It’s unusual if any country’s top leadership falls ill or is incapacitated. Check out Pakistan. Ten days after Prime Minister Imran’s announcement that he had tested positive for Covid-19, the president Dr Arif Alvi followed suit, tweeting on his official site that “I have tested positive for Covid-19. May Allah have mercy on all Covid affectees. Had first dose of vaccine but antibodies start developing after the 2nd dose that was due in a week. Please be careful.” Defence Minister Pervez Khattak is down as well.
Pakistan recorded 4,000 cases in the last 24 hours. Dr Faisal Sultan, the prime minister’s adviser on health has tweeted that the country has ordered 1.60 million doses of the Chinese Sinopharm and CanSino vaccines that are expected in a few days.
The public behaviour of top politicians is widely criticised. Imran Khan held an in-person meeting with his media team despite having Covid-19. It suggests that Pakistan’s politicians have not taken the epidemic seriously enough.
