ISLAMABAD - Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Qamar Javed Bajwa has emphasized the need to manage the health crisis along with the economic slide.
While complimenting civil and military components of the central coronavirus authority during his visit to the National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC) premises on Wednesday, the COAS emphasised the need for continued stratified risk assessment, and managing the trinity of health crisis, economic slide and psycho-social impact through efficient resource management.
Earlier, upon his arrival, the COAS was received by Lieutenant General Hamood Uz Zaman Khan, Commander Army Air Defence Command and National Coordinator NCOC.
According to a press release issued by the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) directorate, the COAS was briefed in detail by Major General Asif Mehmood Goraya, DG Operations & Planning NCOC, about COVID-19 related multi-sectoral situation, implementation of NCC decisions, projections about likely spread of the disease in Pakistan and support being extended to civil administration against the pandemic.
The COAS was also apprised about the national strategy for ‘test, trace and quarantine’ aimed at identifying disease spread and focused clusters/hotspots, to enable targeted lockdowns and need-driven resource optimisation at all levels.
The COAS lauded the remarkable efforts of NCOC for formulating and implementing COVID-19 response despite resource and time constraints. Pakistan Army in collaboration with other national institutions should take all possible measures to bring comfort to the nation in these challenging times particularly during Ramazan, the COAS concluded.