Prime Minister Imran Khan on Friday announced that he will continue to support Afghan brothers and sisters despite global coronavirus outbreak.
Khan announce the opening of the Chaman-Spin Boldak border to Afghanistan for trucks to crossover to the other side.
In an early Friday tweet, Imran said, “Despite global pandemic of COVID 19, we remain committed to supporting our Afghan brothers & sisters”. The premier added that he had given instructions to open the border between Chaman and Spin Boldak, Kandahar. He also told authorities to “let trucks crossover into Afghanistan”.
“In time of crisis, we remain steadfast with Afghanistan,” he asserted.
Despite global pandemic of COVID 19, we remain committed to supporting our Afghan brothers & sisters. I have given instructions to open the Chaman-Spinboldak border & let trucks crossover into Afghanistan. In time of crisis, we remain steadfast with Afghanistan.
— Imran Khan (@ImranKhanPTI) March 20, 2020
However, the federal government had taken the decision to close Pakistan’s border with Afghanistan after the outbreak of the novel coronavirus last month. The government had issued a letter with regard to the closure of the Pak-Afghan border crossing at Chaman.
Earlier, ex-Afghanistan CEO Abdullah Abdullah thanked PM Khan for keeping the Chaman-Boldak border open. “I thank PM Imran and Pakistan government for accepting our people and traders’ call to keep the Chaman-Boldak border open for the flow of foodstuff and key commodities at this critical time,” Abdullah tweeted.
He had added that Afghanistan highly appreciates this gesture as it further strengthens bilateral ties between the two countries.
PM Imran’s decision comes at a time when countries across the globe have close down borders and restricted air travel. It is all to contain the deadly pneumonia-like virus that has caused over 9,000 deaths and infected over 200,000.
Khan’s decision raising many eyebrows
Khan’s decision has however raised many questions now.
Khan addressed the nation on Tuesday regarding the outbreak of coronavirus in Pakistan. There was no content or hope for Pakistanis in his speech.
Infact, it was surprising because he himself warned the nation that ‘this virus will spread’. It should have been followed by steps and decisions taken by the government to deal with the situation. However, instead, he only appealed to the people to take good care of themselves. He even said that he can’t lock down cities as it will affect the economy.
Also Read: Pakistan Requests Aid From World Bank To Fight Coronavirus!
I wonder whether he realized the consequences of not going for partial or complete lockdown even for a week.
Pakistan’s ‘good friend’ China went for lockdown and is now getting good results. Many other countries are also now looking for this option. Sindh government has been doing a really good job and efficiently handling this difficult situation.
Coronavirus cases in Pakistan has been growing with each passing day. The number of confirmed coronavirus cases in Pakistan have jumped to 454 after Balochistan, Punjab, Sindh, Gilgit-Baltistan and Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa announced an increase in their provincial tallies.
