Two Pakistani lawmakers died from the novel coronavirus on Wednesday, a day after a provincial minister succumbed to Covid-19 in the southern Sindh province.
Mian Jamshed Kakakhel, 65, a Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Member Provincial Assembly (MPA) from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, died while undergoing treatment after having tested positive for the coronavirus 10 days ago.
“Mian Jamshed was on ventilator for the last three days and passed away this morning,” an official said.
“His son Mian Omar has recovered from coronavirus while other family members have tested negative for it,” he added.
Kakakhel was elected from the constituency of PK-63 Nowshera in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in 2018.
Pakistan Muslim League-(Nawaz) MPA from from Gujranwala Shaukat Manzoor Cheema also died after being on ventilator since Eid, Geo News reported.
Cheema, a member of the Punjab Assembly, had been admitted to the Pakistan Kidney And Liver Institute (PKLI) after contracting the virus.
He also suffered from heart ailments, the report quoted hospital officials as saying.
PML-N President Shehbaz Sharif expressed grief over the demise of Cheema. He said Cheema was an asset to the party whose services can never be forgotten.
On Tuesday, Sindh Minister for Human Settlement Ghulam Murtaza Baloch died in Karachi due to the coronavirus.
Several Pakistani lawmakers contracted the deadly virus and some of them have also died.
Last week, Member of the National Assembly (MNA) Munir Khan Orakzai died, days after recovering from the coronavirus.
Irfanullah Khan Orakzai, the deceased lawmaker”s nephew, said his uncle had tested positive for the coronavirus in April but made a full recovery and last tested negative on May 8.
Eight members of the Khber Pakhunkhwa Assembly have been infected with the coronavirus.
National Assembly Speaker Asad Qaiser was also infected but recovered.
Pakistan reported a record 4,132 fresh Covid-19 cases on Wednesday, taking the total number of infections in the country to 80,463, the health ministry said.
The jump in the number of cases comes two day after Prime Minister Imran Khan said that people should learn to live with Covid-19 until a vaccine is developed.
Khan addressed the media on Monday after chairing the meeting of National Coordination Committee, the highest body to tackle the pandemic.
“Coronavirus will not go away until the vaccine is discovered. We need to learn to live with it and we can live with it if we follow precautions,” he said.
He said the one million volunteers of the government”s coronavirus force will raise awareness of the need to follow guidelines.
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