Mosques stay open in Pakistan even as virus death toll rises
Apr 3, 2020
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
ISLAMABAD (AP) — 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.
In eastern Punjab province, where 60% of Pakistan's 220 million people live, checkpoints have been set up in major cities stopping people from congregating.
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.
Iran state TV reported Friday that the virus killed another 134 people, pushing the country's death toll to nearly 3,300 amid more than 53,000 confirmed cases. Iran's parliament speaker, Ali Larijani, is among those who have contracted the disease.
Pakistan, with 2,450 confirmed cases and 36 deaths, has been sharply criticized for moving too slow to curb large gatherings, including a gathering of tens of thousands of Muslims from several Islamic countries in March. The gathering of Tableeghi Jamaat missionaries is blamed for several outbreaks of the new virus elsewhere in the world. The first confirmed cases that emerged in Gaza were traced to the gathering.
Entire neighborhoods, including outside the capital of Islamabad, have been shut down because clerics who had attended the gathering tested positive for the virus.
Despite this, some religious leaders in Pakistan still urge the faithful to defy restrictions and gather at mosques.
Mufti Muneeb-ur-Rehman, head of a committee tasked with spotting the new moon in Pakistan marking the beginning of holy months such as Ramadan, went on television telling people their faith would protect them and they should attend the mosque.
However, Khan on Friday urged Pakistanis to follow social distancing guidelines and warned against assuming the virus won't cause large-scale deaths in the country or believing that Pakistanis were somehow immune to the disease. The prime minister also said he would not consider possible easing of restrictions on movement before April 14.
For most people, the virus causes mild or moderate symptoms, such as fever and cough. But for others, especially older adults and people with existing health problems, it can cause severe symptoms like pneumonia that can be fatal.
In Lebanon, which has seen 508 infected and 17 deaths from COVID-19, the illness caused by the virus, the French Embassy said it evacuated French and European nationals who had been unable to leave as the Beirut airport shut down on March 18. An airport official, speaking on condition of anonymity under regulations, said 149 people were flown out, and that several Doctors Without Borders specialists were on board the flight. France has evacuated 130,000 French citizens from countries around the world since mid-March.
In Jordan, police arrested 22 people for defying the all-day curfew to perform Friday prayers at a mosque in the town of Russeifa, east of the capital, Amman. And in the West Bank, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas extended the state of emergency for another month as 22 new cases of coronavirus were announced on Friday, bringing the total number of patients in the Palestinian territory to 181.
___
Associated Press writers Munir Ahmed in Islamabad; Amir Vahdat in Tehran, Iran; Omar Akour in Amman, Jordan; Sarah El Deeb in Beirut and Fares Akram in Gaza City, Gaza Strip, contributed to this report.
___
Follow AP news coverage of the coronavirus pandemic at https://apnews.com/VirusOutbreak and https://apnews.com/UnderstandingtheOutbreak.
MORE NEWS
US Postal Service to take extra steps to ensure ballot deliveries
US Postal Service plans to implement several measures to facilitate ballot delivery for the upcoming elections. Starting October 4, some retail branches will extend hours for ballot handling and processing. The agency will use expedited services to ensure timely delivery of completed ballots, particularly through its Priority Mail Express network.
In 2017, Google researchers published “Attention Is All You Need”; they were solving translation, but accidentally laid the foundation for today’s AI age
Google Translate once struggled with long sentences because its software processed language one word at a time. This sequential reading approach created severe computational bottlenecks, slowing down translation and causing models to lose context by the time they reached the end of a paragraph. Computer scientists solved this limitation by abandoning step-by-step reading entirely. Their Transformer architecture analyzed full blocks of text simultaneously using self-attention.
‘Productivity growth in consumer services is powering India’s rise’
Dani Rodrik highlights the relationship between ending poverty, boosting the global middle class, and addressing climate change. He emphasizes the importance of transitioning from manufacturing to services in the global economy. As digital technologies evolve, they enhance productivity in services and create equitable opportunities. The decline of the middle class threatens democracy, leading to political instability in many countries.
Bypolls: CPI (M), backing TVK-led regime from outside, alleges 'cash for votes' by Vijay's party
CPI(M) State Secretary P Shanmugam has raised serious allegations against the ruling party TVK, claiming they are engaging in monetary inducements to sway voters ahead of the upcoming bypolls. He contended that while the TVK is known for cash-for-votes schemes, his party focuses solely on distributing informative pamphlets without resorting to bribery.
Who were the sailors who survived 18 hours after sperm whales sank their yacht
A yacht with four crew members sank in the South Pacific after colliding with a whale around 250 nautical miles north of Norfolk Island. The 51-foot Tai Tam suffered severe hull and steering damage and started taking on water. The crew activated an emergency beacon, declared a mayday and worked for hours to control the flooding before abandoning the vessel for a life raft.
Trump says latest Iran peace offer not enough, may resume bombing, and other Mideast developments
US President Donald Trump has suggested that following the elections, he might escalate military actions against Iran. In Yemen, clashes have intensified between Iran-aligned Houthi rebels and government forces surrounding Taiz City. Trump also commented on reports that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu received advance notice of a Hamas attack.
Samsung Galaxy S27 price may rise next year, leak points to higher costs for 512GB and 1TB models. Check all updates
Samsung Galaxy S27 could be more expensive next year, with a Korean tipster claiming a price increase of up to more than 130,000 won in the South Korean market. Higher-storage variants may see larger increases as memory costs rise. The potential hike has also raised questions over Indian pricing, especially after Samsung increased Galaxy S26 prices in the country.
India and Pakistan to clash in pool phase at 2027 Cricket World Cup
India and Pakistan have been drawn in the same group for the upcoming 2027 Cricket World Cup. Their match is scheduled for October 10 at The Wanderers in Johannesburg. India will also face Australia in their pool in a repeat of the 2023 final, opening the second stage. Co-hosts South Africa are in Group B, competing against England and New Zealand, among others.
Canada minimum wage 2026: Five provinces increase hourly rates, workers say it's not enough
On October 1, 2026, five provinces in Canada took a significant step by raising their minimum wages. Ontario's wage rose to $17.95 an hour, aligning with similar increases across other provinces. However, Alberta's wage remained stagnant at $15, the lowest in the country. Workers highlight that these new rates may not suffice to meet basic living expenses, emphasizing the need for higher wages to enhance affordability and bolster local economies.
