Centre wants to remove anomalies in 18th Amend: PM.

KARACHI -- Prime Minister Imran Khan on Wednesday said the federal government had no disagreement with any province over the 18th Constitutional Amendment as it only intended to remove specific anomalies.

Some federal subjects were wrongly devolved to the provinces under the amendment, which would be returned back to the federation and for that all the provincial governments would be consulted, he said while talking to senior journalists belonging to regional newspapers and news channels.

As regards the coronavirus pandemic, the prime minister said the National Coordination Committee (NCC) was meeting regularly and it was taking decisions about the measures to contain the contagion in consensus with all the provinces.

He said since the day one he was against imposition of strict lockdown in the country to stem the virus as he was worried about the labour class, particularly the daily wagers. The government had double responsibility of taking steps to contain the spread of COVID-19 and at the same time to ensure that the poor segments of society do not face financial challenges.

Imran Khan said the Federal Government opted for imposition of smart lockdown and eased restrictions for many sectors of economy. The decision proved fruitful as the smart lockdown had not only slowed down the transmission of the deadly virus but also helped save the economy from a major crisis.

He said the government had now decided to go hard for the implementation of standard operating procedures (SOPs). The smart lockdown would be imposed in hotspot areas across the country.

He regretted that some elements were doing politics on the coronavirus. The Federal Government had not done any kind of discrimination with any province, he added.

About local government system, Imran Khan said the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf was the only party which believed in devolution of powers to the local level and its provincial government practically executed the plan in that regard in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in 2013.

He said the local government system was important for the resolution of people's problems at local level. Under the new system being announced by the incumbent government, the mayors of cities would be elected directly by the citizens and that would help address the issues being faced by the mega city of Karachi.

To a question regarding the locust attack, the prime minister said the emergency had been declared in the country since January 31 and the Federal Government was...