People must cooperate in combating coronavirus, says AJK president

President Masood appreciates armed forces for their efforts to ensure safety of people's lives

MUZAFFARABAD: Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) President Sardar Masood Khan on Friday expressed satisfaction over coordinated efforts of various government departments and state institutions to contain COVID-19 pandemic in the liberated territory.

Appealing to people to extend their full cooperation to the state government and law-enforcement agencies in making preventive measures a success, he said that citizens should play their part for fighting the novel coronavirus.

"In all 83 suspected patients of COVID-19, 59 of them have been tested negative, two positive, and the test reports of 24 suspected cases are yet to receive," President Masood said while briefing AJK Chief Secretary Mathar Niaz Rana at Aiwan-e-Sadr.

The state chief secretary said that lockdown had been enforced in all big and small cities of the liberated territory, however, various measures have also been adopted for social distancing of people, and to ensure thin participation in religious congregations and social gatherings.

On the whole, he maintained, the people are cooperating with the government departments and the law-enforcement agencies in this regard.



Urging people to stay away from suspected persons infected with COVID-19, the AJK president asked citizens to wash their hands regularly.

Appreciating the state government for activating the whole machinery in a short time to contain the spread of contagion, he particularly paid tributes to physicians, nurses and other paramedical staff of the health department for actively working round the clock to save the human lives.

He also appreciated the armed forces of country and the law-enforcement agencies for their efforts to ensure safety of people's lives.

Later, Member of AJK Council of Islamic Ideology Mufti Kifayat Hussain Naqvi also called on President Masood, and discussed the role of religious scholars in dealing with the situation erupted out of the coronavirus outbreak.

“Maximum cooperation is needed from Ulema and other religious leaders to successfully combat the pandemic,” he said, adding the religious personalities and clerics should convince the people to follow basic principles of cleanliness in the light Islamic teachings and should direct people to perform religious rituals in a way that their lives and the lives of others are not in danger.