Sindh govt also seeks troops assistance
Rawalpindi
Interior Minister Sheikh Rasheed Ahmed on Sunday announced that deployment of Pakistan Army to implement Covid SOPs has been approved for three provinces — excluding Sindh — Azad Jammu Kashmir and Gilgit Baltistan.
The interior minister made the announcement soon in a video after he chaired a meeting on the Covid-19 situation and reviewed the deployment of armed forces in aid of civil administration.
Rasheed said that a notification for military deployment has been issued for three provinces, Gilgit Baltistan and Azad Jammu and Kashmir after the prime minister announced the decision.
He said Sindh had not opted to be part of the measure for now. “A decision on military deployment in Sindh is yet to be taken,” he said adding that the personnel of Pakistan Army would enforce strict Covid-19 SOPs along with civil administration.
He said that the military was given the task to enforce Covid SOPs in the wake of the worsening Covid-19 situation in India, where over 300,000 cases have been reported daily.
“Shamshan Ghat [Crematorium Crematory] and graveyards are filled with bodies in India,” Sheikh Rasheed said.
The minister said the Pakistan Army had always stood with the people when floods, earthquakes and other natural disasters hit the country, therefore, it was decided during a meeting of the National Coordination Committee to seek the army’s services to enforce the coronavirus SOPs.
“The federal government, in exercise of the powers conferred under Article 245 of the Constitution […], is pleased to authorise deployment of sufficient strength of troops of Pakistan Army, we.f. 25th April, 2021, on the requisition of the Government of Punjab in the province in connection with enforcement of NCC/NCOC guidelines on Covid-19 and matters ancillary thereto subject to laws enforced in Pakistan,” one of the orders said.
It said the requirement of troops will be worked out by the Punjab government in coordination with the army authorities, adding that “the date for de-requisitioning of army troops will be decided subsequently on the basis of mutual consultation of all stakeholders and decision by the NCC/NCOC.” Similar notifications were issued for KP, Balochistan, Islamabad, AJK and GB.
Meanwhile, the GB Home Department issued a notification for the deployment of army and Rangers personnel in cities with a Covid-19 positivity rate of more than five per cent. It also banned dining at restaurants and closed all parks in the region.
