Situation in the wake of resumption of international flights reviewed

A high-level meeting at the Foreign Office on Monday reviewed the situations in the aftermath of possible resumption of international flight operations from the country's airports after April 4, besides other steps to prevent the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic in the country.
Chaired by Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi, the meeting was attended by Minister for Aviation Ghulam Sarwar Khan, Special Assistant on Health Services Dr Zafar Mirza, Special Assistant on Overseas Pakistan Syed Zulfiqar Abbas Bukhari, Special Assistant on National Security Division Dr Moeed Yusuf, Foreign Secretary Sohail Mahmood, Special Assistant on Digital Pakistan Tania Aidrus, Secretary Aviation Division Hassan Nasir Jami, Executive Director National Institute of Health (NIH) General Amir Akram, CEO Shaukat Khanum Memorial Hospital Dr Faisal Sultan, and senior officials of the Foreign Office.
According to a Foreign Office statement, the meeting reviewed various aspects of repatriating Pakistanis stranded in various countries due to the suspension of international flights and lockdown in various countries.
It stated that the situation in the aftermath of the possible resumption of international flights after April 4 were also discussed in detail and it was decided that the unanimous recommendations prepared in the meeting will be presented before the National Coordination Committee (NCC) for final approval.
Foreign Minister Qureshi told the meeting that the flight operation was suspended to stop the possible transfer and outbreak of coronavirus in the country.
He said that the NCC would hold further consultation on next course of action.
He further said that the government's capacity to deal with the global pandemic of coronavirus was gradually increasing. Dr Mirza briefed the meeting on nature and risk assessment of spread of coronavirus in Pakistan.
The executive director NIH informed the participants about the capacity of testing for COVID-19 and the preparedness of the NIH to deal with the challenge. Earlier, the foreign minister received the United Nations Resident Coordinator Julien Frederic Morcom-Harneis at the Foreign Office.
Qureshi told the UN resident coordinator that Pakistan was taking effective steps to tackle the coronavirus challenge despite its limited resources.
The foreign minister said that the COVID-19 had become a major threat to the world but developing countries such as Pakistan were facing severe economic difficulties in tackling the global pandemic.
The UN resident coordinator assured full support to Pakistan in developing comprehensive strategies to combat the coronavirus. The strategy will be aimed to effectively monitor the implementation of financial support from the global community to combat the pandemic.
Meanwhile, talking to Assistant to the Prime Minister on Youth Affairs Usman Dar, Qureshi said that the government was fully aware of the problems of the low-income and poor segments of the society due to lockdown and for this purpose "Corona Tiger Force" was being formed to address their problems.
He said that the force would provide food to the poor people at their doorstep. Speaking on the occasion, Dar said the process of formation of "Corona Tiger Force" had been started on the directives of the prime minister and the youth would be made part of the force, irrespective of political affiliation.
He said the volunteer force would be used to take care of patients under quarantine, and to provide ration to homes in case of emergency. Usman Dar informed the foreign minister that registration of volunteers from across the country would be completed through the Citizens Portal from March 31 to April 10.