KARACHI - Sindh Governor Imran Ismail Tuesday said Prime Minister Imran Khan wanted to maintain balance in health of people and economic activities, several steps were announced to provide relief to common man during lockdown, ensuring people do not die of hunger.
He said this while speaking in a meeting with the 25-member delegation of leading industrialists and businessmen at the Governor’s House here, said a spokesperson to the Sindh Governor.
The Governor said it was a difficult time and we would have to face it together because the war against coronavirus was the war of every Pakistani and we could only win it as a united nation.
The delegation was led by renowned industrialist S.M.Munir while Omar Rehan, Ikram Rajput, Malik Khuda Bakhsh and others were included in the delegation.
During the meeting, the situation of coronavirus, impact of industrial production due to lockdown, SOPs given to open factories, problems faced by employees and other issues of mutual interest were discussed.
The Governor said that due to the lockdown, the difficulties of the working people, especially on the daily wagers, had increased while the closure of factories was also affecting the working class.
Imran Ismail said that he was aware of the difficulties of the industrialists, that was why export activities had been allowed for many industries, and the State Bank was also giving loans on easy terms for industries and businesses. He said that the problem of industrialists’ refund was also being solved.
The members of the delegation said that they were ready to cooperate with the government at all times, but their problems also needed to be resolved so as to ensure the availability of employment opportunities along with industrial production.
Ready to cooperate with Sindh govt, if it wants to open markets
Governor said that if the Sindh government wants to allow opening of the shops, the federal government has no objection and it was ready to provide assistance at all levels in that regard.
He expressed these views during a meeting with the delegation of the All City Traders’ Union led by Hammad Poonawala at the Governor’s House here on Tuesday, said a statement.
The members of the delegation included Javed Qureshi, Abdul Qadir Noorani, Arif Jeewa, Muhammad Ali Qureshi, Javed Arsala Khan, Mohammad Ehsan, Zahid Malik, Mansoor Qadwani, Atif Billu, Rizwan Zaweri and others.
During the meeting, they discussed the closure of the markets due to lockdown, especially the difficulties of small traders, permission to open businesses under Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) and other issues of mutual interest.
Speaking on the occasion, the Governor of Sindh said that he was aware of the problems which were being faced by the small traders and businessmen due to the lockdown situation.
He said that after passage of 18th Constitutional Amendment, all powers were with the provinces so he would discuss the problems of the traders with the Chief Minister.
Imran Ismail said that the coronavirus was a national issue and Prime Minister Imran Khan was doing all he could to tackle it. Earlier, delegation’s head Hammad Poonawala and other members briefed the Governor of Sindh about their problems.
