ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Imran Khan on Tuesday said the government would contribute four rupees to every rupee donated in COVID Relief Fund.

“The relief fund has been fixed for the deserving people who have been laid off due to the lockdown,” he said in a tweet.

Yesterday I met recipients of #EhsaasEmergencyCash Category IV for labourers laid off work, funded by Prime Minister’s COVID Relief Fund. For every rupee donated, govt will give 4 more. Ehsaas data & transparency rules apply fully. Applications are open at https://t.co/yQ1oWiVt8w

— Imran Khan (@ImranKhanPTI) May 19, 2020

The prime minister said Ehsaas data and transparency rules would apply on the payments to be made to the labourers.

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Minister of State for Climate Change Zartaj Gul has said the government welcomed the Supreme Court verdict on lockdown as both the government and apex court were on the same page regarding the lockdown strategy against spreading of coronavirus pandemic.

One day ago, the apex court, while hearing a suo moto case on lockdown strategy against coronavirus, had directed that markets should be opened on weekends as well and shopping malls should also be allowed to open.

Zartaj Gul said the government had already announced easing of lockdown in phase-wise manner with full standard operating procedures.

On May 13, Prime Minister’s Focal Person on Corona Philanthropy Drive Khurshid Alam had said that more than 3.5 billion rupees had been donated to Prime Minister Corona Relief Fund to help people whose jobs had been affected by the coronavirus pandemic lockdowns.

He had said people from all walks of life, government departments, private organizations and philanthropists were contributing to the Relief Fund.

The Focal Person had said the Prime Minister would soon announce the beginning of the fund’s disbursement among the deserving people.