Landi Kotal tribesmen ignore social distancing at weddings, funerals.

LANDI KOTAL -- The residents of Landi Kotal in Khyber tribal district are ignoring government restrictions to check the spread of coronavirus by showing up in large numbers on almost all social occasions, including weddings, funerals and religious congregations like Friday prayers, caring little for social distancing.

The attendance on social occasions, especially at funerals, has instead increased since imposition of the countrywide lockdown as a large number of residents who had been working in different cities had returned home.

'This is unprecedented as the number of people at funerals has surged to hundreds as most of the residents have returned home due to lockdown in almost all major cities,' Ibrahim Chacha, a local resident, told this correspondent after attending a funeral of a person he did not even know.

He said that people were least bothered about the safety measures concerning Covid-19 as they had been freely meeting and greeting each other.

He said that attending funerals was considered as an integral part of local culture and also a religious obligation.

People returning from other cities show up at gatherings in larger numbers

He said that attendance at Juma prayers had also increased significantly as people generally believed that their fears could only be salvaged with prayers.

The youth of the area have their own plans as...