(Karachi) Amid spike in coronavirus infections and keeping in view security concerns, the Rawalpindi administration has denied permission to the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) for holding a public rally on April 4, local media reported on Friday.

As per details, the PPP had sought permission for holding a public gathering in Rawalpindi to mark the 42nd death anniversary of party's founder Zulfikar Ali Bhutto.

However, the district administration rejected their application on the basis of security concerns and increase in number of COVID-19 cases.

Earlier today, Pakistan's coronavirus tally jumped to 645,356 after 4,368 people tested positive for the virus.

The last time Pakistan reported over 4000 cases was last year in July when it reported 4087 cases. During the past 24 hours, the country conducted 42,418 tests, taking the number of tests conducted to 9,976,791. There are now 40,120 active cases out of which 2,758 cases are critical.

Out of the new tests which came out positive, Punjab reported the highest with 2,451 cases, Sindh 247, Balochistan 32 and KP reported 890 cases. Islamabad reported 663 new infections, Azad Jammu and Kashmir reported 79 while Gilgit-Baltistan reported six new COVID-19 cases.

In 24 hours, coronavirus claimed another 63 lives, taking the national death toll to 14,091.