SC seeks reports on measures to fight COVID-19.

ISLAMABAD -- The top court has directed the federal and provincial governments as well as Gilgit-Baltistan (G-B) and Islamabad administrations to submit reports about expected threats of coronavirus in their respective territories and the measures adopted by them to tackle the pandemic.

The court has also asked as to what steps have been taken for providing necessary training and equipment to doctors and paramedic staff for dealing with the contagious disease.

'What measures have been adopted so far by these governments for providing medicines, protective dresses, kits, medical equipment, ventilators, hospital beds, etc, for treatment of the patients?

'What is the state of readiness of all the hospitals of these governments, to provide adequate treatment to the patients; what inventory/stock these governments are maintaining ...for meeting the looming surge of this pandemic,' said an order issued by a five-judge larger bench on Wednesday.

The bench, headed by Chief Justice of Pakistan Gulzar Ahmed, was hearing a criminal petition against the Islamabad High Court's (IHC) March 20 order regarding release of under trial prisoners (UTPs) from Rawalpindi's overpopulated Adiala Jail in view of the contagious disease.

The court said it will hear arguments with regard to legality of the IHC order on the next date of hearing.

The bench also directed the inspectors general prison all over Pakistan to submit individual reports regarding population of prisoners in their respective prison and the actual capacity of the prisons.

The reports would also include categories of UTPs and convicted prisoners and separate list of prisoners, 'as has been noted in recommendations of the Attorney General for Pakistan (AGP)' and also vulnerable prisoners, as pointed out by the Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) President Qalb-i-Hassan.

The order also noted that a large number of prisoners enter the jail premises on daily basis and the jail authorities have not made any arrangement of screening of these new entrants in the jail.

'Thus, an order may be passed by this court that the new entrants are screened before they are allowed to enter the jail premises and if they...