KARACHI : A special meeting of the National Command and Operation Center (NCOC) has been underway at Sindh Chief Minister House here being attended by Minister for Planning, Development and Special Initiative Asad Umar and NCOC National Coordinator Lt. Gen. Hamood-uz-Zaman.

The meeting, was hosted by Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah. Health Minister Dr Azra Pechuho and others also attended the meeting.

Murad Ali Shah said that the NCOC had fared well, adding that the Sindh government had imposed selective lockdowns at coronavirus hot-spot areas throughout the province.

Discussing the safety precautions for cattle markets in the city, Shah said that the authorities have banned sale of sacrificial animals at public place, which could only be bought at the places designated by the government for cattle market.

“Buying and selling of animals in streets have been prohibited,” he told the NCOC session.

Federal Minister Asad Umar said that the main objective of bringing the NCOC meetings to provinces was to ensure an improved action against the pandemic.”

The minister also recognised that the work done by provincial governments had helped to control the pandemic.

He said that the federal government was working together with provincial governments in the battle against COVID-19.

Chief Secretaries of Punjab, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Balochistan, Gilgit Baltistan and Azad Kashmir regions attended the meeting on video link.

The NCOC had formulated the Standard Operating Procedures on Monday regarding cattle markets and imposition of smart lockdown in several places of the country ahead of Eid-ul-Azha.

The forum was told that around 700 cattle markets will be functioning across Pakistan on the eve of Eid-ul-Azha.