PESHAWAR: Over 100 people, including traders, were arrested in parts of the provincial capital on Saturday over the violation of coronavirus-induced lockdown.

In some areas, the police subjected many residents to a painful stress position (murgha punishment) for not following the government’s Covid-19 guidelines.

Some traders complained that the police personnel forced them into closing shops even before the scheduled time of 4pm alleging lack of cooperation for the effective lockdown enforcement.

The administration said it was committed to enforcing lockdown strictly in the district.

Additional deputy commissioner Ashfaq Khan told Dawn that deputy commissioner of Peshawar Mohammad Ali Asghar and all other officials of the administration heading different teams visited bazaars in their respective areas to ensure the people comply with the guidelines issued by the government to stem the spread of novel coronavirus in the ‘large national interest’.

Official says Rs1m fine imposed in two days

He said majority of the lockdown and guideline violators were fined, while the serious offenders were put behind bars.

The additional deputy commissioner said around Rs1 million fine had been imposed on the lockdown violators during the last two days.

“Despite repeated warnings, the people are least bothered about protecting themselves from the infection by following the government’s guidelines,” he said.

Meanwhile, deputy commissioner Mohammad Ali Asghar held a meeting with religious scholars from different schools of thought in the city and discussed with them the enforcement of standard operating procedures for congregational prayers during the fasting month of Ramazan.

The police officials, who were also in attendance, briefed the meeting about the implementation of SOPs for worship places.

Official of the Auqaf department Sher Afzal Khan and prayer leaders, including Muttahida Aman Committee chief Maulana Hussain Ahmad Madni, Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam Peshawar leader Maulana Abdul Haseeb Haqqani and clerics Allama Abdul Aziz Chishti, Maulana Siddique Ali and Maulana Abdur Rehman also attended the meeting.

The deputy commissioner urged participants to follow guidelines to prevent more deaths from the infection.

He warned that the administration would take action over the violation of 20-point SOPs for congregational prayers.

Mr Asghar said the government has already declared the wearing of face masks in public and social distancing mandatory as a precautionary measure against Covid-19, so the people should act accordingly.

He urged religious scholars to play due yet effective role for creating public awareness of precautionary steps against coronavirus.

The government had exempted the shops of essential commodities from lockdown during the month of Ramazan.

However, such shopkeepers were told to close outlets by 4pm in light of the growing number of the confirmed coronavirus cases in different districts of the province.

The government has also announced that the administrations will strictly monitor the observance of social distancing and adherence to other precautionary measures in shops exempted from lockdown.

Published in Dawn, April 26th, 2020