CJP criticizes govt for not taking adequate measures to curb spread of coronavirus

• Gulzar says the government is doing nothing on ground to contain spread of the disease.
• The chief justice says people have been left at the mercy of God.

(Karachi) Chief Justice of Pakistan Justice Gulzar Ahmed has criticized the government for not taking adequate efforts to combat the coronavirus disease. He said the government saying that "nothing is being done on ground".

The chief justice issued these remarks while hearing an appeal against Islamabad High Court's judgment regarding the release of under-trial prisoners due to the coronavirus outbreak on Monday.

Justice Gulzar said that the government is doing nothing on ground to contain spread of the disease. He added that the government had closed emergencies of all hospitals and the patients have been left unattended as there is no place for them to seek treatment.

"It is the time when we need hospitals but they have been closed." He remarked, "Till date, at least 10 hospitals with 1,000 beds each should have been made operational."

The CJ mentioned, "The people have been left at the mercy of God. Everyone is talking about funds and no one is doing anything over the matter."

Meanwhile, the chief justice also criticised the government over its  move to encourage people to stay indoors in order to curb the spread of the disease.

Last week, the Supreme Court had suspended orders issued by the high courts relating to the release of UTPs amidst the coronavirus outbreak.

In its order, the top court said: “No further order shall be passed by any of the high courts and by any of the provincial governments/ICT/Gilgit-Baltistan of releasing the prisoners from the jails.”

In a previous hearing, the IHC had ordered the release of 24 suspects under trial for various corruption-related references filed by the National Accountability Bureau (NAB).

Earlier, the IHC had ordered the issuance of bail for prisoners who were facing trial for minor crimes to prevent the spread of the coronavirus. IHC Chief Justice Minallah had issued the order after hearing a case regarding 1,362 prisoners incarcerated in crowded jails.