Prime Minister Imran Khan has ordered the Federal Investigation Agency to take strict action against social media users posting anti-judiciary content. The premier has instructed the FIA director-general to form a separate team to look into the matter and submit a report soon. The FIA has been asked to curb propaganda against Chief Justice Gulzar Ahmed and other Supreme Court judges.
The police have sealed 107 shops and arrested 78 people in Balochistan for violating the lockdown. A lockdown has been imposed in the province to stop the spread of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19). A total of 281 known cases have been reported in the province. Forty new cases emerged on Thursday, according to Balochistan government spokesperson Liaquat Shahwani.
Pakistan Railway ministry has decided to partially restore passenger train operations across all four provinces upon the end of a lockdown. About 24 trains will start functioning for up and down operations after approval from the prime minister before April 25. Reservation offices may remain closed even after the end of lockdown while customers will be able to purchase tickets online.
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa will be converting its schools, colleges and business centres into sub jails amid the coronavirus pandemic. According to reports, the prisons of the province are highly over-crowded which poses a threat to prisoners, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic. The government has, therefore, decided to shift them to 18 places in the province that have been declared sub jails.
Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah said that the next two weeks of the lockdown will be more intense. He appealed to the public to adhere to the restrictions. He emphasised that the reason all provinces have agreed to increase the lockdown is because our combat with the novel coronavirus isn’t over yet. He also explained explained that certain industries were exempted from the lockdown after a calculated analysis.
Punjab is preparing to conduct 10,000 tests for the novel coronavirus in a day, revealed Chief Minister Usman Buzdar on Wednesday. More than 43,000 COVID-19 tests have been conducted in the province so far, he said. According to Buzdar, the province has been taking precautionary measures to contain the virus by disinfecting areas. Field hospitals with 4,500 beds have been prepared and eight new laboratories will soon be opened.
Local one tola and 10 gram gold price in the country reached a peak of Rs100,400 and Rs86,076, respectively, on Tuesday. There was a gain of Rs700 and Rs600 in per tola and 10 gram prices from Monday. The local bullion body continues to issue “prices only for idea” since the shutdown of local markets – including jewellery shops – due to the Covid-19 lockdown.
Pakistan has urged China to ease in payment obligations of over $30 billion worth of about 12,000-megawatt power projects under the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC). This will help Pakistan minimise its financial and economic difficulties. This is part of the ongoing government efforts to secure discounts and savings on power purchases from independent power producers (IPPs) as circular debt liabilities cross Rs2 trillion.
Singer-songwriter Abdullah Qureshi has released a new single ‘Daro Na’, to pay tribute to the masked heroes fighting the coronavirus. Qureshi, who also produced the song, says he wrote it over a video call with his band mates. He said that he himself was feeling sad about what is going around the world and this song is just to lighten a candle of hope in people’s hearts.
Students and teachers from remote areas of the country will especially benefit from the new Teleschool Channel, Special Assistant to PM on Information and Broadcasting Firdous Ashiq Awan said. The channel was launched by Prime Minister Imran Khan on April 13 to make up for the academic loss faced by students because of coronavirus pandemic. The channel will also contribute to to the overall literacy rate in the country, she added.