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FIR war: Rajasthan police register retaliatory FIR against UP Addl Chief Secretary and Agra DM after UP police registered FIR against Congress leaders

OpIndia Staff
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FIR war: Rajasthan police register retaliatory FIR against UP Addl Chief Secretary and Agra DM after UP police registered FIR against Congress leaders

Minutes after Uttar Pradesh police registered FIR against Priyanka Gandhi’s aide Sandeep Singh and UP Congress president Ajay Lallu in the matter related to buses being run by the Congress party to move migrants, the Congress run Rajasthan govt took retaliatory action by filing a counter-FIR against senior officers of the Uttar Pradesh government.

As per reports, FIRs have been registered against Additional Chief Secretary (Home) Awanish Awasthi and the DM of Agra on the complaint of Congress party. They have been accused of allegedly threatening and cheating Congress leaders arranging buses to carry migrants to Uttar Pradesh.

This development came just around an hour of reports that UP police have booked Congress leaders Sanddep Singh and Ajay Lallu accusing them of cheating a forgery. The case was filed after the list of buses submitted by them to the UP govt contained several other vehicles like Auto-Rickshaws, Ambulances, Trucks etc. UP police also had stopped the buses run by the Congress party at the UP border near Agra, saying that the buses were run without obtaining the permissions we required as per lockdown guidelines issued by the union home ministry.

After the buses were stopped, the Congress leaders and their workers had staged a sit-in protest at Agra-Rajasthan border in Uncha Nangla area earlier in the day today. Following the protest, Uttar Pradesh Congress President Ajay Kumar Lallu was removed by police. A video had appeared where Ajay was seen carried by some police personnel. UP police had clarified that they have not arrested the UP Congress chief, he was only removed from the spot and later an FIR was registered.

Read- Prove your allegations or face legal action’: Folk singer Malini Awasthi to Congress IT cell worker after he maligns her and her IAS officer husband

Congress provided an erroneous list of buses to UP government

On 16 May 2020, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra had tweeted a letter wherein she has written to UP government seeking permission to ply 1,000 buses for migrant workers. Heeding Ms Vadra’s letter, the Uttar Pradesh government on Monday accepted Congress General Secretary’s offer of providing 1,000 buses for migrant workers. The UP administration has written to Priyanka Gandhi Vadra to submit the details of the buses along with drivers and co-drivers so that the process can be started. Accordingly, the Congress party had submitted a list of buses they intend to use with the UP government.

But in a major embarrassment to Congress, the list of ‘buses’ sent by Congress General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi claiming to be that filled with migrant workers stranded at Delhi-UP border contains blacklisted numbers, cars and even three-wheeled auto-rickshaws.

Coronavirus lockdown: Temples in Tamil Nadu appeal for relaxation in electricity bills

OpIndia Staff
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Coronavirus lockdown: Temples in Tamil Nadu appeal for relaxation in electricity bills

Various temples in Tamil Nadu have requested waiving off electricity bills citing revenue loss due to coronavirus lockdown that was implemented two months ago. It is also claimed that priests and employees are not getting any salary during this period.

There are more than 8,000 such temples in the state where worship is being conducted on a daily basis but once in a day. Hence the temples are not being able to meet up the expenses. So the temples have appealed to the state government to waive off the electricity bills.

Temples are a source of livelihood for many

Tamil Nadu temple Priest Association has stated that temples are not only are places of worship but also a source of employment and livelihood for many including those who sell flowers at the doorstep of temples.

President of State unit P Vasu said, “Not only the priests and employees of temples but also the flower sellers or pooja thali vendors who depend on temples for their livelihood are facing the worst situation due to lockdown.”

Temples are closed since 24 March

The temples are closed since 24 March. During this time no one is allowed to enter the temple premises, only the priest is performing the daily worship. Other activities are also banned in the temples.

The Tamil Nadu Rural Temple Priest association has appealed to the government to increase the amount for meant for relief for the temple employees. Also, the association has sought relaxation for the electricity bills of the low-income temples.

Priests are being given relief amount

The local body has requested that the rural temple priests welfare board alone has more than 65000 members whose COVID-19 relief amount should be increased.

Vasu said that the priests of the village have been provided relief of only 1,000 from the government. However, it should be noted that this amount is not distributed equally.

Buses for migrant workers: Priyanka Gandhi’s aide Sandeep Singh and UP Congress president Ajay Lallu booked for forgery and cheating

OpIndia Staff
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Buses for migrant workers: Priyanka Gandhi’s aide Sandeep Singh and UP Congress president Ajay Lallu booked for forgery and cheating

An FIR has been lodged at Hazratganj police station in Lucknow against Congress General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi’s secretary Sandeep Singh and Uttar Pradesh Congress President Ajay Kumar Lallu for cheating and forgery in connection with the list of buses that the Congress party had submitted with the UP govt to carry migrants to the state. The Congress leaders have also been charged with running buses carrying migrants to Uttar Pradesh without obtaining necessary permission as per rules.

The list of buses submitted by the Congress party contained many incorrect details, as they included auto-rickshaws, ambulances, trucks etc, while details of many vehicles were not available. It was also found that fitness certificate and insurance of several buses included in the list have expired. Therefore, a case of forgery and fraud for the purpose of cheating have also been registered against the Congress leaders.

The FIR have been filed under sections 182, 420, 467 and 468 of the IPC.

Uttar Pradesh police also said that the Congress party moved the buses carrying migrants to the Uttar Pradesh border without obtaining the necessary passes. According to the union home ministry guidelines, one needs to apply for permission for inter-state movement of buses, and buses can be run only after such permissions are granted. As hundreds of buses arranged by the Congress party had reached the UP border, they were denied entry by the state police due to lack of permission. This had caused the Congress workers to stage a sit-in protest at Agra-Rajasthan border in Uncha Nangla area earlier in the day today.

Following the protest, Uttar Pradesh Congress President Ajay Kumar Lallu was removed by police. A video had appeared where Ajay was seen carried by some police personnel. UP police had clarified that they have not arrested him, and only removed him from the spot.

Congress provided an erroneous list of buses to UP government

On 16 May 2020, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra had tweeted a letter wherein she has written to UP government seeking permission to ply 1,000 buses for migrant workers. Heeding Ms Vadra’s letter, the Uttar Pradesh government on Monday accepted Congress General Secretary’s offer of providing 1,000 buses for migrant workers. The UP administration has written to Priyanka Gandhi Vadra to submit the details of the buses along with drivers and co-drivers so that the process can be started. Accordingly, the Congress party had submitted a list of buses they intend to use with the UP government.

But in a major embarrassment to Congress, the list of ‘buses’ sent by Congress General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi claiming to be that filled with migrant workers stranded at Delhi-UP border contains blacklisted numbers, cars and even three-wheeled auto-rickshaws.

UP government confirmed the list of buses provided by Congress was incorrect

According to a letter written by the Lucknow RTO department to Police Commissionerate Lucknow, a staggering 170 vehicles out of the list of 1049 were not buses as claimed by the Congress party. The letter also included categorisation of vehicles based on the list of buses provided by the Congress party. The analysis of the 1049 registration details of the vehicles revealed that 31 of them were registered as autos/three-wheelers, 69 of them as ambulances/school buses/trucks while there were no details available for 70 vehicles. Furthermore, it added that a vehicle with the registration number RJ 51 PA 0288 was added in two lists.

However, after the letters of the UP govt went viral on social media, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra took to Twitter to defend herself. She said that in the inspection by UP govt, it has been found that there are 879 buses in the list of 1049, thereby admitting that the rest 170 are not buses. The Congress general secretary also alleged that UP govt has kept more than 500 buses blocked for several hours, and now more than 300 buses are arriving on the Delhi border.

Congress blames BJP for posters declaring Kamal Nath and his son as missing in Chhindwara, BJP denies allegations

OpIndia Staff
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Congress blames BJP for posters declaring Kamal Nath and his son as missing in Chhindwara, BJP denies allegations

Posters stating former Chief Minister Kamal Nath and his son Nakul Nath as ‘missing’ have been spotted in Chhindwara in Madhya Pradesh. Kamal Nath is an MLA from the Chhindwara Vidhan Sabha Seat and his son Nakul Nath is a Member of Parliament from Lok Sabha Constituency.

The poster read as, “The public of Chhindwara is looking for its MLA Kamalnath and member of Parliament Nakulnath in this hour of need. Whosoever brings them here will be rewarded with Rs 21,000.” It was mentioned that the voters of the Chhindwara assembly and the Parliamentary segments are making this request.

However, the name of the publisher is not mentioned.

“BJP playing mischief”, says Congress

Congress media cell vice-Chairman Sayyid Jafar said, “This is mischief played by the BJP. The country is under lockdown and the Prime Minister has appealed to the people to remain where they are. While Kamalnath is in Bhopal, while his son is in Delhi. The BJP should tell whether Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chauhan has visited Budhni (his Assembly segment) or Narendra Modi visited Varanasi, or Amit Shah visited Gujarat.”

He claimed that Kamal Nath and his son were out helping the poor in this lockdown. “The Congress MLAs are busy providing succor to the needy, distributing ration and other items. The BJP has only shown its cheap politics by pasting such posters.”

Ruling party denies allegations

Madhya Pradesh BJP Media in-charge Lokender Parashar said he is unaware of any poster issue. While speaking to IANS, he said, “If these Congress leaders have not reached their assembly and parliamentary constituencies amid the coronavirus, the voters must have been pained and must be looking for them. What has the BJP to do with it?”

‘Prove your allegations or face legal action’: Folk singer Malini Awasthi to Congress IT cell worker after he maligns her and her IAS officer husband

OpIndia Staff
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‘Prove your allegations or face legal action’: Folk singer Malini Awasthi to Congress IT cell worker after he maligns her and her IAS officer husband

Hours after Gandhi-scion Priyanka Gandhi suffered a massive embarrassment over her list of 1000 ‘buses’ that contained three-wheelers, ambulances and trucks, the Congress party and its trolls have resorted to threatening and abusing individuals for exposing Priyanka Gandhi’s lies and pointing out several errors in the so-called ‘list’.

Continuing a similar trend, Congress IT cell worker Gaurav Pandhi on Tuesday resorted to personal attacks against country’s noted folk singer Malini Awasthi. Attacking Malini Awasthi and her husband Awanish Kumar Awasthi, who is currently Uttar Pradesh’s Additional Chief Secretary, Pandhi said that senior IAS officer was behaving like ‘BJP’s Shakhaboy’ against the poor migrant workers.

Pandhi, shamefully dragging Malini Awasthi into the migrant crisis controversy, insinuated that her husband was acting in such a way because the folk singer has done hundreds of shows for the Uttar Pradesh government and earning crores from the BJP govt. Pandhi said that bank accounts of Awasthis will not be surprising, implying that senior IAS officer Awanish Awasthi had amassed huge wealth from favouring the BJP.

Hitting a new low, Pandhi made shocking allegations of impropriety against the civil servant, however, did not substantiate with any proofs. Perhaps, the anger of the Congress party against Awanish Kumar Awasthi seems to be rising out of the fact that the senior bureaucrat of the UP government has been forefront at tackling coronavirus crisis in the state.

It is pertinent to note that Gaurav Pandhi had indulged in a similar attack two days back after he had targetted Union Minister Smriti Irani by calling her the dumbest faced a similar ‘dumbest and most unintelligent’ Parliamentarian in the country ever. A day later, Union Minister Smriti Irani had responded to Pandhi’s disrespectful tweet in a sharp-witted way, which won the hearts of many social media users.

Malini Awasthi responds to personal attack of Congress

Following the personal attack against her family, Malini Awasthi took to Twitter to respond to Gaurav Pandhi’s rants. The folk-singer asked the Congress IT cell worker to provide proof for the allegations he made against her family, or else get ready for legal action.

Slamming Gaurav Pandhi over the incendiary attack against her family, Malini Awasthi accused that the Congress party worker was maligning her for his dirty politics. “You have run out of arrows in your quiver of dirty politics by maligning a woman who has worked hard for 48 years,” said Malini Awasthi.

Priyanka Gandhi’s list of ‘buses’ to Uttar Pradesh government

On 16 May 2020, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra had tweeted a letter wherein she had written to UP government seeking permission to ply 1,000 buses for migrant workers. The Uttar Pradesh government had accepted Congress General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra’s offer of providing 1,000 buses for migrant workers and asked the list of drivers and co-drivers of these buses so that the UP government can make use of them in bringing back the migrant workers.

Today UP govt confirmed that Congress has submitted a list of 1049 buses, but surprisingly, the list includes auto-rickshaws, trucks, ambulances etc, while details of many vehicles were not available. Priyanka Gandhi also conceded that the there are only 879 buses in the list of 1049, and added that a new list of 200 buses will be furnished tomorrow.

EXCLUSIVE: Petition in Calcutta HC alleges mismanagement of Coronavirus crisis by West Bengal govt, state objects to inspection by Union Home Ministry

OpIndia Staff
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EXCLUSIVE: Petition in Calcutta HC alleges mismanagement of Coronavirus crisis by West Bengal govt, state objects to inspection by Union Home Ministry

A petition has been filed in the Calcutta High Court expressing grievances regarding the alleged mismanagement of the Wuhan Coronavirus crisis by the West Bengal government. The petition was filed by one Kabir Shankar Bose. Thottathil B. Radhakrishnan, the Chief Justice of the said court, has directed the state government to file a report in response to the allegations made in the petition. The next hearing in the matter has been fixed on the 26th of May, 2020.

Senior Advocate Y.J.Dastoor, appearing for the Union Government said that the Home Ministry is prepared to visit West Bengal, inspect the prevailing conditions and file a report regarding the same. Kishore Dutta, the Advocate General appearing for the state government, took objection to the suggestion made by Dastoor.

The order states, “Learned Advocate General appearing for the State submits that earlier a Central Team had visited the State and had spent several weeks inspecting various areas. Sufficient materials were gathered by that team. Hence, no further visit by any Central Team is necessary.” “Any further visit by a Central Team would, in effect, be a roving enquiry only to find fault with the State Administration, if possible,” it added.

The advocate for the Union Home Ministry replied that the earlier team was an inter-ministerial team. However, now, the team will consist of members from the Home Ministry only. The Court ruled that since the Home Ministry offered to file a report in the matter, then it should be filed on or before the next date of hearing. However, it was clarified that if any team of the Home Ministry decides to visit West Bengal, it will be in accordance to its own will and not due to the order passed by the Court.

Mismanagement of Coronavirus crisis by West Bengal government

The Mamata Banerjee-led government has been accused of covering up the extent of the spread of the Wuhan Coronavirus in the state by various quarters. The Health Services Association, West Bengal had spoken out against the manner in which the state administration is collecting the samples for the COVID-19 tests. The doctors said that the manner in which the samples are being currently collected might lead to false negatives and thereby, result in under-reporting of the actual number of Wuhan Coronavirus cases in the state.

Earlier, it was reported that every night, special teams of cops and paramedics dispose of bodies of coronavirus victims across Bengal. A special incinerator has been created close to a highway that connects Kolkata with the Sundarbans where workers are disposing of a large number of bodies every day. Over 100 videos showing slugfests between cops and local residents over such silent cremation using kerosene and other fuels have surfaced on social media platforms.

Know about Turkish TV series Ertugrul that Rana Ayyub and Pakistanis are binge-watching

OpIndia Staff
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Know about Turkish TV series Ertugrul that Rana Ayyub and Pakistanis are binge-watching

With the onset of the Wuhan Coronavirus pandemic, much of the world went into lockdown mode as governments tried desperately to contain the spread of the virus. Locked up at home with nothing much to do, without jobs and hardly any work, web series and movies became the source of entertainment for those privileged enough to not face any immediate hardship. While Indians were glued to their television sets watching the Ramayana and Mahabharata, much of the Muslim world was drooling over Resurrection: Ertugrul, a Turkish television series based on the father of the founder of the Ottoman dynasty.

In fact, Ertugrul has broken all records in Pakistan. Engin Altan Düzyatan, who plays the lead in the series, even thanked the Pakistanis for their splendid effort and reportedly the cast of the series is planning a visit to Pakistan soon. The popularity of the television series has been such that local Pakistani entertainers are feeling threatened by the airing of Ertugrul in Pakistan.

The response from Pakistanis is not surprising given that Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan was cheer-leading for it. He claimed that the series will make Pakistanis learn about Islamic history and ethics.

Closer home, perennial fake news purveyor Rana Ayyub also found the time to re-watch the series with her family. She was all praises for it, unsurprisingly so.

Rana Ayyub cannot stop talking about it.

Ertugrul is a big-budget series that portrays the life of Ertugrul, the father Osman I, the founder of the Ottoman dynasty. It was created by Mehmet Bozdağ and traces the origin of the Ottoman Empire. It is not surprising that Ertugrul has gained such popularity among Muslims in the Indian subcontinent. Muslims here have always held deep-seated respect for the ‘original’ Muslims, the Arabs and Turks. The Khilafat movement in the 20th Century was organised entirely in defence of the Ottoman Caliphate.

Pakistan, as the heir to the Khilafat Movement, is naturally obsessed with the Empire and with the endorsement of their Prime Minister, the show gained record-breaking popularity in the country. That the show gained popularity among Indian Muslims as well just goes on to highlight the beliefs of the section of the population.

One author writing for Al Jazeera commented on the manner in which the identity crisis of Pakistan has fuelled the popularity of the show in the country. He commented, “Deference to the ancient leaders of the Islamic world has always been part of Pakistan’s identity and often the root of its contradictory nature. Is Pakistan South Asian Muslim? Or is it based in Arab roots as some leaders have pushed? Or is it closer to Turkish culture in origin?” “At its heart, what Ertugrul represents in this scenario is a battle for the soul of the Islamic narrative and for Pakistan’s own self-image,” he said.

The case is similar for Indian Muslims as well. Their penchant for denying their Hindu heritage leaves them open to satisfy their identity crisis by looking up to the Turks and the Arabs. Some of them are taking offence to the manner in which Islamic barbarians have been portrayed in Indian movies and claim that the Islamic invaders looked like the Turkish actor. All of this confirms the identity crisis they suffer from.

On social media, it can be observed that Muslims of the Indian subcontinent claim they are of Arab heritage or Turkish heritage while some of them also claim they are of ‘Aryan’ descent. Such schizophrenic notions of one’s heritage perhaps explains why often enough, their leaders are more zealots than Arabs themselves. While the zealotry of the latter is more sophisticated, the former’s bigotry is often unfiltered. However, Turkish and Arab regimes consider them inferior to themselves and they are never given an equal seat at the table despite their persistent groveling.

In the list of 1049 buses provided by Congress, 31 are three-wheelers, 69 ambulances/trucks and details of 70 vehicles unknown: UP government

OpIndia Staff
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In the list of 1049 buses provided by Congress, 31 are three-wheelers, 69 ambulances/trucks and details of 70 vehicles unknown: UP government

Following the media reports that said that the list of buses provided by Congress to ferry migrant workers in Uttar Pradesh was erroneous and included autos, trucks and two-wheelers, the Uttar Pradesh government has officially acknowledged that the data they received from the Congress party indeed include details of such vehicles. According to a letter written by the Lucknow RTO department to Police Commissionerate Lucknow, a staggering 170 vehicles out of the list of 1049 are not buses as claimed by the Congress party.

The letter addressed to the Police Commissionerate Lucknow categorises the different types of vehicles based on the list of buses provided by the Congress party. The analysis of the 1049 registration details of the vehicles revealed that 31 of them were registered as autos/three-wheelers, 69 of them as ambulances/school buses/trucks and there were no details available for 70 vehicles. Furthermore, it added that a vehicle with registration number RJ 51 PA 0288 was added in two lists.

In addition, the preliminary inspection of 492 vehicles provided in the list of buses sent by the Congress party revealed that fitness validity of 59 vehicles has expired, while insurance of 29 vehicles have lapsed. Apart from this, the inspection of the data disclosed that three vehicles with registration numbers- HR 55 A 4949 (Goods carrier), RJ 02 PA 1238 (Motor cab) and UP 83 T 1006 (auto-rickshaw) did not belong the bus category.

Priyanka Gandhi Vadra issues clarification

After the above letters of the UP govt went viral on social media, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra took to Twitter to defend herself. She said that in the inspection by UP govt, it has been found that there are 879 buses in the list of 1049, thereby admitting that the rest 170 are not buses.

The Congress general secretary also alleged that UP govt has kept more than 500 buses blocked for several hours, and now more than 300 buses are arriving on the Delhi border. “At least let these 879 buses run”, she said. Priyanka Gandhi Vadra also assured that her party will provide a new list of 200 buses by tomorrow, and will made the buses available. “Inspect that list also”, she added.

UP government had agreed to Congress offer of buses

On Monday, the Uttar Pradesh government had accepted Congress General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra’s offer of providing 1,000 buses for migrant workers. The UP administration has written to Priyanka Gandhi Vadra to submit the details of the buses along with drivers and co-drivers so that the process can be started. On 16 May 2020, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra had tweeted a letter wherein she had written to UP government seeking permission to ply 1,000 buses for migrant workers. Accordingly, the Congress party had submitted a list of buses they intend to use with the UP government.

But in a major embarrassment to Congress, the list of ‘buses’ sent by Congress General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi claiming to be that filled with migrant workers stranded at Delhi-UP border contains blacklisted numbers, cars and even three-wheeled auto rickshaws.

Harassment of OpIndia and its Editors: A note from the CEO, Rahul Roushan

Rahul Roushan
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Harassment of OpIndia and its Editors: A note from the CEO, Rahul Roushan

In the last few days, you would have noticed that we were the target of a coordinated attack from the usual suspects as well as from some unusual corners.

Attacks don’t bother us, in fact, if they don’t attack us, it seems like we are not doing something right. So first of all, thanks to the haters, keep attacking us. Whenever you’ve done that to people, they’ve grown bigger.

But when all is said and done, thanks a lot – this time in all seriousness and a heartfelt one – to you, our readers, our supporters, our people. To those who spoke up in support of OpIndia and the Editors Nupur Sharma and Ajeet Bharti. Not only did you speak up, so, so many of you actually put your money where your mouth is by extending monetary support.

After things settled a bit, I told both the editors that this was the only pressure they have to be under – the faith shown by people in them. Because it was an unprecedented level of support we had witnessed since the launch of the website. We are truly overwhelmed and humbled.No other means of pressure by haters are going to work.

This incident has only made both the editors come out stronger and more energized. And what was their mistake really? Ajeet’s mistake was that he trusted a grieving father’s words, while Nupur’s mistake was, well, that she lives in a particular eastern part of India. By the way, both were separate cases, related to entirely separate incidents with no connection to each other. Just a strange coincidence that it happened at the same time. Deliberate or design? We don’t know.

And as of now, we have been legally advised not to speculate or debate it in public. So that is for the future. I am not saying that they can’t make mistakes, and when our well-wishers like you would point them out, they will make amends. But this time, their only mistake was that they were standing on the wrong side of the ideological divide. But that stand is non-negotiable. That’s what is the soul, the identity of India. That’s not going to change.

So a heartfelt thanks once again for the support shown to the team. We won’t be anywhere without you. Stay there, and we’ll say here. Firmly. Forever.

Rahul Roushan,
Something at OpIndia.

‘Coronavirus is not a pandemic in the country’: Pakistan’s Supreme Court lifts restrictions, orders all markets to be opened

Dibakar Dutta
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‘Coronavirus is not a pandemic in the country’: Pakistan’s Supreme Court lifts restrictions, orders all markets to be opened

While hearing a suo moto case, a 5-Judge Bench of the Supreme Court of Pakistan has reportedly directed all markets and shopping malls to open, amidst the Coronavirus outbreak that has claimed 903 lives and has infected 42,125 people in the country.

The Bench comprising of Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Gulzar Ahmed, Justices Umar Ata Bandial, Mazhar Alam Khan Miankhel, Sajjad Ali Shah and Qazi Muhammad Amin Ahmed noted that there was ‘no logic’ behind keeping malls closed.

The apex court of Pakistan has also asked the provincial governments to not create hindrance in opening up markets and malls while ensuring implementation of standard operating procedures (SOPs). The Bench also ruled that keeping markets closed on Saturdays and Sundays was a violation of the Constitution.

Reportedly, the Karachi administration had earlier sealed shops due to overcrowding, after restrictions were eased by the Government. The Supreme Court, however, has now prevented the Karachi Commissioner Iftikhar Shallwani from sealing shops and instead directed him to implement SOPs.

The Bench also rebuked Pakistan’s Disaster Management Authority for spending too much money on the Coronavirus. The Court observed, “There are other serious ailments prevailing in the country, from which people are dying daily and those ailments are not being catered and the coronavirus (Covid-19), which apparently is not a pandemic in Pakistan, is swallowing huge money.”

Coronavirus in Pakistan

On Monday, Pakistan reported 1,974 new cases of Coronavirus. According to the Health Ministry, there are 42,125 active cases in the country. A total of 11,922 patients have been recovered while 903 people have lost their lives. The Sindh province has the highest number of cases (16,377), followed by Punjab (6,061).

According to Planning Minister Asad Umar, Pakistan which is currently conducting 25,000 tests per day has a capacity to increase testing up to 30,000 per day. As of May 18, a total of 387,335 tests have been conducted in the country. Transport facilities have been allowed, domestic flight services have been partly allowed. Railway Minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmed has now demanded the resumption of trains.

Doctors Concerned

Doctors in the country have criticised the move to lift curbs that were imposed initially, in the wake of the Coronavirus outbreak. They fear that it can rapidly transmit the deadly virus and overburden the health sector. “It will definitely lead to an increase in the number of cases, the number of critical cases. “We are concerned about the pressure that will come on the hospitals”, Salman Kazmi, Secretary of Young Doctors’ Association, was quoted as saying.

Pakistan imports medicines from India

Earlier, the Imran Khan-led Pakistan government had decided to import much-needed key life-saving drugs and vitamins to the country from India. The list of drugs imported from India included those to prevent or treat tuberculosis, polio, and tetanus. The Pakistan government had decided to suspend all kinds of trade with India, following the Indian government’s decision to abrogate Article 370 in Jammu and Kashmir.

Following the coronavirus crisis, Pakistan’s pharmaceutical industry had demanded that the ban on Indian medicines and medicinal raw material should be lifted because the country might face a severe shortage of medicines, especially life-saving drugs. The pharmaceutical body had warned the Imran Khan government that any attempt to disrupt the global supply chains related to the country’s pharma industry will hamper the country’s ability to treat coronavirus cases.

Imran Khan hoped for a monetary relief

In March, the Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan has urged the international community to consider for a debt waiver for poor and vulnerable countries like his. During the interview with The Associated Press, Khan claimed that the coronavirus will devastate the economies of developing nations, and as a result, richer economies must write off the debts of the world’s poorer countries which includes Pakistan. “My worry is poverty and hunger,” Khan said. “The world community has to think of some sort of a debt write-off for countries like us, which are very vulnerable, at least that will help us in coping with (the coronavirus).”

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