KARACHI                  -              The Sindh government on Thursday announced that a complete lockdown would be observed on Friday from 12:00noon to 3:00pm.

Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah met with a delegation of Ulema’s headed by Mufti Munib-ur-Rehman here on Thursday evening. The delegation members included Mufti Abid Mubarak, Mufti Rafi Rehman, Mufti Abid Saeed, Abdul Waheed, Dr Abdul Bari, Dr Adeel, Dr Saeed and others.

The Chief Minister was assisted by Minister Religious Affairs Nasir Shah and Education Minister Saeed Ghani. Murad thanked Ulema and religious scholars for their unconditional support to contain coronavirus.

“I want you to support us on Friday for observing complete lockdown from 12noon to 3 pm and by the time the Prime Minister will meet with Ulema to discuss and decide SOP for Masajid,” he said. The religious scholars said that they were fully aware of the ongoing situation regarding coronavirus. Therefore, they had supported the government and would be supporting the government.

Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah and Mufti Munib-ur-Rehman, just after their meeting, recorded messages and urged the people to cooperate with authorities. Murad Shah directed Inspector General of Police Mushtaq Maher to make necessary arrangements for observing complete closure on Friday from 12:00noon to 3:00pm.

Meanwhile, CM Murad Ali Shah said that the provincial authorities extended the lockdown to save the lives of people from deadly coronavirus. Addressing a press conference during his Sukkur visit, the CM said that cases had dropped due to low frequency of coronavirus tests. Food items for ration bags were taken from utility stores, he said.

Earlier, Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah had ordered to further tighten the coronavirus lockdown in the province. He expressed concern over increasing cases of the pandemic in Sindh, while addressing a press conference he said pillion riding was not allowed along with three to four children on motorbikes.

“The government is not allowing reopening of automobile industry. Construction sector and other departments will be opened as per the Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs,” he added. “The builders will provide all labour and construction details before seeking permission from the authorities for starting their work. Action will be taken against the violators,” the chief minister said.

“Further steps are needed to be taken to counter the epidemic and it would be wrong if we claim that situation in Pakistan is better than other countries. The virus in Pakistan is as dangerous as in other countries,” CM Murad stated.