Islamabad, March 22 (IANS): A petition has requested the Pakistan Supreme Court to order the federal government to immediately declare a national public health emergency in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic and to also set up an emergency relief fund by utilising money received for construction of dams, it was reported on Sunday.

The petition, moved by some lawyers who are human rights activists, has alleged that the virus was rapidly spreading in the country due to the government's mismanagement, reports Dawn news.

It has also asked the apex court to issue directions to the federal as well as provincial governments for taking immediate action to effectively deal with the coronavirus outbreak as the governments has clearly failed even at such an early stage of the pandemic.

The petitioners fear thatif the virus was not contained right away, it would reach a level that the federal as well as provincial governments would be unable to control.

They added that even at this early stage of the pandemic, the federal and provincial governments have failed miserably and their current policies, ignorance of the gravity of the situation and inaction would only further accelerate this issue.

According to the petitioners, "this global epidemic poses an unprecedented threat to the fundamental rights of the public at large, including, but not limited to, the right to essential healthcare, the right to earn a livelihood, the right to enjoy equal protection of law, the right to freedom of movement and assembly, the right to trade, the right to receive information, the right to education, and all in all, the right to a dignified and free existence".

This pandemic disease, if not curbed urgently, possesses the capacity to destabilise the entire nation, resulting in unmatched physical, mental, economic, and social loss to the country, the petition argues.

The development comes as the number of coronavirus cases in Pakistan has increased to 654 with four fatalities.