TERENCE J SIGAMONY

ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court declared the decision of closure of business on Saturdays and Sundays illegal, and directed the Sindh government to approach the Ministry of National Health Services, Regulation and Coordination (NHSRC) for reopening of shopping malls in the province.

A five-member bench, headed by Chief Justice Gulzar Ahmed, on Monday heard a suo motu case on federal and the provincial governments’ measures to combat coronavirus.

The chief justice noted that the government followed the International Monetary Fund (IMF)-World Banks’ stance on coronavirus “blindly” without examining the ground realities.

He said that due to the lockdown industries were destroyed, millions of people rendered jobless, money depreciated, and goods worth billions of rupees for export ruined at the Karachi Port.

The bench said there was no justifiable rational to shut shops, markets and other businesses on Saturdays and Sundays.

The National Coordination Committee’s (NCC’s) decision on closure of shops, markets and the businesses on Saturday and Sunday is contrary to Article 4, 18 and 25 of the Constitution, therefore it is declared illegal and set aside.

The advocates general of all the provinces and the Gilgit-Baltistan informed that all shops and markets have been allowed to open.

The Punjab and Islamabad further said they have approached the NHSRC to reopen the shopping malls across Punjab and Islamabad, and likely to get permission and they will allow shopping malls to reopen from today (Monday).

The Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, Balochistan and the Gilgit-Baltistan advocates general submitted that there are no shopping malls in their provinces, but all the shops and the markets are open in their provinces as per the 7th May NCC decision.

Advocate General Sindh Salman Talibuddin stated that all shops and markets have been allowed to reopen in whole of the province because in view of the May 07, 2020 NCC decision regarding opening of shopping malls has to be reviewed.

The court noted that if the shopping malls could be reopened in the Punjab then why the same cannot be done by the Sindh province.

The bench in view of that; “Directed the Sindh government to apply to the NHSRC today (Tuesday), for seeking approval for opening of shopping malls in the Sindh.”

“We expect that after such application is made, the NHSRC shall give their decision today and if their decision is that shopping malls are allowed to open, the respective Provincial Government shall allow the shopping malls to be open and shall not create any hindrance or obstruction in this regard but ensure that SOPs are followed,” said the order.

The court warned the federal, all the provincial and GB governments and the ICT Administration not to interfere with business activities of private entrepreneurs.

It said such entrepreneurs lost faith in the system and packed up and moved to some other destinations in the world where they consider their investment to be more safe and profitable.

If businesses and industries remain closed for a long time, their revival becomes doubtful, more and more, and in case they are not revived, millions of workers will be on streets and the government may be faced with a human disaster and calamity of such a magnitude that to overcome it, may become next to impossible.

The bench found the report of National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) unsatisfactory, and issued notices to the Attorney General for Pakistan Khalid Jawed Khan and top officials of the NDMA for explaining why a huge money spent on the purchase of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE), while local a PPE is available for Rs 600.

The bench noted that Pakistan is not a country which is seriously affected by the coronavirus.

There are other serious ailments prevailing in the country, from which people are dying daily and those ailments are not being catered to and the coronavirus (COVID-19), which apparently is not an epidemic in Pakistan, is swallowing such huge amounts of money.

The federal secretary health stated that over the years in the ICT almost 1,000 people die only on account of pollen allergy.

The bench noted that hundreds of thousands people die due to brain haemorrhage, cardiac failure, Hepatitis, dengue, kidney failure, liver failure, pulmonary, and other ailments.

The chief justice said the bench is not suggesting by any means that the governments should not attend to coronavirus.

The court expected that the government should not put all its resources for this one disease, nor the country should be made all together dysfunctional because of this disease, for its consequences will be highly detrimental to the people of Pakistan.

Earlier, the chief justice asked the Sindh AG not to take coercive measures against the shopkeepers, and small businessmen, adding if they are not following the SOPs then instruct them and do counsel that taking measures against coronavirus is in their own advantage.

The chief justice expressed annoyance over Rs25.3 billion spending by the NDMA.

The director NDMA said that Rs59 million was spent on setting up coronavirus center at Haji Camp, which was later shifted to Bara Kahu.

He said the federal government had given them Rs25 billion, adding that with that amount they had purchased PPEs for doctors and the para-medics, and X-ray machines.

The case was adjourned until today (Tuesday).