“Funds from World Bank and Asian Development Bank were also used for strengthening preparedness and response to the Covid-19 pandemic,” the report said, adding that the finance ministry has also released emergency funds for dealing with the coronavirus. It said that arrangements have been made in 154 districts across the country to keep suspected patients of the virus under quarantine.
Meanwhile, senior lawyer Khawaja Haris urged the Supreme Court to reconsider its decision of revoking an earlier court ruling that granted bail to low-risk, undertrial prisoners during coronavirus pandemic. In a set of recommendations submitted to the court, Haris said that the Islamabad High Court announced the verdict in line with the law due to the ongoing coronavirus crisis. He said that it is imperative that measures are taken to curb the spread of the coronavirus.
Shedding light on the IHC decision, the legal practitioner said that a high court can grant bail to undertrial prisoners under extraordinary circumstances such as the prevailing one. He said that the IHC verdict is not an impediment in the functioning of the executive branch of the government and the apex court should not declare it null and void, considering the pandemic. “Until crime is proven the suspect is considered an innocent,” he said.
