Sindh education minister Saeed Ghani said on Monday that shopping malls and markets in the province will open after the Supreme Court said it found "no valid reason" for them to continue being closed and directed that they be opened.

Speaking on Geo News' programme 'Aaj Shahzeb Khanzada Kay Saath', he said that he was not aware if the Sindh government had contacted the health ministry regarding this. "But since it's in the SC's orders, we will open shopping malls and markets, we have no other option."

Earlier today, Chief Justice of Pakistan Gulzar Ahmed issued directions to reopen shopping malls across the country.

During a hearing of the suo motu proceedings regarding measures taken to deal with the coronavirus crisis, Justice Ahmed had questioned the "logic" behind keeping malls closed.

Speaking to Geo News, Ghani clarified that the decision to close shopping malls and plazas in an effort to curb the spread of the virus was not taken by the Sindh government.

The Centre had presented a proposal for closing shopping malls, plazas and large markets during a meeting of the National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC) on May 6, he said.

"In a National Coordination Committee (NCC) meeting on May 7, the same proposal was presented. This was an NCC decision for all four provinces which the Sindh government implemented," he said.

He added that even though the Sindh government had formulated standard operating procedures (SOPs) to curb the spread of the virus for opening small markets, people were still flouting rules and putting peoples' lives at risk.

"You can see what is happening in markets, people are being careless and putting others' lives at risk. We sealed some markets because they are not implementing SOPs. However, we opened them once again after they assured us that they would follow our directives."

Ghani added that all the steps taken by authorities to curb the spread of the virus — whether taken by the Sindh government, the Centre or the provinces — were difficult decisions. "They were difficult decisions that caused people hardship but they were done with the intention of protecting them from the virus," he said.

He added that the Sindh government hoped the SC would not take any decision that will endanger the lives of the people.

"Markets will remain open till 5pm as the SC has directed," he clarified, adding that the provincial government will impose restrictions in the space afforded to them under the apex court's orders.

All the decisions taken by the Sindh government were made in consultation with doctors and medical experts, he said. "I think it will be more appropriate that when the SC calls upon all the provinces and advocate generals, it also calls upon experts who can provide a better picture of the [country's] coronavirus outbreak," he concluded.

Sindh CM urges public to adopt precautionary measures

Meanwhile, Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah urged the public to adopt precautionary measures and practice social distancing in an effort to curb the spread of Covid-19.

Speaking to ARY News, he said: "Thankfully the numbers aren't as bad as we had feared. We know that markets and malls will reopen, and so will transport.

"So I just want to say one thing to the people; stay at home, practice social distancing and follow all precautionary measures."

He added that the Sindh government was apprehensive about resuming intercity transport services. "There are still some areas that are safe [from the virus]. But what can we do [...] the entire country is making decisions and we will follow," he said.