Pakistanis were left confused on Sunday after contradictory statements from their leaders, with Prime Minister Imran Khan refusing to order a lockdown to prevent further spread of the coronavirus and chief minister Syed Murad Ali Shah ordering a fortnight’s lockdown in Sindh province.

Khan, in a nationwide address, said he could not order a lockdown in a country where 25 per cent of the population lived below the poverty line.

At the same time, however, he asked people to exercise self-lockdown, contradicting his refusal to order a lockdown.

Three of Pakistan’s four provinces — Sindh, Balochistan and Punjab — have asked the army to aid the civil administration in battling the virus, as the toll from Covid-19 rose to three with 646 confirmed cases and 5,646 suspected cases in the country.

Pakistan has already suspended all international flight operations and closed its borders with Iran and Afghanistan.