News Agencies:
ISLAMABAD: The National Security Council (NSC) on Friday decided to cancel Pakistan Day parade and shut down borders with Iran and Afghanistan to contain the spread of novel corona virus in the country. Prime Minister Imran Khan chaired the meeting, which thoroughly reviewed arrangements and plans to cope with any emergency situation in the wake of global outbreak of corona virus.
The NSC meeting decided to cancel the Pakistan Day parade and close borders with Afghanistan at Torkham and Chaman and Taftan with neighboring Iran to contain the spread of novel corona virus. Apart from this, the meeting also decided to allow only Karachi, Islamabad and Lahore airports for limited foreign operations and rest of the airports have been barred in this regard. 
It was decided that Zaireen (Shia pilgrims) returning from Iran would be screened again and that they would by physically re-checked to avoid the spread of the virus. The meeting also decided to close all educational institutions till April 5 to avoid its spread.
“Last week, a summary was moved by Dr Mirza, seeking allocation of Rs670 million and the waiving off the Public Procurement Regulatory Authority rules so that personal protective equipment could be procured without any delay. However, the summary was rejected as the cabinet was of the view that the provinces should also contribute funds,” he had said.
