The government of Sindh has decided to close all private and government educational institutions till March 13 as a precautionary measure to protect students from coronavirus. The news was confirmed by provisional minister Sindh. According to a statement issued by the Sindh CM house, at least 738 people have arrived in Karachi from Iran and over 13,000 people are still at the Taftan border. Their families will also be screened by the health authorities.
After multiple reservations from the Asia Internet Coalition, the government has halted the implementation of its law to regulate social media. In a letter to Prime Minister Imran Khan, the coalition expressed its disapproval over the law. It threatened that if the regulation is not taken back, services of social media platforms such as YouTube, Facebook, Twitter and Google will no longer be provided in the country.
Two new coronavirus cases have been reported in Pakistan, taking the total number of cases in the country to four. Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Health Dr Zafar Mirza confirmed this in a press conference on Saturday. One of the patients is from Karachi while the second case was confirmed in the federal areas. The health department said this new case is unrelated to the previous case reported in Karachi of a 22-year-old male.
The European Union (EU) has agreed to provide a €13 million grant to Pakistan to improve its fiscal policies and budget preparations. The agreement was signed in the presence of Minister for Economic Affairs Hammad Azhar, who added that the grant will help Pakistan with macro-fiscal policies, budget processes, and forecasting. Azhar said that the public financial support would be utilized at Sindh, Balochistan and at a federal level.
The Pakistani government has decided to suspend all flights to and from Iran after the confirmation of Coronavirus cases in the country, officials from Aviation Division have confirmed. The suspension shall remain enacted until further notice. Following the outbreak of the deadly virus in Iran, the government also suspended bus and train service between Pakistan and Iran.
A crackdown has been initiated in Islamabad against those selling surgical masks at high prices amid panic in the country about the coronavirus outbreak. One man was arrested after a medical store in A-11 was raided as he was selling a Rs5 mask for Rs120. Additional Deputy Commissioner Omer Randhawa headed the raids conducted in several of Islamabad’s medical stores.
The first case of coronavirus has been confirmed in Karachi, officials at the Sindh health department said Wednesday. The 22-year-old patient, Yahya Jaffri recently traveled to Iran from Karachi and has been placed in quarantine at the Aga Khan University Hospital. He traveled to Karachi from Iran in a plane. All passengers traveling with him will be examined by the government.
Pakistan’s former army chief General (r) Mirza Aslam Beg says the US Central intelligence agency (CIA) is responsible for the 1988 plane crash that killed then president and army chief Ziaul Haq. In an interview, Beg told Turkish Anadolu news agency that the plane crash was not an accident, but sabotage. An internal inquiry conducted by the military intelligence also raised suspicion about the role of the CIA in the plane crash.
Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) has discontinued its flight operations for China and Japan for at least three weeks in the wake of the coronavirus outbreak. While announcing the halt of flight operations on Monday, the airline spokesperson said that the ban is a precautionary measure. The decision on whether to resume flights or extend the ban will be taken next week.
Islamabad Traffic Police (ITP) has lack of working speed cameras in the city due to which they have been unable to monitor any speed limit violations. This has led to multiple fatalities due to road accidents each year. Speed monitoring cameras were set up at various locations across the city for the ITP to monitor both speed and lane violations but unfortunately, it failed to do so.