The Pakistani army has been moving COVID-19 positive patients from Punjab province to Gilgit and Baltistan of Pakistan occupied Kashmir despite strong agitation of the local Kashmiri people.
As per the report, special quarantine centres have been set up in Mirpur and other major cities in the occupied regions to cleanse the Punjab province of the coronavirus patients as the top brass of the army has ordered that no COVID-19 patient should be anywhere near Army facilities and societies in the Punjab province.
Reportedly, a large number of patients are being moved in locked transport carriers to Gilgit and Baltistan. The local residents have been protesting against the Pakistan government for setting up of quarantine centres there as the area itself lacks infrastructure and medical facilities.
The residents of Muzaffarabad, capital of PoK, are in constant fear knowing that their region is going to be hit by the epidemic and moreover, the area does not even have the basic health care facilities to deal with even the minor ailments.
A resident of Muzzafarabad, Jaffar Ismail said, “Pakistani Army only thinks about Punjab and nothing else. They are treating Gilgit and Baltistan as a dustbin. We have been seeing the movement of coronavirus patient from all over Punjab to hospitals in Muzaffarabad and we are very scared at this latest betrayal of Kashmiri people by the Pakistani Army.”
A political activist from PoK, Dr Amjad Ayub Mirza said, “On one side we are giving emphasis on social distancing and another side Pakistan government is forcing people to gather and demonstrate against the setting up of quarantine centres. This is a lack of governance in Pakistan that’s why they have handed over the entire country to the army and the army is making all the arrangements to suit its interests.”
The total number of COVID-19 cases in Pakistan has surged to 1,000 so far.
