FM Qureshi tests positive for Covid-19, goes into self-quarantine

Foreign minister says he would continue to work from home despite the illness

Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi on Friday went into self-quarantine after testing positive for Covid-19 as the cases surged past 223,000 across the country, claiming over 4,500 lives.

In a tweet, Qureshi said that he felt slightly feverish on Friday afternoon and immediately quarantined himself, saying that he would continue to work from his residence.

He urged the masses to pray for his early recovery.

This afternoon I felt a slight fever and immediately quarantined myself 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.

— Shah Mahmood Qureshi (@SMQureshiPTI) July 3, 2020

Qureshi joined the long list of Pakistani politicians who have been infected by the contagion, which was first detected in the country back in February.

Last month, Opposition Leader in National Assembly Shehbaz Sharif was tested positive. The Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) president had quarantined himself at his residence in Model Town, Lahore after the diagnosis.

PML-N stalwart Attaullah Tarar, who was also tested positive but later recovered, had claimed that Shehbaz had not met anyone except for his appearance before the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) on June 9.

On June 8, former premier Shahid Khaqan Abbasi and Railways Minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmed were also diagnosed with the contagious disease.

Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) leader Sharjeel Memon also tested positive for the contagion. Memon, who has served as provincial minister in the past, is the Sindh government’s focal person for coronavirus in Hyderabad.

MQM lawmaker Shahana Ashar and Faisal Sabzwari also fell prey to coronavirus.

In May, member of Punjab Assembly Shaukat Manzoor Cheema succumbed to the disease, after a month-long battle with the deadly virus.

MPA in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) Assembly Mian Jamsheduddin Kakakhel, and Sindh human settlement minister Ghulam Murtaza Baloch also lost their lives to the virus in the same week.

Four other members of the K-P Assembly, Faisal Zeb Khan, Salahuddin Khan, Zeenat Bibi, and Jamshed Khan, had also tested positive for the virus.