Governor Sindh Imran Ismail has said that Corona Relief Tiger Force (CRTF) would formally be launched in the province immediately after Eid-ul-Fitr which consists of over 157,000 persons hailing from various walks of life. This, he said, while addressing a press conference at Governor House here on Thursday. Member National Assembly Aftab Siddiqui, Member Provincial Assembly Khurram Sherzaman and Ashraf Qureshi were also present on the occasion. The governor said that Tiger Force would be deployed at Ehsaas centres and utility stores so as to facilitate masses visiting these places. Giving break up of persons registered in CRTF, he informed the miedia that 48416 Students, 2275 Medical Workers, 9251 Engineers, 5931 Teachers, 10293 Civil Servants, 1877 Armed Forces Personnel, 3959 NGO Workers, 591 Journalists, 15822 Private Business, 1099 Lawyers, 21124 Social Workers, and 3788 are from Corporate Sector while by qualification 31751 are Matriculate / O Levels, 34207 FA / FSc / A Levels, 22558 Bachelors Degree, 11671, Masters Degree, 533 MBBS, 943 MPhil / MS, 264 Doctorate, 98 Post Doctorate, 16928 Middle School have registered themselves to work as volunteers in the Tiger Force, Their passion is unmatchable as they want to serve their beloved country without any monetary benefit, he remarked. He said that this force would not only help deserving persons coming to Ehsaas centres for emergency cash, but would also ensure that masses get discounted items from utility stores. It is very unfortunate that provincial government has declined to adopt Tiger Force and utilize its services, he added and said that Prime Minister has entrusted him with the responsibility to lead this force and he would do his utmost to utilize it in a befitting manner. He said that the registered persons of this force have no political background and they are only concerned with serving their fellow citizen. On a question of imposition of governor’s rule in the province, he said that till date there is no truth in the news. I am also seeing this rumour like you are on TV channels, he said. On a query regarding differences between Federal and Provincial Governments, the Governor said that for ensuring better services to the masses of Sindh, Sindh Government must coordinate with the Federal Government, if I have a query or matter, I call Chief Minister Sindh so why provincial Government is reluctant to contact Prime Minister of Pakistan to present their case in front of him, he added. He said that Prime Minister is saying from the beginning that Pakistan could not afford complete lockdown as our ground realities are totally different from specially developed countries. “We have a huge number of persons who work on daily wages and they are badly affected during the lockdown,” he added. In a reply o a question about the affects of Covid-19 on federally-funded development projects, he said that the facilitation agreement has been signed by the Sindh Government yesterday and the tenders for purchase of busses for green line would be floated soon after Eid ul Fitr.
