Staff Reporter
Islamabad
Sindh Minister for Transport Owais Shah on Sunday told Railways Minister Shaikh Rashid Ahmed that trains will not operate from Karachi for a while.
“We are worried about the people and you are worried about trains?” the minister told Rashid in a press conference. He added that if train service resumes then controlling the coronavirus would be very difficult.
“Mr Shaikh if you are not accountable to provinces then neither are the provinces,” said the minister. Owais said that transport in the province will reopen after Eid.
“We have begun preparations for resuming transport services with SOPs in place,” said Shah. He said a four-point summary has been prepared to provide relief to transporters and has been sent to the chief minister for approval. A final decision will be taken by the chief minister following a meeting on Monday.
Meanwhile, RaiIways Minister Shaikh Rashid Ahmed has announced that he would give his final decision on resuming services by Tuesday after meeting Prime Minister Imran Khan.
The minister stated that if he does not get the approval from the premier then he will return the money taken from the passengers in 15 days from Wednesday onwards.
“If I get approval by tomorrow then I will work on SOPs,” said the minister. He added that he is under no obligation to follow advice of the CMs as his ministry falls under the PM Imran’s domain. In Lahore, public transport owners have refused to resume operations in Punjab until the provincial government sets up standard operating procedures in collaboration with them and takes back the decision to offer a 20% reduction in fares.
Addressing a press conference, All Pakistan Public Transport Owners Federation Chairperson Asmatullah Niazi said the group was in touch with organisations across the country and that public transport in Punjab would not resume today as had been announced on Friday by the Punjab government. The government of Punjab has not provided us with written SOPs yet, Niazi said, adding that until representatives of the leadership did not sit down to discuss and formulate the guidelines, they would not reopen the public transport services.
Furthermore, he said he was informed that anyone over 50 years of age — be they a passenger, driver or conductor — would not be allowed on the bus.
“There’s a 20% cut in fares and now 50% fewer customers […] We have to pay toll taxes, traffic challans from the motorway police, bus stand charges, and various other expenses as well.
“We cannot run public transport operations with 90% deficit,” Niazi added.
Meanwhile,KP chief minister’s adviser Ajmal Wazir has warned that if residents fail to follow standard operating procedures, the government will impose restrictions again.
He said that the government has allowed public transport to resume operations in the province but SOPs have been laid out. The government will continue to monitor activities to ensure that preventive measures are being followed, Wazir said, adding that if people follow SOPs, restrictions will be eased further. Confirmed cases in the country rose to 41,300 after Sindh recorded more cases. The province-wise tally of Covid-19 hit 14,584 cases in Punjab, 16,377 in Sindh, 6,061 in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, 2,692 in Balochistan, 527 in Gilgit-Baltistan, 947 in Islamabad and 112 in Azad Jammu and Kashmir.
The virus has claimed 896 lives while 11,341 coronavirus patients have recovered.
According to Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah, 787 cases were recorded in the province in the last 24 hours. He also reported nine more deaths from the virus in the province.
The Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Health Department, in its daily situational report, has confirmed 13 more casualties due to coronavirus in the last 24 hours to bring the provincial death toll to 318.
Out of 13 new deaths, eight were reported from Peshawar, two from Swat, and one each in Swabi, Karak and Kohat and 214 new cases of Covid-19 – nine from International flights quarantine center – were reported, taking the total to 6,061.
Punjab’s Primary and Secondary Healthcare Department has reported 383 new coronavirus cases, taking the provincial tally to 14,584. It has also reported seven more deaths, taking the total fatalities to 255. Balochistan government spokesperson Liaquat Shahwani has warned that the provincial government can “convert smart lockdown into strict lockdown” if standard operating procedures are not followed.
