All eyes on NCC over lockdown decision today.

Byline: Syed Irfan Raza

ISLAMABAD -- Prime Minister Imran Khan on Thursday will decide which businesses and sectors will be reopened from this weekend after the provinces opposed running of buses, trains and domestic flights but largely agreed to reopen commercial centres if the Centre gives a final approval for easing lockdown curbs.

The premier will chair a meeting of the National CoAordination Committee (NCC) on Thursday (today) in which a final decision will be taken about reopening of more businesses and sectors after the expiry of the extAended lockdown on May 9.

The views were exchaAnged at the National ComAmand and Operation Centre (NCOC) meeting held on Wednesday.

Federal Minister for Planning, Development and Special Initiatives Asad Umar, who chaired the NCOC meeting, said different ways and means of easing lockdown were discussed at the meeting. He said a day earlier the federal cabinet had approved a plan to further ease lockdown curbs.

Sindh minister says all provinces opposed resumption of inter-provincial, inter-city transport, trains and domestic flights in NCOC meeting

However, he added, a final decision would be taken at the NCC meeting.

A source after attending the NCOC meeting said the SOPs prepared by the federal government and sent to the provinces for consideration were discussed. Almost all the provinces opposed the proposal of the federal government to resume local fights, trains and public transport.

Business hours

While the Centre's SOPs also permit shops to remain open from morning till 4pm and then from 8 pm till 12midnight, the Sindh government suggested to the Centre that shops be allowed to open till 5pm and not till midnight.

When contacted, Sindh minister Saeed Ghani told Dawn that all provinces had opposed resumption of inter-provincial and inter-city transport, trains and domestic flights until Covid-19 was completely eliminated.

'Provinces feared that opening of transport will cause transfer of coronavirus from one area to another,' he explained.

Mr Ghani confirmed that Sindh had opposed the SOP that allowed shops to stay open from morning till 4pm and then from 8 pm till 12midnight. 'We asked in the meeting that we will allow shops to open till 5pm,' he said.

However, the PPP leader made it clear that the Sindh government wanted that whatever decision was to be taken by the NCC regarding lockdown should be unanimous and implemented uniformly in all the provinces.

'We want unanimous decision regarding...