Staff Reporter
Islamabad
The Supreme Court on Wednesday said that it is “fully cognisant” regarding the menace of the novel coronavirus in Pakistan and also to the fact that the disease has caused a large number of fatalities and a considerable number of people have been infected and their numbers are increasing day-by-day.
“It is obvious that this coronavirus has come as an additional burden on the Government of Pakistan and the manner in which this virus has started spreading in Pakistan, has set the alarm bell ringing. This virus being new, there was no readiness of the government to deal with the same, nor the necessary medical equipment were available to face the growing number of infected cases,” read the written order issued by the five-judge larger bench headed by Chief Justice of Pakistan Gulzar Ahmed during the hearing of the suo motu case related to the coronavirus crisis in the country.
The written order further stated that the government did take immediate steps to tackle this virus and mitigate its effects on the people of Pakistan, and in this regard, a colossal amount of money was diverted and used.
“We admit that Pakistan has a struggling economy and coronavirus (Covid-19) made it more staggering. However, we note that the people of Pakistan have a fundamental right, namely, right to life, under which Government of Pakistan is required to provide to the people of Pakistan safe and healthy living conditions,” it added.
Referring to Article 149 (1) and (4), the order further states that the executive authority of all the provinces are mandatorily required to be exercised so as not to impede or prejudice the exercise of the executive authority of the federation and the executive authority of the federation shall extend to giving directions to provinces, as may appear necessary to the government.
