ISLAMABAD: Azad Jammu and Kashmir President Sardar Masood Khan said on Sunday he was satisfied with the efforts of various state departments and institutions to contain the coronavirus pandemic in the territory.
On Monday, a three week lockdown in the territory came into effect for its roughly 4 million residents. Khan said there were currently 90 people suspected to have contracted the disease, with two testing positive and six whose final results were awaited. No fatalities have so far been reported in the region.
“As the testing increases, there may be other cases but by and large the impact of coronavirus is less in the region,” the president told Arab News and added: “We are not facing any food shortages so far and supply chains are fully working.
The lockdown has been enforced in all big and small cities, he added, with various measures adopted for social distancing as well as to ensure little participation in religious congregations and social gatherings.
He said the government had set up quarantine centers and upgraded facilities at all major hospitals, and Pakistan’s National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) had extended its help.
At the same time, Khan said he was deeply concerned about the spread of the pandemic across the border in Indian administered Kashmir, and urged the Indian government to immediately release thousands of Kashmiris languishing in various Indian prisons.
He said the prisons in India and Indian administered Kashmir were crowded beyond capacity.
“The outbreak of COVID-19 has necessitated immediate release of all the prisoners particularly the inmates suffering from complicated diseases,” he said.
“People in Indian Kashmir are under double lockdown,” he added and appealed to the international community, particularly the United Nations, to take strict notice of new restrictions imposed by India on the movement of citizens and on the Internet in Indian administered Kashmir.
“The people of occupied Kashmir are facing great difficulties in reaching hospitals and health facilities due to the latest Indian restrictions, and getting information about the COVID-19 due to blockade of Internet services,” he said, and warned the current state of affairs could lead to a faster spread of the virus in the Indian administered territory.
On Sunday, Pakistan’s foreign office said in a statement the humanitarian situation in Indian administered Kashmir had been dire since August last year, and called for the immediate release of Kashmiri prisoners and the lifting of restrictions in the territory in the wake of the deadly new pandemic sweeping the world.
The total number of Covid-19 cases in India crossed the 1,000 mark on Sunday with around 33 cases in Indian administered Kashmir.
Lockdown to stem virus in Azad Kashmir so far effective, says president
https://arab.news/c6a85
Lockdown to stem virus in Azad Kashmir so far effective, says president
- Says 90 suspected cases in region with two testing positive so far
- Khan urged Indian government to immediately release thousands of Kashmiris languishing in Indian prisons
Death toll in Pakistan shopping plaza fire rises to 67, officials say
- Rescue teams still searching for damaged Gul Plaza in Karachi where blaze erupted on Saturday, says police surgeon
- Karachi has a long history of deadly fires, often linked to poor safety standards, weak regulatory enforcement
KARACHI: The death toll from a devastating fire at a shopping plaza in Pakistan’s southern port city of Karachi jumped to 67 on Thursday after police and a hospital official confirmed that the remains of dozens more people had been found.
Police surgeon Dr. Summaiya Syed said rescue teams were still searching the severely damaged Gul Plaza in the Karachi, where the blaze erupted on Saturday.
Most remains were discovered in fragments, making identification extremely difficult, but the deaths of 67 people have been confirmed, she said. Asad Raza, a senior police official in Karachi, also confirmed the death toll. Authorities previously had confirmed 34 deaths.
Family members of the missing have stayed near the destroyed plaza and hospital, even after providing their DNA for testing. Some have tried to enter the building forcibly, criticizing the rescue efforts as too slow.
“They are not conducting the search properly,” said Khair-un-Nisa, pointing toward the rescuers. She stood outside the building in tears, explaining that a relative who had left to go shopping has been missing since the blaze.
Another woman, Saadia Saeed, said her brother has been trapped inside the building since Saturday night, and she does not know what has happened to him.
“I am ready to go inside the plaza to look for him, but police are not allowing me,” she said.
There was no immediate comment from authorities about accusations they have been too slow.
Many relatives of the missing claim more lives could have been saved if the government had acted more swiftly. Authorities have deployed police around the plaza to prevent relatives from entering the unstable structure, while rescuers continue their careful search.
Investigators say the blaze erupted at a time when most shop owners were either closing for the day or had already left. Since then, the Sindh provincial government has said around 70 people were missing after the flames spread rapidly, fueled by goods such as cosmetics, clothing, and plastic items.
The cause of the fire remains under investigation, though police have indicated that a short circuit may have triggered the blaze.
Karachi has a long history of deadly fires, often linked to poor safety standards, weak regulatory enforcement, and illegal construction.
In November 2023, a shopping mall fire killed 10 people and injured 22. One of Pakistan’s deadliest industrial disasters occurred in 2012, when a garment factory fire killed at least 260 people.
