To fight Coronavirus, Pakistan closes Kartarpur Corridor for Pakistani citizens

Pakistan government has decided to close the Kartarpur Corridor for the Pakistani citizens, however, the corridor will remain open for the Indian pilgrims who can continue visiting the Darbar Sahab Gurudwara there. Pakistan Prime Minister officer declared several steps that the government of Pakistan has decided to take in order to contain the spread of the COVID-19 in the country and one of the steps is to stop the Pakistani citizens from using the Kartarpur Corridor.

The Pakistan Prime Minister who chaired the meeting of the National Security Committee especially called to review the current status of Pakistan’s response to the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.

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A statement issued by the office of the Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan read that in light of the discussions and deliberations of the NSC, the following decisions were taken to be implemented with immediate effect and to be reviewed at the end of the identified time period.

“A National Coordination Committee for COVID-19, to be convened by Special Assistant to the Prime Minister (SAPM) on Health, has been established to monitor the situation and make necessary decisions on a daily basis. Committee will have a representation of all provinces and relevant civilian and military stakeholders”, the statement read.

It further stated that the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) will be the lead operational agency and will coordinate its efforts with the provincial and district authorities for necessary implementation of preventive and curative actions.
Pakistan also decided that the entire Western border will be closed for two weeks for all human and commercial traffic. Sost border (Pak China border) will continue to remain closed for two further weeks.

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“The Kartarpur Corridor will be closed for Pakistanis. Indian pilgrims will be allowed to continue visiting”, it read. Pakistan also decided that the outgoing and incoming international flights will only be allowed at the Karachi, Lahore, and Islamabad airports. Screening and administrative measures at these airports will be reinforced immediately. “Reinforcement of screening and administrative measures at all seaports will also be ensured”, it read.

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Pakistan also banned all public gatherings with immediate effect. “Wedding halls and cinemas will be closed for two weeks. Large conferences will also be barred for the same period. Remaining PSL matches may be conducted without any crowd”, it read. Pakistan has also instructed all the courts not to schedule cases of civil nature for three weeks. “Judicial Magistrates and Session Court Judges to visit the concerned jails for three weeks to process remand and bail cases”, it read. Pakistan also said that visitors will be allowed to visit prisoners in jails for three weeks.

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