Military spokesman and ISPR Director-General Maj-Gen Babar Iftikhar on Friday said the Army Medical Corps (AMC) reserves had been called in to boost the strength to fight the coronavirus pandemic in Pakistan.

Terming the next 15 days very critical, the ISPR DG urged the people to pray at their homes during the upcoming holy of Ramazan. “A smart lockdown and testing, tracing and quarantining will drive our efforts against COVID-19. We will have a targeted lockdown only for virus hotspots and clusters,” said the military's spokesperson about the strategy to tackle the virus in future.

Addressing a press briefing, the ISPR chief said the world could not ignore the Saffronisation of the Indian military and polity, as he highlighted the increase in ceasefire violations along the Line of Control (LoC).

Babar said the Indian military had violated the ceasefire 850 times since January 1 and 456 times since February 26, the day when the first COVID-19 case was reported in Pakistan while targeting the civilian population.

A newborn child was martyred and 31 injured, including women and children, were also injured, he added.

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According to Maj-Gen Babar, a corps commanders’ conference was held at the General Headquarters which reviewed the deployment of troops and other measures taken to fight the coronavirus.

The meeting chaired by Chief of the Army Staff General Qamar Javed Bajwa also considered the future course of action with a special focus on the steps for providing relief to the citizens in Ramazan.

About India, Maj-Gen Babar said the Indian forces were using the innocent citizens in Held Kashmir as human shields during the ceasefire violations.

He also referred to the propaganda launched by India, especially the military leadership, and said it was aimed at diverting attention from the internal divisions.

The attempt to identify COVID-19 spread with the Muslim population had been badly exposed around the world, said the ISPR chief.

He noted that the Pakistan Army had been using its facilities, including six testing labs, in coordination with the health authorities to tackle the pandemic.

The Army has also decided not to claim the internal security allowance so that the money could be used for the people and health services, Maj Gen Babar said.