LAHORE – In a first case of its kind, the top court in Punjab has imposed a Rs200,000 fine on a man for claiming that the deadly novel coronavirus is not real.
During a hearing yesterday, the petitioner maintained that the COVID-19 infection, which has claimed 1,723,915 lives across the globe, does not exist in the South Asian country and there should be no coronavirus treatment at Pakistan hospitals.
Chief Justice Qasim Ali Khan asked the man if he doesn’t want the government to treat the virus.
He replied saying that the virus does not exist, adding that “all these signs and diseases are from Jahiliyyah (an Islamic concept referring to the period of time and state of affairs in Arabia before the advent of Islam in 610 CE).”
The court dismissed his petition and imposed a fine on him for disseminating fake information.
Pakistan reports 84 new deaths, 2142 fresh COVID-19 cases in 24 hours
Meanwhile in the country, a total of 2,142 new COVID-19 cases were confirmed in the past 24 hours, bringing the tally to 462,814. With 84 new deaths, the country’s coronavirus death toll reached 9,557. So far, a total of 415,352 people have recovered from the virus while the active number of cases stands at 37,905.
With 35,621 tests conducted across Pakistan, the positivity rate has reached 6.01%.
