KARACHI: Pakistan on Friday temporarily opened its border with Iran at Taftan crossing point to allow 300 stranded nationals, mostly traders, to enter Balochistan province, officials said.
Pakistan closed its border with Iran on Monday after Tehran confirmed deaths from the deadly coronavirus.
“Today, we opened the border and allowed 300 people, mostly traders, stuck on the Iranian side to enter Pakistan,” Assistant Commissioner of Taftan, Najibullah Qambrani, told Arab News.
He said that all the pilgrims will be quarantined while the traders will be allowed to go if they are cleared during the initial screening.
However, he said that this will be conditional to whether their travel history confirms they have not visited the affected Iranian province.
A complete screening set-up has been installed at the border crossing to keep the virus from entering Pakistan, Qambrani said.
On Thursday, Pakistan suspended its flight operation to Iran after health authorities confirmed two cases of coronavirus — one in the southern port city of Karachi — who had returned from Iran to Pakistan on February 20 by air.
“One case has been reported in Sindh, whereas the second person tested positive in the federal (capital) areas,” State Minister for Health Zafar Mirza said during a press conference in Quetta.
Both the persons traveled to Iran in the past 14 days, Mirza said, adding that they were in stable condition.
The coronavirus patient in Sindh has been identified as a 22-year-old resident of Karachi who is already quarantined.
The man “and other members of his family have been quarantined at a private hospital,” Meeran Yousuf, spokesperson of the Sindh health department, told Arab News.
The development followed the establishment of isolation wards in hospitals and closure of education institutes for two days in Sindh and Balochistan.
Health emergency has been imposed in ten districts bordering Iran, according to a briefing given to chief minister Balochistan, Jam Kamal, on Friday. Around 5000 masks have also been distributed in sensitive districts while Isolation units have been established in different areas along Pakistan’s border with Iran and Afghanistan, according to an official handout released after the briefing.
The centers have been provided with ThermoGuns and 231 ambulances to tackle emergencies.
Education institutes in Balochistan have been temporarily closed until March 15 “as a precaution to protect children from coronavirus,” the province’s education directorate announced in a circular on Wednesday.
Chief Minister Sindh, Murad Ali Shah, said that data acquired from the aviation department confirmed that around 8,000 passengers had traveled from Iran where 1,500 of them had arrived in Karachi. “All of them would be contacted for screening.”
“A group of 28 people who had traveled along the coronavirus patient has also been identified and will be approached for screening,” Shah added, informing that the person suffering from the virus had been shifted to an isolated place from the Aga Khan Hospital in Karachi.
Iran has the highest number of coronavirus affectees outside of China. The country’s health ministry spokesman, Kianoush Jahanpour, said on Wednesday that 19 people had died from the illness, with 139 confirmed cases in the country.
The deadly virus has infected more than 80,000 people around the world, causing over 2,700 deaths, mainly in China, according to the World Health Organization.
300 stranded Pakistanis enter Balochistan after Iran border temporarily opened
https://arab.news/y69rw
300 stranded Pakistanis enter Balochistan after Iran border temporarily opened
- Two Pakistanis who recently returned from Iran tested positive for coronavirus
- Pakistan sealed its border with Iran after Tehran confirmed deaths from the virus on Monday
Pakistani, Saudi foreign ministers discuss regional situation amid Yemen tensions
- The development comes after ships transported weapons from UAE’s Fujairah to Yemen’s Mukalla without permission from Arab Coalition
- The UAE has announced withdrawal of its remaining counter-terrorism units in Yemen, citing recent developments and ongoing operations
ISLAMABAD: Pakistani and Saudi foreign ministers on Tuesday spoke over the phone and discussed the regional situation, the Pakistani foreign ministry said, amid escalating tensions over Yemen.
The development came hours after Saudi Arabia-led Coalition to Support Legitimacy in Yemen said it conducted a “limited” airstrike targeting two shipments of smuggled weapons and other military hardware coming from the Emirati port of Fujairah into Mukalla in southern Yemen.
Coalition Forces spokesman Major General Turki Al-Maliki said the weapons and combat vehicles were meant to support the Southern Transitional Council forces, backed by the United Arab Emirates (UAE), in Yemen’s Hadramaut and Al-Mahra “with the aim of fueling the conflict.”
Rashad Al-Alimi, leader of Yemen’s presidential council, on Tuesday announced a 90-day state of emergency, including a 72-hour air, sea and land blockade, and canceled a defense pact with the UAE, the state news agency said, calling for pullout of Emirati troops.
“Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister, Senator Mohammad Ishaq Dar, called Saudi Foreign Minister H.H. Prince Faisal bin Farhan,” the Pakistani foreign ministry said.
“Both leaders exchanged views on the current regional situation and recent developments.”
Disregarding previous agreements with the Arab Coalition, the Southern Transitional Council (STC) separatist group, launched a sweeping military campaign early in December, seizing the governorates of Hadramaut along the Saudi border and the eastern governorate of Al-Mahra in Yemen’s border with Oman.
STC forces captured the city of Seiyun, including its international airport and the presidential palace. They also took control of the strategic PetroMasila oilfields, which account for a massive portion of Yemen’s remaining oil wealth.
The advance has raised the spectre of the return of South Yemen, a separate state from 1967 to 1990, while dealing a hammer-blow to slow-moving peace negotiations with Iran-backed Houthi rebels.
Saudi Arabia on Tuesday expressed regret over what it described as pressure by the UAE on STC forces to carry out military operations in Yemen’s Hadramout and Al-Mahra governorates, warning that such actions pose a direct threat to the Kingdom’s national security and regional stability.
In a statement, the Saudi Ministry of Foreign Affairs said the reported moves were inconsistent with the principles of the Arab Coalition that supports the internationally recognized government of Yemen and undermined ongoing efforts to achieve security and stability in the country.
The UAE announced the withdrawal of its remaining counter-terrorism units in Yemen on Tuesday, citing recent developments and concerns over the safety and effectiveness of ongoing operations.
In a statement issued on Tuesday and carried on Emirates News Agency, the UAE Ministry of Defense said the decision was taken voluntarily and in coordination with relevant international partners, ensuring the safety of UAE personnel.
The UAE earlier reaffirmed its unwavering commitment to Saudi Arabia’s security and sovereignty, rejecting any actions that could threaten the Kingdom or undermine regional stability.
Separately, Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, along with Dar and other officials, met with UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al-Nahyan, who is on a private visit to the Pakistani city of Rahim Yar Khan following his first official visit to Islamabad earlier this month.
“He (Sharif) stressed upon the need for both sides to actively pursue enhancement in bilateral trade through a quantum jump which will bring it to the desired level,” Sharif’s office said in a statement.
“The two leaders also discussed ways to enhance cooperation in a wide range of areas including IT, energy, mining & minerals, as well as defense cooperation.”
Pakistan has close relations with both Saudi Arabia and the UAE, while Islamabad this year also signed a landmark defense pact with Riyadh, pledging that aggression against one country would be treated as an attack on both.
