Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi tests positive for COVID-19

Islamabad, July 03: Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi on Friday announced that he has tested positive for the coronavirus disease and quarantined himself, becoming the latest senior politician in the country to be hit by the deadly virus.

Taking to Twitter, the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leader said that this afternoon, he felt a slight fever and immediately quarantined himself at home. “I have now tested positive for Covid-19. By the grace of Allah, I feel strong and energetic. I will continue to carry on my duties from home. Please keep me in your prayers,” he said in a tweet.

Qureshi is the senior most functionary of the government to be infected with the virus. He is the Vice President of ruling Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf and considered as number two in the government after Prime Minister Imran Khan.

Several Pakistani lawmakers contracted the deadly virus and some of them have also died. In June, Member of the National Assembly (MNA) Munir Khan Orakzai died, days after recovering from the coronavirus.

Eight members of the Khber Pakhunkhwa Assembly have been infected with the coronavirus.

National Assembly Speaker Asad Qaiser was also infected but recovered. Meanwhile, Pakistan's coronavirus tally has crossed the 221,000-mark with more than 4,500 deaths.