NCOC issues guidelines for religious activities

ISLAMABAD: The National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC) has issued guidelines for holding Milads and Seerat-un-Nabi (PBUH) conferences in the month of Rabi ul Awal.

A meeting of the NCOC, under the chairmanship of the Federal Minister for Planning, Development, and Special Initiatives Asad Umar, decided that only licensed and government-approved rallies and events will be allowed.

The meeting urged the individuals and organisations concerned to strictly implement the coronavirus Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) throughout the holy month. The NCOC made it mandatory for religious scholars and naat reciters to be fully vaccinated before attending Rabi ul Awal events and suggested the govt and private media houses hold the events live so that more people could partake in the celebrations without having to physically attend them.

According to the SOPs defined by the NCOC for milads and other religious events, the venues should be open and spacious where a six-feet distance in the seating arrangement must be ensured. Events organised at mosques and other spots should have thermal screening, sanitisers, and arrangements for washing hands at the entrances while the availability of face masks should be ensured at every venue. The NCOC also directed people to avoid physical contact with sacred objects.

Authorities concerned have been directed to set up special vaccination camps on the 10th Rabi ul Awal (October 17). The moon for the holy month of Rabi-ul-Awal had been sighted in Pakistan on October 7, with the Eid Milad un Nabi (PBUH) falling on October 19.