Pakistan seals Iran, Afghan borders, considering public health emergency

A meeting of the National Security Council (NSC) on Friday recommended the government to declare a public health emergency in the country in the wake of global coronavirus outbreak.

The meeting chaired by Prime Minister Imran Khan took many other important decisions as well against the backdrop of coronavirus outbreak in the world in general and Pakistan in particular. It was decided at the meeting that Pakistan Day ceremonies on March 23 would be cancelled and all borders of the country would be closed for 15 days. A notification of closure of Pakistan's border with Iran and Afghanistan was issued immediately after the meeting.

Also, the government decided to close all public and private education institutions across the country until April 5. 

In a meeting of the National Security Committee presided over PM Imran Khan, it has been decided to close all educational institutions in the country till April 5. This includes all schools and universities, public and private, vocational institutions and madaris.

— Shafqat Mahmood (@Shafqat_Mahmood) March 13, 2020

All national institutions and the armed forces of Pakistan would work together to stop coronavirus spread in Pakistan, it was decided at the meeting.

Talking to a private news channel after the NSC meeting, Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi said chief ministers of all four provinces attended the extraordinary meeting. Services chiefs, director general of the ISPR and chief of the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) were also present in the meeting. He said the situation was under control so far. He said that flights to international destinations would operate only from three cities -- Lahore, Karachi and Islamabad.