RAWALPINDI: Following the government’s directives that pilgrims coming from Iran will be quarantined again in their respective provinces from Monday, the Rawalpindi police had made special arrangements to ensure that no pilgrims’ bus makes stops in the district.

When contacted, a police official told Dawn that a special contingency plan regarding pilgrims coming from Iran had been made to ensure their safe passage through the limit of Rawalpindi district.

He said a special police squad would escort the vehicles carrying pilgrims.

The federal government has directed the provincial authorities to establish special quarantines in their respective areas so all the pilgrims coming from Iran will be isolated again.

Pilgrims from Iran will be quarantined again in their respective provinces

The police official said the pilgrims coming from Iran would be kept in quarantine in their respective provinces for further two weeks to ascertain whether or not they had contracted the virus.

On Sunday, eight busses carrying pilgrims coming from Iran passed through the limit of Rawalpindi en route to Gilgit-Baltistan (GB).

Besides police, a vehicle with jammers and an ambulance of Rsecue 1122 with all people wearing safety suits escorted them, the police official said.

Though none of the pilgrims will be allowed to make stopover in the limit of Rawalpindi, in case of emergency, no compromise will be made on security, he said adding the pilgrims belonging to GB will be quarantined near Mansehra.

“All the police personnel deployed with the pilgrims’ transportation had been provided special suits to protect them from corona virus as per SOP issued by WHO and Punjab government to deal with any suspect or affected corona virus,” he said.

The Special Branch’s mobile jammer vehicle will escort the pilgrims’ bus, while the SHOs of Naseerabad, Taxila, Saddar Bairooni and Chauntra would be responsible to ensure the safe passage to the pilgrims’ vehicles.

Published in Dawn, March 17th, 2020