Pakistan's Supreme Court has proposed hearing cases through video conferencing amidst a number of adjournments over the absence of litigants and counsels due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Justice Qazi Faez Isa suggested the use of social networking applications such as Skype, WhatsApp, Telegram among others to deal with the situation and asked the Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) to help resolve the issue, Dawn news reported.
SCBA President Sayyed Qalbe Hassan said counsels are unable to appear in the court as there is no place to stay as the Supreme Court hostel complex and hotels in Rawalpindi and Islamabad are closed due to the coronavirus outbreak.
Justice Isa proposed that to maintain transparency and openness, the screen of the court mobile phone be mirrored on television sets already installed in every courtroom of the Supreme Court.
The possibility of preserving the recording of the court proceedings should also be explored, he added.
The number of COVID-19 cases in the country rose to 7,125 on Friday after 497 new infections were reported, according to the latest official data.
At least 11 people died during the period, taking the number of total deaths in the country to 135.