LAHORE (Dunya News) – Prime Minister Imran Khan said Wednesday that the death rate from the second wave of COVID-19 is increasing alarmingly across the country.

Speaking to media in Lahore on Wednesday, the prime minister expressed concern that pressure on doctors and nurses would increase, adding that pressure on hospitals would also increase if Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) were not followed.

Imran Khan said that economic conditions could worsen if the country does not comply with precautions to prevent the spread of Covid-19. He urged people to act responsibly and wear masks amid the second wave of coronavirus. “Pakistan will avoid factory closings so that the economy continues to recover,” he said.

The prime minister appealed to the nation to strictly adhere to Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) and precautions to prevent the spread of the Covid-19 pandemic. “With the blessing of Allah SWT, this nation has not only succeeded in overcoming economic problems, but also in restraining the spread of the Coronavirus in the first wave of the pandemic,” he said.

PM Imran continued, all of this happened because of the full support of the community, especially the Ulama, adding that Pakistan is the only Muslim country in the world that does not close its mosques because Ulama play an important role in implementing SOPs. at mosque. He urged the public to oblige themselves to wear masks, which is the easiest way to prevent the spread of the Corona virus.

The prime minister further said the government had decided not to close factories and other sources of income to save people’s lives from COVID-19 and starvation. “Currently the Faisalabad textile industry is running at full capacity and is contributing to increasing Pakistan’s exports,” he said.

Responding to a question, Imran Khan said we had postponed our public rallies to avoid the spread of the contagion, adding the government would not allow anyone, including the opposition, to endanger people’s lives by holding public demonstrations. “They will not get an NRO by holding mass meetings and do not endanger people’s lives,” he added.

Imran Khan said currently, Pakistan’s exports are better than India and Bangladesh. Faisalabad’s textile industry is running at full capacity and is even short of workforce, he added. The prime minister, responding to questions about Israel’s recognition, said Pakistan did not face international pressure on the issue and still stood by the position taken by the Founder of the Nation Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah in 1948. It can be mentioned here that Quaid-e-Azam had declared in 1948 that Pakistan would never recognize Israel until Palestine was granted the right to a just settlement.

Speaking about the country’s foreign policy, Imran Khan said because of the government’s successful foreign policy initiatives today, which are valued at the world level, Pakistan’s acceptance has increased significantly internationally. He in that regard also referred to the country’s historic successful diplomatic initiatives such as exposing India on a world level, its positive role in the Afghan peace process, and improving relations with Afghanistan.

The prime minister said Pakistan, which was asked to “do more” in the past, is now valued by the world, including the United States, for its positive role in achieving peace in the region, including Afghanistan. Pakistan enjoys goods relations with Turkey, Iran, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, he added.

For another question, Imran Khan described Pakistanis overseas as a state asset and hoped they would invest in two major development projects in Ravi City, Lahore and Bundle Island, Karachi. He said the government had launched a crackdown on land grabbers in Lahore, which previously had support from several political parties. “You will soon hear the screams of Mafia Qabza in Lahore,” he said. The prime minister said the government would immediately take major action against land grabbers and land destroyers in Lahore.

For questions about rising prices, he explained how the mafia and cartels have manipulated the situation to make money from shortages and low production of commodities, especially wheat, caused by too fast rain and bad weather over the past two years due to the climate. change. However, he said, due to the government’s effective steps, including imports of sugar and wheat, the prices of two vital commodities (wheat and sugar) had experienced a decline.

On the country’s economic situation, the prime minister said with all major economic indicators showing a positive trend, Pakistan’s economy is growing rapidly in the subcontinent and is on the right track. He said the current account deficit, which reached US $ 20 billion when the current government was in power, recorded a surplus for the first time in 17 years. Likewise, he said, along with the increase in the country’s exports, the government was also holding a very large trade deficit of US $ 40 billion.

To a question, Imran Khan said Ravi Urban Development and Bundal Islanad are two important projects to stop indiscriminate spread in Lahore and Karachi. Cities like Lahore will face severe water problems, sewerage and pollution if the government doesn’t build new ones, he added. He said Lahore had spread one and a half times in just 20 years with water levels rapidly depleting, and 70 percent of the green cover disappearing.

Even if the government does not implement the Ravi Urban project, the city of Lahore will touch the project area but carelessly without planning and further pollute the Ravi River, he added.

The prime minister said his main aim was to protect Karachi and Lahore as the project would be vertical. He said if cities continued to grow at the current rate, green cover would decrease, causing food insecurity. The water treatment plant will be set up for water storage, which will also help replenish groundwater, apart from stopping the flow of wastewater into rivers, he added.

He said Bundal Island would be developed as a modern city to protect mangrove forests, treat wastewater and protect Karachi from unplanned growth. Apart from development, the two projects will also bring in foreign exchange because Pakistanis overseas want to invest in them, which will also get job opportunities, he added.

Imran Munir of the Ravi Urban Development Authority told the media that a dam would be developed to hold water to help recharge the water surface and protect Lahore from flooding. The eco-city will be developed for reforestation on the remaining forest land, in addition to developing a sewage treatment plant to clean water and provide benefits to surrounding residents, he added.