Imran asks provinces to 'reassess' complete lockdowns.

ISLAMABAD -- Prime Minister Imran Khan on Wednesday called for unity among all segments of the society, including the political parties, to fight and win the war against corona virus (COVID-19) as a nation, however, his move to go offline without hearing the speeches of the major opposition leaders saw the meeting of the parliamentary leaders of various political parties through video-link end on a bad note.

'The government alone cannot fight and win this war against Corona virus. We can win this war together as a nation,' Imran said during his online speech, as he briefed the parliamentary leaders about the measures taken by the government since the outbreak of corona virus in the Chinese city of Wuhan in December last year, and particularly after the arrival of pilgrims from Iran via Taftan border.

He gave an overview of the government's response against COVID-19, including the establishment of a quarantine centre and a make-shift screening facility at Taftan, a remote area located 700 kilometres from Quetta.

PM Imran said that since the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and Pakistan People's Party (PPP) have governments in Gilgit-Baltistan (GB) and Azad Kashmir and Kashmir (AJK) and Sindh, therefore, it is vital for all parties to sit together to take effective decisions against COVID-19.

He said that the government's decision not to bring its students back from Wuhan, despite the pressure from parents and media, went well in terms of checking the transmission of corona virus from China to Pakistan.

'However, after the outbreak of corona virus in Iran, they did not have the capacity like that of China to tackle COVID-19, Pakistani pilgrims had to travel back to Pakistan through Taftan border,' he said.Giving the figures of COVID-19 patients in Pakistan, he said, it was a good omen that only 153 out of a total of around 900 Corona virus patients as of March 24, were those who had contracted the virus locally.

The prime minister recalled that when there were only 21 corona virus cases in Pakistan, the government summoned the meetings of National Security Committee (NSC) and National Coordination Committee (NCC) and decided to go for initial lockdown through closure of educational institutions, suspension of sports activities, suspension of March 23 parade and other gatherings.

He said that though he was opposed to the idea of complete lockdown for certain reasons, Sindh, Balochistan, Khyber Pakhtunkhawa (KP) and Punjab, which had the...