Prime Minister Imran Khan has said that it is time to move on to the smart lockdown as the coronavirus is unavoidable and the people will have to live with it.

While talking to the senior journalists during a live transmission, Ehsaas telethone, the PM said “I had been advocating cautiousness regarding lockdown from day one. Now see, the world has already moved to the smart lockdown.”

The PM said that we’ve to adapt to local situations in order to deal the pandemic, adding that he was against the complete lockdown from day one.

About the much criticized government’s decision, particularly by the senior doctors around the country, of opening the mosques, PM Imran said “How would it look like that we beat or arrest people headed for the mosques,” and added “that’s why, we asked the ulema to persuade people to follow SOPs.”

He said that the ulema have ensured to government to follow the 20-points SOPs agreed upon between the government and the ulema.

About opening the construction industry, the PM said “it was a tough decision to open this sector, and you can see we have given unprecedented packages to construction industry.”

“But you will see it is the construction industry that will (hopefully) lift the country, as there are at least 40 sub-industries attached to it.”

While reiterating his oft-quoted stance against a complete lockdown, PM Imran said, “The decisions taken in panic often backfire,” and cited Indian example. “You can see how terrible was Modi’s decision who abruptly locked down the whole country, shutting off the entire transport system.”

He also cited the example of the United States where more than 40,000 people have died yet the government is considering moving towards reopening shops and businesses.

"No one knows for how long this will last," he said, adding that the Prime Minister's Coronavirus Relief Fund will be used to help people who were suffering till their businesses were shut.  "I spoke to Trump. Even he is concerned with the economy collapsing, despite their resources. Everyone agrees it is unsustainable," he said.

Speaking about the criticism he had faced due to his decision to refrain from ordering a complete lockdown, the prime minister said that previous decisions were made keeping in mind the country's elite.

He urged critics to go to impoverished areas of the country and in katchi abadis to see for themselves the living conditions of people. "If this (coronavirus) spreads in slums, it will not stay there. It will spread to Defence (and other posh areas)," he said.

The prime minister said it was his wish that the interest rate was further lowered so that the business community and Pakistanis will be able to benefit from it. He said that every crisis was an opportunity.

"I gave a tremendous package to the construction sector," he said. "This is an opportunity as we were not able to do this in the past. If our construction sector gets going, then 40 other industries related to it will also progress," he added.

In response to a question, the prime minister said that Pakistan had only been included among the 70 nations of the world that were provided debt relief. "We haven't gotten any relief as of yet. Further negotiations will be held in future," he said.

The PM said he realises the doctor’s concern relating to government’s decision of allowing people to go to mosques, and added that “it is up to nation to decide whether or not to go to the mosques, and we have to take collective responsibility in order to stop the coronavirus from spreading.”

However, he said if people disregarded the 20-points SOPs, the government would be forced to close mosques as well.

The PM said the government follows up with Pakistanis stranded abroad every day.

"We are working hard to bring them back," the premier said.

Prime Minister Imran Khan said the government will use deficit funding "if needed" to save the economy.

Responding to a question on whether the budget would be affected by coronavirus, the premier said that "tax collection will decrease, revenue will decrease". He added that it was important to support industries and the government would plan accordingly.

Prime Minister Khan revealed that police and federal investigation agency (FIA) officials are involved in ensuring transparency in the government's Ehsaas cash disbursement programme.

"This will be the most transparent programme in the country's history," the premier said, adding that it had taken 10 months to constitute the database for the programme and beneficiaries would be "vetted".

Prime Minister Khan said that the government is using a system for tracing suspected coronavirus cases provided by the Inter-services Intelligence (ISI). "It was originally meant to trace terrorists but we're using it to tackle corona."

He added that "tracking and testing is the only way to reopen businesses".

Prime Minister Khan said that there is no "political interference" in the government's Ehsaas cash disbursement programme and the entire process is computerised.

The premier said that he did not start fundraising [to help those affected by coronavirus] until he "fixed the financial controls". The prime minister added that there has "never been such a transparent programme in the country's history"

"No single government can battle the pandemic. The entire nation needs to join hands to fight this virus, keeping in mind the times that are ahead," he said. 

PM Imran urged people to adopt safety precautions against the coronavirus. "The virus spreads at a very fast rate," he said. "There have been viruses and people have been infected with the flu before. But this is unprecedented," he added.

Speaking about his experience of collecting donations for the Shaukat Khanum Cancer Hospital, the prime minister said that he had encountered various people from around the country while building the hospital. "I always tell this to my children and to others as well. Whenever you spend in the way of Allah, it brings you a lot of other rewards, such as the feeling of contentment," he said, adding that one's bank balance should not be the measure of his wealth. "True wealth is what you feel inside," he added.

He praised the Ehsaas Cash Emergency Programme, saying that the initiative was based on merit and computerized. PM Imran said that he was proud of the programme and praised Dr Sania Nishtar for playing a pivotal role in ensuring that it became a success. "The most amount of cash distributed has been in Sindh, where our party is not in power," he said, adding that this was reflective of the programme's transparency.