Minister for Aviation Ghulam Sarwar Khan Tuesday said that entry in Pakistan’s territorial limits will not be allowed without an authentic negative test report through RT-PCR for coronavirus.
Addressing a press conference after cabinet meeting along with Special Assistant to Prime Minister on Information and Broadcasting Dr Firdous Ashiq Awan and Minister for Religious Affairs Noor-ul-Haq Qadri, he said, “All passengers travelling to Pakistan will be required to provide certified copy of test result for COVID-19 through RT-PCR conducted during the 24 hours of boarding the flight.” He said the test result must include the name and passport number of the passenger. “Original test result will be required at the disembarkation airport in Pakistan. All airlines are required to comply with this mandatory requirement,” he said. The condition will remain in place till April 4, he said, adding that the measure is being taken to control the spread of coronavirus in Pakistan.
Ghulam Sarwar Khan said the requirement for test result is in addition to current requirement of submission of complete health declaration form at the point of disembarkation in Pakistan. He said the situation will be continuously monitored and will be subject to review at an appropriate time. He said that all domestic departures at airports are required to undergo screening for coronavirus before being allowed to board the flight. “This mandatory screening at domestic departure will be enforced with effect from March 21 with the help of respective federal or provincial health authorities,” he said. The international flight operation will resume except at Gwadar and Turbat where it will remain suspended, he added.
The minister said the past few days have been spent in better equipping the remaining international airports to ensure proper screening of the arriving international passengers. He said all aircrafts are required to be disinfected as per the best industry practices prior to embarkation of passengers at the point of origin. The airline, he said, will be required to submit a certificate in this regard to the Pakistan Civil Aviation Authority, failing which the aircraft will be denied entry into Pakistan. A similar mandatory condition has also been imposed with respect to domestic flights as well, he added.
To a question, he said PIA flight operation will bring back about 5,000 Umrah pilgrims from Saudi Arabia and will continue till March 19.
Meanwhile, Special Assistant to Prime Minister Dr Firdous Ashiq Awan said the cabinet was apprised about the overall situation relating to the coronavirus and the steps taken by the National Coordination Committee (NCC) to deal with the pandemic. The NCC is working in coordination with the provincial governments to monitor the situation and take necessary steps, she said. She said Advisor on Finance Dr Abdul Hafeez Shaikh, while briefing the cabinet on budget strategy paper, said unprecedented achievements had been made in a relative shorter period of time. She said the cabinet reviewed the amounts spent on food security, health, higher education, tourism and other sectors. It was informed that the present government has paid Rs 5,000 billion debt taken by the previous regimes, financially empowered the ministries and increased revenue by 17 percent. The SAPM said it was told that due to the bad policies of previous governments, a long-term programme was adopted for reducing the higher load of utility bills. The cabinet, she said, was briefed in detail on the country’s energy situation. It was told that all areas of energy, including production, delivery and distribution have shown improvement since the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf took charge of the government. The prime minister issued directives that in the changed circumstances, there is a need to start consultations with the power generation companies over renegotiation of tariff. Replying to questions, she said the coronavirus is an international challenge and it is unfortunate that the opposition is trying to get political mileage of it. There is need for unity and cohesion on this occasion, she said, adding that the entire nation should stand united to defeat the threat. To a question, she said due to the coronavirus, Pakistan’s economic growth will be affected and measures will be taken in consultation with the International Monetary Fund and all the stakeholders to improve it. She said the prime minister has tasked the finance adviser and secretary finance to bring a plan of action for ending parity in the salaries of federal government employees.
Speaking on the occasion, Minister for Religious Affairs and Interfaith Harmony Sahibzada Noor-ul-Haq Qadri urged Ulema and religious scholars to play a pro-active role in enhancing awareness about coronavirus. He said a comprehensive strategy has already been devised to prevent people from the deadly virus. He said elderly persons and children should avoid attending joint prayers in mosques, offer Sunnah and Nawafil at home, ablution at home, while Arabic Juma sermon should be shortened besides skipping Urdu speech during Friday prayers. He said Islam appreciates taking measures to prevent the spread of pandemic. He said all kinds of gatherings should be restricted to a minimum level, while handshakes and hugging could be avoided. He lauded the cooperation of religious seminaries managements for announcing holidays in their respective madaris and restricting religious gatherings. Responding to a question, the minister said rumours pertaining to Haram Sharif should be avoided and hoped that normalcy will soon prevail at Haram Sharif.
Chairman Council of Islamic Ideology Dr Qibla Ayaz said CII has prepared 13 suggestions which have already been shared with media by the religious affairs minister. He urged Ulema to help government in tackling the challenging situation.
