Ahsan Iqbal, four other lawmakers test positive for COVID-19

LAHORE: Four lawmakers, including Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz leader Ahsan Iqbal, have tested positive for COVID-19 on Wednesday.

According to Iqbal’s family, he has gone into quarantine and has self-isolated himself at home. Others who contracted the disease are Senator Sana Jamali, MNA Farrukh Habib and MNA Usman Qadri.

Earlier, former Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi and PML-N leader Maryam Aurangzeb also tested positive for Covid-19.

Chairman of the National Minorities Commission, Cheela Ram has tested positive COVID-19 on Wednesday.

According to sources, Ram contracted the virus a week after he met Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi and a delegation from Islamabad and Peshawar.

Talking to media Ram said that he experienced mild symptoms of the COVID-19 after which he decided to get himself tested for COVID-19.

The chairman had last week met FM Qureshi as well as various delegations in Peshawar and Islamabad.

The number of confirmed coronavirus cases in Pakistan has surged to 110,851 in Pakistan today, while the death toll stands at 2,255.

According to the National Command and Control Center (NCOC), more than 5,385 cases of coronavirus were reported while 83 people succumbed to the disease in the last 24 hours.

As many as 36,308 patients have recovered from the disease, while the country is still witnessing a consistent rise in the COVID-19 cases.

As per details, 21 percent of the cases have foreign travel history while 79 percent of the cases are reported to be locally transmitted.

On Monday, PML-N spokesperson Marriyum Aurangzeb had tested positive for the COVID-19 along with her mother.

She joined a long list of lawmakers who have tested positive for the virus, including former PM Shahid Khaqan Abbasi.

Earlier, Railways Minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmed and PTI MNA Jai Prakash also tested positive for COVID-19.

On June 7, PPP MPA Sharjeel Memon had tested positive for COVID-19 and had gone into self-isolation.

Last week, PML-N Punjab Assembly lawmaker Mian Naveed Ali from Pakpattan had tested positive for COVID-19.

Minister of State for Narcotics Shehryar Afridi had also tested positive for the virus. PTI’s chief whip in the National Assembly Aamir Dogar also tested positive for COVID-19.

Previously, many politicians including ANP’s Ghulam Ahmad Bilour, Sindh Governor Imran Ismail, Sindh education minister Saeed Ghani, National Assembly Speaker Asad Qaiser, and Punjab Assembly Deputy Speaker Dost Muhammad Mazari had tested positive for COVID-19, after which they went into self-isolation and recovered.

PTI Punjab Member of Provincial Assembly (MPA) Shaheen Raza was the first lawmaker in the country to succumb to the virus.