ISLAMABAD The Supreme Court (SC) on Friday formed a larger bench to hear suo-moto case related to situation arising from the coronavirus outbreak in the country. A five-member larger bench of the SC led by Chief Justice of Pakistan, Justice Gulzar Ahmed will take up the case on April 20. The apex court has issued notices to the chief secretaries of the all four provinces in this context. The federal interior secretary, chief commissioner Islamabad and the chief secretary Gilgit Baltistan have also been served notices. It must be noted that SC had earlier expressed displeasure over steps taken by authorities to combat the COVID-19 in the country. The Supreme Court also ordered to set up proper quarantine centers at Taftan, Chaman and Torkham borders for coronavirus patients. Hearing a case pertaining to the closure of OPDs and availability of facilities amid coronavirus pandemic, the apex court ordered the federal government to establish quarantine facilities at all three borders within one month. In a report submitted to the apex court on Saturday, the government informed CJP Ahmed that an emergency had been declared in the border areas of Balochistan with Iran, with additional staff deployed at border crossings. The court was informed that 207 hospitals in all major cities and 154 districts across Pakistan had been identified for isolation of suspected patients of the coronavirus.–INP
