ISLAMABAD: Starting from Monday for two weeks, Pakistan shut downed educational institutions in Islamabad, Peshawar and densely populated areas of the Punjab province once again to limit a third wave of the coronavirus disease, officials said.
“Educational Institutions in Sindh and Baluchistan would continue with 50% attendance every day. In Punjab, spring break will start from Monday March 15 to March 28 in the following cities and all education institutions: Lahore, Rawalpindi, Gujranwala, Sialkot, Multan,” Education Minister Shafqat Mahmood tweeted last week.
This is the third time since last year that Pakistan has shut down its educational institutions to curb new coronavirus infections.
The closure of schools and colleges follows partials lockdowns imposed by capital city Islamabad and Punjab, the country’s most populous province, on Sunday.
Punjab has reported 60 percent of the new COVID-19 cases with smart lockdowns imposed in Lahore, Gujarat, and Rawalpindi.
Restrictions have also been tightened in the capital, with a ban on all indoor activities and outdoor functions limited to two hours with less than 300 people in attendance. Offices in the capital have been instructed to run on 50 percent capacity as well.
As of Monday, 2,253 people had tested positive for COVID-19, with 29 deaths reported in the past 24 hours, taking the total fatality count to 13,537 since February last year, according to the health ministry.
In another development, the Pakistan Football Federation (PFF) said that a Karachi United (KU) player – one of the teams participating in the National Women’s Football Championship 2021– had tested positive for COVID-19.
“KU has been advised to get their entire squad tested,” the PFF said in a statement on Monday, adding that “all teams in first and second contact have been advised to get their squads tested.”
Meanwhile, according to an interview by state-run Radio Pakistan quoting Planning Minister Asad Umar, Pakistan will start registering people aged 50 and above in the next ten days for a vaccination program.
Umar, who heads the National Command and Operation Center (NCOC) – which oversees Pakistan’s coronavirus response – said that those aged 60 and above must get registered for the vaccine because “coronavirus can hit them easily.”
Pakistan shuts educational institutions to curb spike in COVID-19 cases
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Pakistan shuts educational institutions to curb spike in COVID-19 cases
- Anti-virus measures, including partial lockdowns in some cities, imposed to limit third wave of outbreak
- Surge in numbers follows relaxation of virus-related restrictions last month
Pakistan army chief meets world leaders in rare Davos appearance
- Field Marshal Asim Munir attends World Economic Forum alongside prime minister
- Pakistan delegation holds meetings with US, Saudi and Azerbaijani leaders
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s Chief of Army Staff Field Marshal Syed Asim Munir is attending the World Economic Forum’s annual meeting in Davos this week alongside Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, marking a rare appearance by a serving army chief at the global gathering of political and business leaders.
Pakistan’s participation at Davos comes as Islamabad seeks to attract investment, project economic stability and deepen engagement with key international partners following recent reforms aimed at stabilizing the economy.
While Pakistani leaders routinely attend the World Economic Forum, it is uncommon for a serving army chief to be present. In 2017, former army chief Raheel Sharif addressed the forum only after his retirement, while General Pervez Musharraf spoke at Davos on a number of occasions in his role as president, not as military chief.
Pakistan’s governance structure has evolved in recent years, particularly through the expanded role of the military in economic decision-making through bodies such as the Special Investment Facilitation Council, a civil-military platform designed to fast-track foreign investment in sectors including minerals, energy, agriculture and technology.
“The Prime Minister and the Field Marshal met with the President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev, United States Secretary of State Marco Rubio, and Saudi Arabia’s Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud,” Sharif’s office said in a statement.
Officials say the delegation’s engagements focused on strengthening economic ties and maintaining high-level contact with partners in the Middle East, Central Asia and the United States at a time of shifting global economic and strategic alignments.
The World Economic Forum’s annual meeting brings together heads of state, ministers, investors and corporate leaders to discuss global economic risks, investment trends and geopolitical challenges. Davos is not a military forum, and while security issues are discussed there, the physical presence of a serving military chief remains the exception, not the norm, across countries. When military figures do appear, it is usually because they are heads of state or government, retired and speaking as security experts or hold a civilian defense portfolio such as defense minister or national security adviser.
