Daily Times

President Dr Arif Alvi has urged the electronic and print media to highlight the social distancing phenomenon at mosques as agreed between the government and the religious scholars.

In a tweet, the president said the worshipers should also be educated so that they themselves ensure social distancing for their own protection and that of others, adding that we must increase our sense of ownership in our country.

“My appeal to TV & print media to please highlight the masjid social distancing phenomenon, and educate the namazis so that they themselves ensure it for their own protection and that of others. We must increase our sense of ownership in our country,” he said in a statement on the social media site.

Mosques were allowed to remain open in Pakistan on Friday, when Muslims gather for weekly prayers, even as the coronavirus pandemic spread and much of the country had shut down.

Prime Minister Imran Khan is relying on restricting the size of congregations attending mosques and advice to stay at home from religious groups like the country’s Islamic Ideology Council.

However, some provinces have issued their own lockdown orders to prevent Muslims from gathering for Friday prayers. In southern Sindh province, a complete lockdown is being enforced from noon until 3 p.m., the time when the faithful gather for prayers. Anyone found on the streets will be arrested, according to the provincial local government minister in a statement.

Still, mosques remain open in Pakistan, even as they have been shut down across much of the Middle East and elsewhere. The Middle East has confirmed over 85,000 cases of the virus and over 3,700 deaths, most of them in Iran.