ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Imran Khan will chair the National Coordination Committee (NCC) meeting today to review the lockdown restrictions across the country and discuss the reopening of businesses along with intercity and inter-provincial transportation.

Federal Minister for Aviation Ghulam Sarwar Khan already said on Wednesday that the government had decided to resume domestic flight operations and wanted further relaxation in lockdown constraints to boost the country’s dwindling economy, adding that the prime minister would make a formal announcement in that regard after Thursday’s NCC consultative meeting with provincial administrations.

The minister made the statement after the meeting of the National Command and Operation Center (NCOC) in Islamabad. Soon after his news conference, however, local news channels reported there was still some policy friction between the center and provinces.

According to Saeed Ghani, a representative of Sindh province, “almost all provinces opposed the idea” of opening inter-provincial and intercity transportation. He told Geo TV that the government had shared the proposal, along with other recommendations discussed during the meeting, with provincial governments. However, there was little consensus between the center and provinces on most of the suggestions.

Ghani expressed his surprise at the aviation minister’s announcement that the NCOC had already decided some of the matters while the federal-provincial consultations remained pending ahead of the NCC meeting.

Discussing the issue, Liaquat Shahwani, spokesperson of the Balochistan government, noted that local transmission of coronavirus had significantly increased in his province, adding that his administration’s top priority was not trade and business at this point but to ensure the protection of people’s lives.

Responding to a question about his government’s position on lockdown restrictions in the wake of the NCOC meeting, he told the news channel that previous relaxations had also created a public perception that the threat of COVID-19 was receding, resulting in greater infections.

Meanwhile, Radio Pakistan reported that the NCC meeting today will also discuss opening of education institutes from the beginning of the next month.