KARACHI: Youm-e-Ali (AS) is being observed across the country on Tuesday (today) to pay homage to the supreme sacrifices of Hazrat Imam Hussain and his companions.
Some mourning processions are being taken out in different cities of the country amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Severe security steps have been taken by the government with the deployment of thousands of military, paramilitary and police forces to avoid any untoward incident.
On Saturday, in a bid to contain the spread of novel coronavirus cases, the National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC) imposed a ban on all sort of processions on the occasion of Youm-e-Ali (AS), which is observed every year on the 21st of Ramazan.
However, the NCOC has allowed the holding of majalis under strict anti-Covid standard operating procedures (SOPs) which are already in place for the holy month of Ramazan.
The decision has been made while keeping in view the risk factor due to the ongoing surge in Covid spread across the country and particularly in major urban centers.
The forum has emphasized the need to engage religious scholars and community leaders at provincial and district levels for the implementation of these decisions.
On Monday, Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah had instructed that SOPs violators are fined, saying that there is a zero-tolerance policy against people not following the precautionary measures.
Meanwhile, the Sindh and Gilgit Baltistan governments have given permission for the Youm-e-Ali (RA) procession in Karachi today. The coronavirus has claimed 161 more lives and infected 3,377 during the past 24 hours in Pakistan on Tuesday.
The health authorities reported 161 deaths in the last 24 hours by novel coronavirus as the number of positive cases surged to 837,523. The nationwide tally of fatalities has jumped to 18,310.
According to the latest figures issued by the National Command and Operation Center (NCOC) 3,377 persons were tested positive for COVID-19 in the past 24 hours.
Pakistan has conducted 37,587 tests in the past 24 hours out of which 3,377 persons were tested positive for the disease. The COVID Positivity Ratio was recorded at 8.98 percent.
