will not be allowed inside as a precaution. He added: “Today (Tuesday) parliamentary leaders met in a session chaired by Fakhar Imam. We decided that we will not identify quorum for Monday’s session.” Furthermore, the session will be limited to discussions and debates on the coronavirus only. The coming and going of people within Parliament lodges will also be limited, the foreign minister added.

This comes as Pakistan recorded its highest single-day jump in virus cases, with more than 1,300 new infections in the past 24 hours according to data released by the National Command and Operations Centre (NCOC). The country now has 22,063 confirmed cases, with 514 deaths at the time of this report.

As the lockdown-weary country grapples with spiralling infections and deaths, the federal government has been making its case to ease the restrictions. Briefing the media following a cabinet meeting on Tuesday, information minister Shibli Faraz urged the nation to “follow the SOPs and safety measures” whenever the lockdown eases. “We cannot afford a relapse of the pandemic,” he added. “China was able to stem the spread of the virus because the political system of the country is different, we cannot apply the same strategy here,” he added.

Faraz said the federal cabinet approved easing of lockdown and restrictions imposed in the country, but a decision to that effect will be taken after a meeting today (Wednesday), he said. Faraz added: “Planning minister Asad Umar informed the meeting of the country’s coronavirus situation and indicated that a meeting at the NCOC will take place tomorrow (Wednesday) which will be attended by the chief ministers of all the provinces.

“They will sit down and build consensus for a unified policy regarding easing the lockdown. By this time tomorrow, whatever their recommendations are, will be with us.”

Furthermore, Faraz said Prime Minister Imran Khan has allowed the export of hand sanitisers. “The government is trying to export all those products [...] to increase our foreign exchange and exports, the approval for which has been given.” The information minister also said the cabinet also accorded approval to reconstitution of National Commission for Minorities, according to state media.