China has sent eight health experts in a special flight to Pakistan as a part of its assistance to help Pakistan combat the novel coronavirus. According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the special flight will land at the Islamabad International Airport and the special team will stay in the country for two weeks.
The Pakistan Post has started delivering pensions to people across the country on their doorsteps, Federal Minister for Postal Services Murad Saeed confirmed on Saturday. More than Rs1.3 million have successfully been delivered to 275,000 pensioners across the country. Saeed has credited the success of the project to the employees of the Pakistan Post and called them “real heroes”.
Six hundred bottles of fake hand sanitiser were seized at a plaza in Peshawar’s Faqirabad. The raid was jointly conducted by the district administration, Peshawar Additional Assistant Commissioner Muhammad Shafiq Afridi and Faqirabad SHO Javed Akhtar. Some arrests were also made. The country is currently facing a shortage of face masks and hand sanitiser amid its battle with the coronavirus.
The Sindh government announced on Thursday that it will release Rs580 million for the distribution of food supplies to daily wage workers in the province. According to Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah, Rs20 million will be allocated to each district in the province. The amount will be given to district commissioners of each union council who will then distribute ration among the lower-income groups.
Friday congregations will continue in Pakistan and mosques will not be placed on lockdown, according to Central Ruet-i-Hilal Committee Chairman Mufti Muneeb-ur-Rehman. Rehman said the meeting could not reach a consensus on a decree issued by Egypt’s Al-Azhar University. The decree said that a Muslim government could suspend congregational prayers. Rehman said people should offer sunnah and nawafil at home for all prayers, including Friday’s.
Motorway Police announced that all motorways in Pakistan will remain closed for general traffic. The decision was taken in a bid to restrict movement and help prevent the further spread of the coronavirus. For now, only fuel tankers and vehicles that are transporting essential items such as food will allowed to travel.
The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) has increased the printing of its currency notes to replace the coroanvirus-contaminated notes. Experts have said that following the decision, it’s likely that inflation would go up, causing prices of essential items to increase. Economist Baqir Jaffari clarified that prices of in the economy increase when the bank increases its liabilities and the money supply in the economy without any reason.
The price of petrol has been slashed by Rs15 as a breather for the public under a complete lockdown due to the coronavirus outbreak in Pakistan. After the cost reduction, petrol will be available for Rs96.58 per litre while high diesel will cost Rs107.25 and light diesel be sold for Rs62.51 per litre. Meanwhile, kerosene oil will cost Rs77.45.
A dedicated television channel will be launched to resume education for children while schools remain closed, Education Minister Shafqat Mahmood said in a tweet Tuesday. Mahmood said although the move will require a lot of work, it is expected to start early next month. To prevent any compromises made on education, the education ministry and the Higher Education Commission have been working on ways to resume courses for students.
Prime Minister Imran Khan announced on Tuesday a special economic package to help the people amid the coronavirus lockdown in the country. Rs200 billion will be allocated for labourers and Rs150 billion for poor families and Rs3000 per month will be given to them. The premier also announced Rs100 billion tax refunds for businesses and industries.