GB minister succumbs to virus; nationwide tally crosses 163,000.

ISLAMABAD: Gilgit-Baltistan Minister for Agriculture Janbaz Khan passes away on Thursday, a week after he was diagnosed with Covid-19.

"He had been on a ventilator for four days," said a doctor at Gilgit's city hospital where the 64-year-old minister was admitted. "He had a heart related disease, besides diabetes," said the doctor - also treating Malik Miskeen, another seasoned politician from district Diamer.

The veteran politician belonged to the Diamer district and had the honour of being elected five times to the Gilgit-Baltistan Assembly.

Meanwhile, Islamabad High Court's Justice Lubna Saleem Pervaiz tested positive for coronavirus on Thursday. The judge took coronavirus test after her secretary was diagnosed as positive for the infection last week.

The nationwide tally of Covid-19 patients jumped to 163,177 on Thursday, with 60,138 cases reported in Punjab, 62,269 in Sindh, 20,182 in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, 8,998 in Balochistan, 1,214 in Gilgit Baltistan, 9,637 in Islamabad and 740 in Azad Jammu and Kashmir. The virus has claimed at least 3,117 lives while around 59,519 coronavirus patients have recovered so far.

Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah said on Thursday that 48 more people died of coronavirus over the past 24 hours - the highest number of fatalities in the province since the outbreak of the virus.

In a statement, he said the number of people who have succumbed to the virus in Sindh has soared to 964. At least 2,286 new cases of the coronavirus emerged, raising the provincial tally to 62,269, he said, adding that 2,286 new infections were detected when 11,044 tests were conducted over the previous 24 hours. Thus far, 340,487 tests have been conducted in the province, he disclosed, adding that 664 patients are in a critical condition, of them 97 are on ventilators.

Providing a district-wise breakdown of cases, he said Karachi recorded 1,395 out of the 2,286 new infections, adding district East saw 462 new cases, Malir 108, district...