KARACHI                    -                    More people would die of hunger than coronavirus if the government failed to announce a huge support package to keep the wheels of industry moving; otherwise, the supply chain would seriously suffer and the country would witness food riots.

 This was stated by Pasban Democratic Party (PDP), Chairman Altaf Shakoor here on Tuesday.

He said that the Pakistani industrialists are praiseworthy as despite lack of any support from the government side they are trying hard that their workers are not rendered jobless and the wheels of industry keep moving.

He said however, without a government support no industrialist can continue paying wages to workers on sustainable basis, when their production and selling is affected.

 He warned if the industry suffers, it would bring a Tsunami of unemployment and more people would die of hunger that coronavirus infection.

He said crime and depression levels are on the rise in whole Pakistan and soon food riots would emerge if the government failed to maintain the already threatened supply chain.

He said many big industries have monthly salary bills of several millions and due to liquidity crunch they cannot pay these salaries to their workers.

He said if the lockdown continued, it would result in a huge economic devastation of Pakistan.

Shakoor warned that our economy is not as strong as the economies of western countries.

He said the Pakistani people do not have gotten enough social security cover to sustain longer periods of lockdown and business inactivity.

He said the government would not get anything by arrests and blackmailing of industrialists and if the government is serious to save lives of Pakistanis, they should work to ensure resumption of industrial and commercial activities after ensuring proper social distance protocols and precautions.

The PDP chief regretted that the federal and provincial governments are busy in mudslinging and blame-gaming even in the times of coronavirus.

He asked the Sindh and federal governments to stop politicizing maneuvering and try to save the mega City Karachi, as if this revenue engine of Pakistan is halted the whole nation and country would feel very serious consequences.