The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Minister for Health Taimur Saleem Jhagra has said that the government is trying to restrict business activities to the minimum due to the coronavirus pandemic and lockdowns. Responding to a call attention notice in the provincial assembly session on Monday, Taimur Saleem Jhagra said that the government is compelled to take strict actions in implementing Covid-19 SOPs in the province to protect the lives of people from this pandemic. Responding to a point of order, provincial minister for local government and law Akbar Ayub Khan said the provincial government is planning to build Gandhara City near Peshawar. It is pertinent to mention here that amid the rising number of coronavirus infections, Mardan went under a one-week lockdown from Monday. Authorities have said that the lockdown period can be extended if the coronavirus situation doesn’t ameliorate. Earlier, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Health Secretary Syed Imtiaz Hussain Shah had said that the decision to impose a lockdown can be reconsidered if the rate of coronavirus cases in Mardan and Lower Dir did not decrease. Meanwhile, Deputy Commissioner Mardan Habibullah Arif said that the coronavirus situation in Mardan has become alarming with a drastic increase in infections. “People are not following the coronavirus protocols, most people are not even wearing masks,” he said.