Pakistan: Malls ordered to open as cases rise
SUPREME COURT WARNS PEOPLE WILL DIE OF HUNGER
Afive-member bench of Supreme Court of Pakistan (SCP) headed by Chief Justice Gulzar Ahmad yesterday directed reopening of shopping malls across the country, seven days a week.
While hearing a suo motu on coronavirus, the Supreme Court chief justice remarked if shops continued to remain shut, shopkeepers would ‘die of hunger instead of coronavirus.’
Questioning the logic behind closure of markets on two days of week (Saturday and Sunday), the CJP asked the provincial governments’ representatives and Attorney General if the virus rested on these two days or went somewhere.
“Besides, keeping markets closed on two days a week was a violation of the Articles 4, 18 and 25 of the constitution,” the chief justice further said.
While noting that in Karachi, except for five big shopping malls, every market was allowed to resume business, the Chief Justice asked Advocate
General of Sindh Salman Talibuddin why those shopping malls were pointed out by the provincial government.
To this the Sindh government’s chief legal officer said the shopping malls were closed for fear of further spread of coronavirus. He said mostly people went to these shopping malls for merely passing time and not really for the purpose of shopping.
Sindh, the advocate general emphasised was implementing all the decisions taken by the National Coordination Committee (NCC), which is headed by Prime Minister Imran Khan.
Don’t create hurdles
Chief Justice Gulzar however, differing with his point of view remarked the court didn’t see any reason for keeping shopping malls closed in Sindh.
“Sindh should consult the federal government regarding opening shopping malls as Punjab and Islamabad are opening its shopping malls today,” said the chief judge of the country adding, “Provinces should not create hurdles in opening shopping malls after getting permission.”
Earlier this month after Prime Minister Imran Khan’s announcement to ease lockdown in phases, the provincial governments of Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) had also announced resumption of businesses in small markets but for five days a week, while the Sindh government had refused to open big shopping malls.
To a question why some markets of Karachi were sealed a day earlier, Commissioner of Karachi Iftikhar Shallwani said a few markets were sealed for not following the Standard Operating Procedures (SOP) laid out by the government.
Better implementation
The chief justice remarked these markets should be allowed to do business and the Karachi administration instead of intimidating them should convince and make them understand the importance of guidelines and SOPs.
SOPs will be ‘better implemented’ at the big shopping malls, he remarked. The apex court earlier issued “Sindhspecific” orders however later made clear they were meant for the entire country.
The court also called the report presented by the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) unsatisfactory, saying the country’s resources were being utilised in ‘a wrong manner’.
“Why has not our country gained the capability to produce its own testing kits?” he said to the representative of the NDMA.
The NDMA official responded that the Health Ministry could give a better response in the matter.
The CJP objected that there were no details presented regarding the expenditure of funds for anti-coronavirus measures.
Supreme Court Chief Justice Gulzar Ahmad, while issuing the order, asked where would the coronavirus go on Saturdays and Sundays.