‘Third wave extremely dangerous’

Provincial Law Minister Muhammad Basharat Raja has said that the third wave of coronavirus was extremely dangerous. Therefore, traders should take precautionary measures as prescribed by the NCOC and strictly follow SOPs in this respect for the safety of all concerned.

The law minister made these remarks while presiding over a meeting of traders' associations in Rawalpindi cantonment, the minister said that traders were the backbone of the country's economy, and resolution of people’s problems especially the business community was the government’s first priority.

Bashrat said certain departments were tasked with implementing SOPs during the lockdown. As such all decisions of the NCOC had to be implemented without question.

He expressed grief over the Urdu Bazaar tragedy and said the government was standing by the traders during such time.

The law minister said a vaccination centre was being set up in Rawalpindi cantonment while business hours for markets in Islamabad and Rawalpindi were the same.

Published in The Express Tribune, April 4^th, 2021.