KARACHI: Member of Provincial Assembly (MPA) Sindh, Mangla Sharma has tested positive for coronavirus on Wednesday.
The provincial lawmaker of Muttahida Qaumi Movement Pakistan (MQM-P), Mangla Sharma, said in a statement that she and her husband underwent coronavirus tests due to the emergence of some symptoms.
She said they went into isolation at their residence after tested positive for the COVID-19. The MQM-P’s leader had been elected as a provincial lawmaker on a reserved seat for minorities. Earlier, two senators have also tested positive for COVID-19 after they underwent the test on Tuesday.
According to sources, the members of the upper house of the Parliament who tested positive included Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) Senator Atta Ur Rehman and Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) Senator Fida Muhammad.
The Senate secretariat barred the lawmakers from attending the session. This is not the first case of the parliamentarians testing positive for coronavirus as two members of the lower house of Parliament have been diagnosed with the novel COVID-19 on 10 May.
Syed Mehboob Shah and Gul Zafar Khan – a PTI MNA from Bajaur – tested positive for the infection. National Assembly member and politician from South Waziristan, Ali Wazir had tested positive for COVID-19 on Tuesday.
Mohsin Dawar, another lawmaker from the tribal region Twitted, “Our friend Ali Wazir has been tested positive for COVID-19,” Dawar said.
He further wrote, “He is taking necessary precautions and is fine for now. We request everyone to please remember him in your prayers.”
On May 7, Governor Sindh Imran Ismail has confirmed that he had tested positive for COVID-19. A Member of Provincial Assembly (MPA) belonging to Jamaat-e-Islami (JI), Syed Abdul Rasheed tested positive for coronavirus.
Later, he quarantined himself at his residence in Karachi on April 24. On April 27, Sindh Education Minister Saeed Ghani had contracted novel COVID-19 after he took a test which had been declared positive.
Later, Saeed Ghani and Governor Sindh Imran Ismail had announced that they were tested negative for the coronavirus.