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SC asks govt to draft Covid-19 legislation
By Hasnaat Malik
June 8, 2020
https://tribune.com.pk/story/2238252/1-sc-asks-govt-draft-covid-19-legislation/
ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court on Monday asked the federal government to draft legislation to tackle Covid-19 and its effects.
A four-judge bench, led by Chief Justice of Pakistan Gulzar Ahmed, heard the suo motu case on COVID-19 and wondered how policy can be formulated through executive orders as it should be formulated under a law.
“Where is the law which says that Covid-19 poses a threat to life,” questioned the CJP.
He added that work cannot be done through press conferences, rather there should be a law regarding the pandemic’s outbreak.
“Elements of corruption are everywhere and not everything can be managed by the courts,” he added.
The bench noted that although the provinces had their respective legislations for coronavirus, nothing is being done on the national level.
The court was further informed by the NDMA’s legal team that the testing capacity has been increased to 30,000 tests per day.
Upon this, the chief justice remarked that 30,000 tests were very less for a country with a 200 million population.
The NDMA legal team also informed the bench that 100 laboratories were set up across the country to conduct coronavirus tests.
“The number of laboratories is less too. There should be 100 laboratories in Karachi alone,” the CJP remarked.
“We are also feeling the heat after a judge tested positive for the virus,” the CJP added.
The court asked authorities to ensure sanitary workers were provided with the needed protective gear to carry out their daily work.
Adjourning the case for two weeks, the court directed the federal government to submit a report regarding the locust attack in the country.
The court asked the federal government to detail the damage the locust attacks have caused and the cost of importing food in case of food shortage in the country.
The court also withdrew its decision to open markets and shopping malls over the weekend and allowed the government to form its own policy in this regard.
The apex court, earlier last month, had ordered provinces to open all markets and shopping malls over the weekend for people to shop for Eid.
The court had said that the order was till Eid and would be reviewed.
By Hasnaat Malik
June 8, 2020
https://tribune.com.pk/story/2238252/1-sc-asks-govt-draft-covid-19-legislation/
ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court on Monday asked the federal government to draft legislation to tackle Covid-19 and its effects.
A four-judge bench, led by Chief Justice of Pakistan Gulzar Ahmed, heard the suo motu case on COVID-19 and wondered how policy can be formulated through executive orders as it should be formulated under a law.
“Where is the law which says that Covid-19 poses a threat to life,” questioned the CJP.
He added that work cannot be done through press conferences, rather there should be a law regarding the pandemic’s outbreak.
“Elements of corruption are everywhere and not everything can be managed by the courts,” he added.
The bench noted that although the provinces had their respective legislations for coronavirus, nothing is being done on the national level.
The court was further informed by the NDMA’s legal team that the testing capacity has been increased to 30,000 tests per day.
Upon this, the chief justice remarked that 30,000 tests were very less for a country with a 200 million population.
The NDMA legal team also informed the bench that 100 laboratories were set up across the country to conduct coronavirus tests.
“The number of laboratories is less too. There should be 100 laboratories in Karachi alone,” the CJP remarked.
“We are also feeling the heat after a judge tested positive for the virus,” the CJP added.
The court asked authorities to ensure sanitary workers were provided with the needed protective gear to carry out their daily work.
Adjourning the case for two weeks, the court directed the federal government to submit a report regarding the locust attack in the country.
The court asked the federal government to detail the damage the locust attacks have caused and the cost of importing food in case of food shortage in the country.
The court also withdrew its decision to open markets and shopping malls over the weekend and allowed the government to form its own policy in this regard.
The apex court, earlier last month, had ordered provinces to open all markets and shopping malls over the weekend for people to shop for Eid.
The court had said that the order was till Eid and would be reviewed.
