Pakistan closes Iranian border over virus fears

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan on Sunday closed its land border with Iran, while Afghanistan suspended travel to the neighbouring country as fears across the region continued to grow over a jump in new coronavirus infections.

The latest Pakistan move came a day after the Balochistan government imposed an emergency in all bordering districts with Iran. Prime Minister Imran Khan on Saturday also contacted Balochistan Chief Minister Jam Kamal and discussed options to prevent the virus from entering the country. He told the chief minister to take all protective measures along the Pak-Iran border.

Iran earlier on Sunday reported eight deaths from the novel coronavirus, the highest toll of any country outside China, as the supreme leader accused foreign media of trying to use the outbreak to sabotage a general election.

Balochistan Home Minister Mir Ziaullah Langove told a private news channel on Sunday the border was temporarily closed in light of the reports of coronavirus deaths in Iran. The Balochistan government has also banned the travel of pilgrims from Pakistan to Iran by road and asked the provincial home department to coordinate with other provinces in this regard.

Balochistan Chief Minister Jam Kamal has asked the Provincial Disaster Management Authority to establish a 100-bed tent hospital at the Pak-Iran border crossing in Taftan to cope with any emergency situation.

Assistant Commissioner Taftan Najeebullah Qambrani said the screening of the pilgrims staying at Pakistan House had been started, adding preparations for setting up a 100-bed tent hospital in Taftan had begun and a team of doctors had arrived from Islamabad.

Around 100 intending pilgrims to Iran have been called back to Quetta. The government has issued orders to set up special check posts at Quetta, Mastung, Naushki and Chagai to stop pilgrims from travelling to Iran. An emergency centre has been established at Taftan border crossing with doctors posted to screen pilgrims returning from the neighbouring country.

Minister for Religious Affairs Pir Noorul Haq Qadri has spoken to Iranian authorities about necessary measures to protect pilgrims from catching coronavirus. Haq was also in touch with religious scholars and tour groups in order to design a policy to protect pilgrims from the infection, according to a statement issued by the Religious Affairs Ministry. The statement added joint teams had been constituted to protect pilgrims travelling through Taftan border.

Special Assistant to Prime Minister on Health Dr Zafar Mirza also reached out to the Balochistan chief minister and assured him of all out help. Presiding over a meeting in Islamabad on Sunday, Dr Mirza said the government stood ready to deal with any eventuality. He said well-trained staff was present at Taftan and other border crossings to screen passengers crossing over into Pakistan. He said screening of passengers at all entry points of Karachi, Lahore and Quetta airports was being done in lines with International Health Regulations. During the meeting, the special assistant was given a detailed briefing on the reported cases of coronavirus in Iran.

Afghanistan, which also shares border with Iran, has suspended travel to the Islamic republic. “To prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus and protect the public, Afghanistan suspends all passenger movement (air and ground) to and from Iran,” the office of the National Security Council of Afghanistan said in a statement posted on Twitter.

Desperate and jobless Afghans have crossed the porous border with Iran for years in search of work to support their struggling families back home. But hundreds of thousands of Afghans have returned home in recent years as US sanctions have battered the Iranian economy.

The latest three deaths Iran reported on Sunday were among 15 new confirmed cases of the COVID-19 virus, bringing the overall number of infections to 43 and fatalities to eight—the highest death toll outside of China, the epicentre of the epidemic.

Four new infections surfaced in the capital Tehran, seven in the holy city of Qom, two in Gilan and one each in Markazi and Tonekabon, health ministry spokesman Kianoush Jahanpour said. Authorities have ordered as a “preventive measure” the closure of schools, universities and other educational centres in 14 provinces across Iran from Sunday.

Meanwhile, Turkey on Sunday also announced it would “temporarily” close its border with neighbouring Iran. “We have decided to shut the land border temporarily after an increase in the number of cases in our neighbour Iran,” Health Minister Fahrettin Koca told reporters. The land and railway borders would be closed from 1700 (1400 GMT) on Sunday, the minister said. He said air traffic from Iran into Turkey would also be halted from 2000 (1700 GMT) on Sunday but departures to Iran could continue.