ISLAMABAD: Minister for Religious Affairs and Interfaith Harmony, Sahibzada Noor-ul-Haq Qadri, has said mosques around the country would remain open during the holy month of Ramadan with strict adherence to COVID-19 standard operating procedures, state-run media reported.
Pakistan is in the midst of a third wave of the coronavirus and recorded 4,084 new infections in the last 24 hours, with 100 deaths. The South Asian nation of 220 people is the world’s second most populous Muslim country after Indonesia.
Last year after the coronavirus first broke out, a restriction on congregation provoked a backlash in Pakistan, with attacks on police as they attempted to halt prayers at mosques.
Health experts have repeatedly warned that congregations pose the biggest threat to Pakistan’s limited health care resources and infrastructure, which will crumble under the weight of a wide-spread outbreak of the coronavirus.
“Speaking to a Hifz-o-Qirat contest as chief guest, he [Qadri] advised the faithful to follow the precautionary measures while performing the religious obligations sans dropping the guard against the coronavirus pandemic,” APP reported, saying the minister guided people to take precautions while performing their religious obligations.
Last year, it was a Ramadan like never before for Muslims across Asia as mosques that would normally be packed for prayers were deserted and in some places locked up as governments enforced measures to stem the spread of the novel coronavirus.
Ramadan will start in Pakistan in mid April this year.
Mosques to remain open in Ramadan as coronavirus third wave builds in Pakistan
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Mosques to remain open in Ramadan as coronavirus third wave builds in Pakistan
- Religious affairs minister advises people to follow health guidelines as they perform their religious obligations
- Last year after the coronavirus first broke out, a restriction on congregations provoked a backlash in Pakistan
Pakistan expresses condolences as Bangladesh’s first female PM passes away
- Khaleda Zia passed away in Dhaka after prolonged illness at the age of 80, says her party
- PM Shehbaz Sharif describes Zia as a “committed friend of Pakistan” in condolence message
ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Tuesday expressed condolences over the passing of Bangladesh’s first female prime minister, Khaleda Zia, describing her as a committed friend of Islamabad.
In a statement on Tuesday, the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) announced its leader Zia had passed away at the age of 80 after prolonged illness. She died at the Evercare Hospital in Dhaka, where the former prime minister was admitted on Nov. 23 with symptoms of a lung infection, according to The Daily Star, a Bangladesh news website.
“Deeply saddened by the passing of Begum Khaleda Zia, Chairperson of the BNP and former Prime Minister of Bangladesh,” Sharif wrote on social media platform X.
“Her lifelong service to Bangladesh and its growth and development leaves a lasting legacy.”
Sharif said his government and people stand with the people of Bangladesh during this difficult time.
“Begum Zia was a committed friend of Pakistan,” he added.
Pakistan and Bangladesh used to be part of the same country before the latter seceded into the separate nation of Bangladesh after a bloody civil war in 1971.
Ties between the two countries have remained mostly strained since then. However, Islamabad enjoyed better relations with Dhaka under Zia’s government compared to when Bangladesh was led by her arch-rival, Sheikh Hasina.
Hasina was ousted after a violent uprising last year, leading to improved relations between Islamabad and Dhaka.
Despite years of ill health and imprisonment, Zia vowed in November to campaign in elections set for February 2026.
The BNP is widely seen as a frontrunner, and Zia’s son Tarique Rahman, who returned only on Thursday after 17 years in exile, is seen as a potential prime minister if they win a majority.
-With additional input from AFP
