SOPs eased for Pakistanis returning from Afghanistan

PESHAWAR (Pajhwok): The Pakistan via Torkham.

The mandatory stay at quarantine centres in Khyber tribal district has been softened with the arrival of 413 people from the neighbouring country last week.

Pakistanis returning from Afghanistan are no longer kept at any of the seven quarantine centres in the tribal district under the new SOPs, a newspaper reported.

The returnees are allowed to leave for their respective districts of residence after being served a one-time meal and their swab samples taken, according to Dawn.

In mid-April, seven quarantine centres were set up in Landikotal and Jamrud in addition to isolation wards at hospitals to provide Covid-19 health facilities to those returning from Afghanistan via Torkham.

All returning Pakistanis would be taken to the quarantine centres with initial screening through thermal guns before their swab samples were taken.

More than 2,000 returning Pakistanis were kept at these centres. They were duly tested for coronavirus infections. Those testing positive were later shifted to isolation wards.

Deputy Commissioner Mehmud Asalam Wazir told Dawn “That policy has now changed under the new SOPs and we don’t keep any of the newly returned Pakistanis at these centres.”

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