Inclement weather disperses thousands in Pakistan’s largest religious gathering

LAHORE: Pakistan’s largest religious gathering, which is one of the biggest religious congregations in the region, was suspended on Thursday due to heavy rainfall in Lahore and its adjoining areas — and not over the fear of deadly coronavirus spread — confirmed the management of the gathering.
An estimated crowd of 350,000 devout individuals descended at the Tablighi Markaz in Raiwind, some 30 kilometers south of Lahore city, to attend the annual five-day event that began on March 10. Around 5,000 of them came from other countries including UK, USA, Canada and African nations, Ahmad Ali, a member of the management committee of the gathering, told Arab News.
“Nearly 350,000 people reached the arena at the beginning of our spiritual session,” Ali said. “Among them were 5,000 foreigners who traveled to this place from different parts of the world including UK, USA, Canada and African countries. However, the event had to be called off due to bad weather and people dispersed to their respective destinations. The 5,000 foreigners are still staying in Raiwind and will leave as per schedule.”
Large gatherings are currently discouraged in most countries to avert the spread of coronavirus that has already claimed thousands of lives. The infection that originated in a small Chinese town has engulfed much of the world, causing huge disruption and forcing the World Health Organization to declare it a global pandemic.
However, the city administration that allowed the gathering at Raiwind said that people coming from outside Pakistan were thoroughly screened at the airports, precluding the possibility of them being careers of the deadly virus.
“The participants coming from outside the country were screened at the airport and also at the venue. The city administration has made special arrangements for the screening of the participants, and our teams checked a lot of people at the venue and also set up medical camps to meet any emergency,” said Imran Maqbool, spokesperson for Deputy Commissioner Lahore.
Meanwhile, the Punjab government declared coronavirus emergency in the province on Thursday. The decision was taken at the cabinet meeting chaired by Chief Minister Usman Buzdar. The cabinet was told that no case of coronavirus had been detected in the province so far. The authorities tested 71 patients on suspicion of being infected by the virus, but 66 of them were cleared and five were still waiting for their results.
The provincial administration also decided to set up a quarantine facility with a capacity of 800 people in Dera Ghazi Khan, a district that shares its boundary with all four provinces. In addition, three hospitals in Lahore have been asked to make necessary preparations to meet any emergency situation, while isolation wards have also been set up at all District Headquarters Hospitals.
“Medical emergency has been declared in the province to tackle the threat of coronavirus,” Punjab Minister for Health Dr. Yasmeen Rashid told reporters after the provincial cabinet meeting. “All departments will work together to meet the challenge. One billion rupees have also been allocated for the purpose.”