{"id":105738,"date":"2026-03-30T20:09:22","date_gmt":"2026-03-30T15:09:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dailyausaf.com\/en\/?p=105738"},"modified":"2026-03-30T20:09:22","modified_gmt":"2026-03-30T15:09:22","slug":"smart-lockdown-ruled-out-as-provinces-oppose-decision","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dailyausaf.com\/en\/featured\/smart-lockdown-ruled-out-as-provinces-oppose-decision\/","title":{"rendered":"Smart lockdown ruled out as provinces oppose decision in key govt meeting"},"content":{"rendered":"

ISLAMABAD: In an important meeting chaired by the President, the government has decided not to implement a smart lockdown<\/a> in the country due to opposition from the provinces.<\/p>\n

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif held an important meeting with President Asif Ali Zardari at the Presidential Palace.<\/p>\n

Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar, former Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi, and National Security Advisor Lieutenant General Asim Malik also attended the meeting.<\/p>\n

The overall national security situation was discussed in detail in the meeting, while the changing situation in the region and its possible impact on Pakistan were also reviewed.<\/p>\n

The participants consulted on the economic, energy, and security challenges facing the country and agreed on a comprehensive strategy to address them.<\/p>\n

The meeting emphasized that a coordinated strategy should be adopted at the national level and that coordination should be ensured at the institutional level.<\/p>\n

In the meeting, the Chief Ministers of the four provinces opposed the implementation of a smart lockdown across the country as part of energy conservation measures, and the meeting decided not to implement a smart lockdown.<\/p>\n

The meeting was briefed that Prime Minister Muhammad Shahbaz Sharif has repeatedly rejected proposals to increase oil prices, and the money saved from austerity measures is being spent on public relief.<\/p>\n

The briefing said that the government has taken steps such as reducing expenditure, cutting the development budget, and immediately stopping the use of 60% of government vehicles.<\/p>\n

The President said that the economically weaker sections will not be left alone in difficult times.<\/p>\n

The President directed to ensure integrated decision-making and create coordination in the sectors of economy, energy, food security, and security.<\/p>\n

According to the statement, the President also stressed the need to conduct a public awareness campaign to encourage reduced fuel consumption, promote public transport, and adopt shared travel facilities.<\/p>\n

President Asif Ali Zardari has directed that, in view of the pressure on oil and gas supply, rising energy prices, and the changing situation in the region, all possible steps should be taken to reduce the burden of inflation on the people, especially the common man, and steps should be taken, especially regarding essential commodities and basic services.<\/p>\n

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, the leadership of the four provinces, the leadership of Gilgit-Baltistan, and Azad Jammu and Kashmir also participated in the consultative meeting.<\/p>\n

In addition, National Security Advisor Lieutenant General Asim Malik, Chairman PPP Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb, Information Minister Attaullah Tarar, Law Minister Azam Nazir Tarar, Planning Minister Ahsan Iqbal, Petroleum Minister Ali Pervez Malik, and Economic Affairs Minister Ahad Khan Cheema were also present.<\/p>\n

Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz Sharif, Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Muhammad Sohail Afridi, Balochistan Chief Minister Sarfaraz Bugti attended the meeting, while Gilgit-Baltistan Caretaker Chief Minister Yar Muhammad, Azad Kashmir Prime Minister Faisal Mumtaz Rathore also attended the meeting.<\/p>\n

A briefing was given on the steps taken by the four provincial governments, Gilgit-Baltistan and Azad Kashmir, to control inflationary pressures, ensure the supply of essential commodities, and reduce the impact on the people.<\/p>\n

The meeting also reviewed the overall situation in the region and its potential impact on Pakistan\u2019s security, economy, and food security, while the briefing stated that despite the global crisis, there was no disruption in fuel supply due to timely decisions.<\/p>\n

The participants were informed in the briefing that there are ample reserves to meet the country\u2019s needs.<\/p>\n

In addition, Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar informed the meeting about the government\u2019s active diplomatic efforts and briefed on recent contacts with the leadership of Turkey, Saudi Arabia, and Egypt, and discussions with leaders of the countries involved in the conflict.<\/p>\n

The Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister also briefed on his upcoming visit to Beijing.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

ISLAMABAD: In an important meeting chaired by the President, the government has decided not to implement a smart lockdown in the country due to opposition from the provinces. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif held an important meeting with President Asif Ali Zardari at the Presidential Palace. Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar, former Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":29,"featured_media":105741,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[13446,2],"tags":[10218,38995],"class_list":["post-105738","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-featured","category-pakistan","tag-smart-lockdown","tag-provinces-oppose-decision"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyausaf.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/105738","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyausaf.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyausaf.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyausaf.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/29"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyausaf.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=105738"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/dailyausaf.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/105738\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":105742,"href":"https:\/\/dailyausaf.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/105738\/revisions\/105742"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyausaf.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/105741"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyausaf.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=105738"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyausaf.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=105738"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyausaf.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=105738"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}