Pakistan on Friday ordered the closure of all education institutions in the country till April 5 in view of the coronavirus outbreak which has claimed over 5,000 lives globally.
The decision was taken at a meeting of the National Security Committee (NSC) chaired by Prime Minister Imran Khan, attended by key minister, services chiefs and other senior officials.
Minister for Federal Education and Professional Training Shafqat Mahmood tweeted, "It has been decided to close all educational institutions in the country till April 5. This includes all schools and universities, public and private, vocational institutions and madaris."
He said the decision to close educational institutions would be reviewed by the Ministry of Education on March 27.
Earlier, the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa provincial administration had announced that all educational institutions would remain closed for 15 days.
The provincial cabinet had ordered the evacuation of students from hostels and postponing of examinations, among other official events and festivals.
The KP cabinet also banned public gatherings and urged the people to reduce number of wedding events.
Educational institutions were already closed in Sindh and Balochistan provinces as well as Gilgit-Baltistan region.
Also on Friday, the National Assembly prorogued its session for indefinite period due to concerns raised by the treasury and opposition members over coronavirus.
Pakistan has also decided to let around 2,000 pilgrims to leave the quarantine facility in Taftan near the Iranian border after completing the mandatory 14-day isolation period.
So far, no coronavirus related death has been reported in Pakistan. One of the COVID-19 patients in Karachi has recovered and was allowed to go home on Saturday last week.
The virus that first originated in the Chinese city of Wuhan in December last year has claimed over 5,000 lives and infected more than 130,000 across 101 nations and territories.
The World Health Organisation called the virus a global pandemic on Wednesday.