GILGIT – A lawmaker of Gilgit Balistan Assembly died on Thursday due to coronavirus as cases of infection on sharp rise in the country.
Authorities said that Agriculture Minister Haji Janbaz, who hailed from Gilgit, was under treatment for the infection for several days at a local hospital and today he lost his life to it.
The deceased was also leader of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N).
PML-N President Shehbaz Sharif has expressed grief over the demise of the party leader.
The number of coronavirus cases in Pakistan rose to a total of 158,850, according to government data till Thursday morning.
The death toll related to COVID-19 has reached 3,093, according to the National Command and Control Centre, while at least 59,215 patients have fully recovered.
Punjab has reported the highest number of deaths, a total of 1,149, while Sindh and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa follow with 916 and 755 fatalities respectively. Balochistan has recorded 89 deaths; Islamabad, 78; Gilgit Baltistan, 17; and Azad Kashmir, 13.
The first two fatalities from COVID-19, as the illness is officially known, were reported in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa on March 18 (Wednesday).
