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Notification resuming international flights to Pakistan cancelled after provinces protest

A notification by the National Disaster Management Authority that said international flights would resume to Pakistan on April 5 was cancelled an hour after being issued due to opposition by the provinces.

The notification said that international flights would resume across the country on April 5. Pakistan had grounded all international flights till April 5 with the provision that the ban could be extended.

According to the provinces, it’s way too early to reopen airspace.

Sindh Information Minister Syed Nasir Hussain Shah said each province’s consent was needed before this decision was made.

In the NDMA’s notification, it said flights would resume and hotels near eight airports would be converted into quarantine centres.

The decision was made to allow Pakistanis stuck abroad to come back.

But the notification was cancelled and a memo was sent to all four provincial chief secretaries and the chief commissioner of Islamabad.

Pakistan has also stopped domestic flights in a move to curb the spread of the coronavirus. As of Saturday night, the tally of known cases had climbed to 1,495.



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