ISLAMABAD, APR 04 (DNA) – Prime Minister of Pakistan on Saturday said that Pakistan faced a dilemma where it has to make the most difficult decisions to create an intricate balance amidst the lockdown and stop its poor from starving to death, media reported.

Taking to the micro-blogging website Twitter, the premier said that their is a very real danger to Pakistan’s teetering economy as the country and the world goes through the global coronavirus pandemic.

“In the subcontinent, with a high rate of poverty, we are faced with the stark choice of having to balance between a lockdown necessary to slow down/prevent the spread of COVID19 & ensuring people don’t die of hunger & our economy doesn’t collapse. So we are walking a tightrope.”

A follow-up tweet on the matter read: “We have locked down educational institutions, Malls, marriage halls, restaurants & other places where public congregates. But, to stop the devastation of the lockdown we have kept our agri sector open & now we are opening up our construction sector.”

Prime Minister Imran Khan reiterated the government can’t confine 220 million people to their homes through a complete lockdown to arrest the spread of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19). Speaking at a media talk, he announced a “historic” stimulus package for the construction sector.

Stressing the need for striking a balance between the fight against the coronavirus pandemic and providing livelihoods to daily wagers, the prime minister said how can they ask the people to stay home even if they are hungry. =DNA

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