Cabinet decides to launch second phase of Ehsaas Cash Emergency Programme.

ISLAMABAD: The federal cabinet on Tuesday decided to launch the second phase of Ehsaas Cash Emergency Programme to mitigate the sufferings of weaker and vulnerable segments of the society.

Briefing media here about the decisions taken by the cabinet meeting chaired by Prime Minister Imran Khan, Minister for Information and Broadcasting Senator Shibli Faraz said in the first phase after imposition of lockdown in the wake of coronavirus outbreak, Rs 150 billion were disbursed among the deserving vulnerable families without any political discrimination in a transparent manner for which the Ehsaas programme had been commended internationally. He said the prime minister directed Adviser for Finance Hafeez Shaikh for starting preparations for the second phase of the Ehsaas Emergency Cash programme so that the poor segments of the society could be provided financial assistance.

About dealing with the challenge of Covid-19 pandemic, Shibli Faraz said the government has formulated strict rules and regulations to avoid spread of the coronavirus and the district administrations have been directed to ensure implementation of the special precautionary measures for the upcoming Eid-ul-Azha.

He said Prime Minister Imran Khan had announced to celebrate Eid-ul-Azha at his residence and has also appealed to the people to celebrate the occasion by staying at their homes, instead of mixing with others. He said some political parties had tried to make handling of coronavirus a political issue. Imran Khan kept on reminding that several countries having robust economies and the modern health infrastructure failed to cope with the pandemic, which proved that he had adopted a successful policy, he added.

Shibli Faraz said the National Command and Operation Centre, the nerve centre of entire activity against the coronavirus, has been appreciated worldwide where facts and figures were analyzed on a daily basis and future decisions were made on their basis. It was a big achievement that Pakistan had only two corona testing labs in February, which have now increased to 129. At the time of the outbreak of pandemic, there was a shortage of personal protective equipment (PPE), but now the indigenously manufactured PPE are being exported from Pakistan, he added.

He said Imperial College's study has proved that Pakistan's strategy to cope with the pandemic was successful as the graph of Covid-19 patients was falling now. He said despite the economic losses due to the...