500 days of NCOC: President, PM, COAS, ministers praise NCOC’s work

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Imran Khan, President Arif Alvi and Army Chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa, along with other federal ministers, have paid tribute to the National Command and Control Centre (NCOC) for its efforts against COVID-19.

August 8 marks 500 days since the NCOC was formed to synergise and articulate a unified national effort against COVID-19, reported Geo News. Prime Minister Imran Khan also took to Twitter to note that Pakistan’s COVID-19 strategy has been appreciated by the world and paid tributes to the NCOC team which has been the "linchpin" of Pakistan’s coronavirus response strategy.

President Arif Alvi also appreciated the effort done by the "platform laid by the PM" to ensure poor people did not suffer in lockdowns. To celebrate the occasion, the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) uploaded a documentary on their YouTube channel titled "Azam-e-Alishan (NCOC: A Unified Endeavour)".

The documentary highlights how the NCOC was created in March 2020 and how it is functioning to supply statistics and make informed decisions based on them. The documentary was shared by Director-General ISPR Major General Babar Iftikhar on Twitter with the army chief’s praise for the NCOC.

"NCOC has remained pivotal to Pakistan’s riposte against COVID-19. It symbolises an optimised national response to adversity, saving precious lives. Accolades for the NCOC team on completing 500 days of continuous struggle & delivery," said the COAS.

Several federal ministers, including Education Minister Shafqat Mehmood, Human Rights Minister Shireen Mazari, Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry and State Minister of Information Farrukh Habib also lauded the efforts of the NCOC.

Shafqat Mehmood wrote that NCOC did "a tremendous job by coordinating the national response" and paid special compliments to Federal Minister for Planning and Development Asad Umar and Lt. General Hamood uz Zaman.

Shireen Mazari called the NCOC a "successful" model of coordination between thefederal and provincial governments. She added that NCOC’s work prevented Pakistan from a fate similar to India’s.

The NCOC has been lauded by many for its work in coordinating and rolling out information regarding the epidemic. As Pakistan goes through the fourth wave of the coronavirus, NCOC’s policies are expected to play a vital role in managing the spread of the virus.

Fawad Chaudhry on Sunday said that achievements against coronavirus had been made possible due to the tireless efforts and interest of NCOC for which its entire team deserved the credit.

In a congratulatory statement on completion of 500 days of establishment of the NCOC, the minister said that the decisions to deal with the coronavirus outbreak since its inception were taken on the basis of scientific and ground realities. Following the vision of Prime Minister Imran Khan and the guidelines of the NCOC, he said that the government had adopted a balanced strategy of smart lockdown with its focus on the poor and the working class. He remarked that if the country had been completely locked down, it could have had dire consequences.

The whole world, he said, applauded the smart lockdown strategy, as Pakistan also fought the coronavirus and strengthened its economy. While Farrukh Habib lauded the role of NCOC for creating national unity that eventually lead country to fight against coronavirus pandemic with efficacy.

In a tweet, he said on the completion of 500 days of NCOC a documentary portraying the ‘Unified Endeavour’ displayed by the nation against COVID-19 pandemic has been launched. He said Minister for Planning, Development and Special Initiatives Asad Umar and his team under the leadership of Prime Minister Imran Khan took timely decisions that had been an instrumental to tackling the pandemic.