FM tells counterparts Covid-19 in Pakistan not growing rapidly.

Byline: Baqir Sajjad Syed

ISLAMABAD -- Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi on Wednesday told his counterparts from the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) that the new coronavirus was not growing exponentially in Pakistan, but economic challenge was grave.

'Although the number of infections is rising, with increased testing, we have not seen explosive rise in cases, and the number of fatalities have remained limited,' Mr Qureshi said while participating in the SCO Council of Foreign Ministers (CFM) video-conference convened by the Russian Federation.

The meeting was attended by the foreign ministers of member states, SCO Secretary General Vladimir Norov and Director of the Executive Committee of the SCO Regional Anti-Terrorist Structure Jumakhon Giyosov.

Mr Qureshi's comments came as Pakistan recorded its biggest spike in the number of coronavirus cases in a day.

SCO informed that graver than the health challenge is the economic challenge being faced by developing states

A total of 2,468 new cases of Covid-19 were reported during the last 24 hours, taking the national tally to 35,384.

Notwithstanding the government's claims of increased testing, the number of tests being done every day since May 6 have, meanwhile, been almost static.

The foreign minister, however, was worried about the economic impact of the pandemic. 'Perhaps graver than the health challenge, is the economic challenge that the developing countries face,' he said

Pakistan has over the past few weeks carried out an extensive diplomatic outreach to highlight the crisis being encountered by fragile economies.

Prime Minister Imran Khan had on April 12...