The federal capital wore a deserted look for the third consecutive day on Wednesday, ever since the Interior Ministry notified the deployment of Pakistan Army troops in all the four provinces, Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK), the Gilgit-Baltistan (GB), and the Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT), in the backdrop of serious challenges posed by coronavirus outbreak.
With the closure of markets and public transport, a thin number of motorists were seen on the roads of Islamabad.
Majority of shops in major markets including Aabpara, Karachi Company, Peshawar Mor, F-6 and F-7, I-8 and G-10 Markaz remained closed, while medical stores/pharmacies, bakeries, and grocery stores remained open.
The situation was not different in the smaller markets located in different sectors of Islamabad, where all the barber shops, tailor shops, hotels, restaurants as well as makeshift food stalls were closed for any kind of business activity.
As per the notification issued by the district administration all markets, shopping malls and private offices shall remain closed. Public offices start functioning from 10am to 4pm except Friday for which timing will be 10am to 1pm.
There is a ban on inter-city, inter-district and inter-provincial movement of public transport. Personnel of law enforcement agencies have been deputed at all entry and exits points of both the cities to ensure ban on the entry of public transport from other cities.
Metro bus service remains functional from 8:30am to 10:30am and from 3:30pm to 5:30pm.
Construction sites remain functional after taking precautionary measures for the safety of the workers.
This order will remain enforced till April 7, 2020, the notification says. Police also conducted random checking in different parts of both the cities of citizens.
Bhara Kahu, a suburban area of the federal capital located some 15 kilometres away from Islamabad city, was completely locked down and all the entry and exit points connecting Bhara Kahu to the rest of the city were blocked for all kinds of vehicles.
Reports emerging from Bhara Kahu suggested that the residents of the Bhara Kahu were not allowed, by the authorities, to leave for their offices and were asked to stay indoors. Bhara Kahu was already sealed earlier on Monday with enhanced security measures put in place on Wednesday, amid the reports that several residents of Kot Hathial area of Bhara Kahu were infected with coronavirus, where no less than 13 coronavirus cases were confirmed.
In addition, the city of Rawalpindi also gave the look of a virtual lockdown with all the markets, roads, hotels, restaurants and even the makeshift stalls practically closed in line with the stringent measures taken by the Punjab government as precautionary arrangements against coronavirus.
It was witnessed that major markets such as Commercial Market, Raja Bazaar, Pindora as well as several other smaller markets remained closed.
Police, Rangers and Pakistan Army troops patrolled the roads of the twin cities.
Over the last couple of days, some shopkeepers were also arrested from various parts of Islamabad for defying government instructions and opening their shops, it was learnt.
Earlier on Sunday, Prime Minister Imran Khan, during his address to the nation, had ruled out the possibility of a complete lockdown of the entire country.
However, with the deployment of the Pakistan Army troops across Pakistan, the AJK and the GB, the reports were rife that a lockdown was imminent in the backdrop of surging number of coronavirus cases in the country. The number of coronavirus cases in the country has neared 1,000, with seven confirmed deaths, till the filing of this report on Wednesday evening.