ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s daily infection rate dropped below 3,000 for the second straight day, though medical experts caution it may be due to less testing.
Barely 21,000 tests for the coronavirus are carried out each day, compared to a peak of nearly 33,000. Still some medical professionals, particularly in the eastern city of Lahore, the capital of Pakistan’s Punjab province where nearly 60% of the country’s 220 million people live, are suggesting the virus may have peaked in June.
Pakistan’s prime minister has mandated masks but enforcement and use are erratic and social distancing is limited. Still the government has implemented lockdowns on at least 800 markets, businesses and residential areas where hospots of the infection have emerged.
As of Wednesday, Pakistan has recorded 237,489 infections with 2,980 new cases recorded in the last 24 hours among 21,951 tests conducted. So far 4,922 people have died of the virus, with 80 deaths recorded in the last 24 hours.
Prime Minister Imran Khan has resisted complete lockdowns, saying they would hit the poorest hardest. The poverty rate in Pakistan has climbed from around 30% to 40%, according to economists.
Pakistan's daily infections drop as testing cut
https://arab.news/ynzau
Pakistan's daily infections drop as testing cut
- Barely 21,000 tests for the coronavirus are being carried out each day now, compared to a peak of nearly 33,000
- Some medical professionals are suggesting the virus may have peaked in Pakistan in June
Pakistan says Indian minister initiated handshake in Dhaka, first contact since May conflict
- Pakistan’s Ayaz Sadiq and India’s Subrahmanyam Jaishankar met on the sidelines of Khaleda Zia’s funeral
- The National Assembly of Pakistan says Islamabad has consistently emphasized dialogue with New Delhi
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan said on Wednesday Indian External Affairs Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar initiated a brief handshake with Speaker of the National Assembly Sardar Ayaz Sadiq in Dhaka, marking the first high-level contact between the two nuclear-armed rivals since their military conflict in May.
The encounter took place on the sidelines of the funeral of former Bangladeshi prime minister Khaleda Zia, attended by senior officials and diplomats from multiple countries.
Ties between India and Pakistan have remained frozen since a four-day military confrontation in May, during which both sides exchanged missile, drone and air strikes before a ceasefire brokered by Washington.
“During Speaker NA Sardar Ayaz Sadiq’s visit to the Parliament of Bangladesh ... the Indian External Minister Dr. S. Jaishankar approached the Speaker National Assembly and [shook] hands,” Pakistan’s National Assembly said in a post on social media platform X.
It added that Jaishankar introduced himself to Sadiq during the brief interaction. India has not commented publicly on the exchange.
“It is noteworthy that Pakistan has consistently emphasized dialogue, restraint, and cooperative measures, including proposals for peace talks,” the post continued.
Tensions between the two neighbors escalated in April after a militant attack in Indian-administered Kashmir killed more than 20 tourists. New Delhi blamed Pakistan for supporting the attack, an allegation Islamabad denied, calling instead for an independent and transparent investigation.
Officials from both countries have largely avoided public interactions since the conflict, with senior figures refraining from handshakes or exchanges at international gatherings.
Sadiq was in Dhaka to attend Zia’s funeral and to convey condolences from Pakistan’s leadership and people. He also met Zia’s son Tarique Rahman, the acting chairman of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party, according to Pakistan’s high commission in Bangladesh.
Speaking to Pakistan’s Geo TV, Sadiq confirmed that Jaishankar approached him in full media glare and exchanged pleasantries.
Responding to a question about being photographed with the Indian minister, he said: “Cameras arrived with them. Our people took the photographs later.”
