Bilawal Bhutto catches coronavirus
Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, son of Pakistan's President Asif Ali Zardari, opens a flood donation point at the Pakistan High Commission in London August 7, 2010. President Zardari's planned address of a PPP party rally in Birmingham on Saturday had raised expectations that his son would make his first major political speech there after graduating in June from Oxford University. But in an apparent attempt to appease anger at home over the floods which have killed at least 1,600 people, Bilawal Bhutto on Thursday cancelled plans to attend and said he would instead stay in London to collect donations for flood victims. REUTERS/Suzanne Plunkett (BRITAIN - Tags: POLITICS DISASTER)
Islamabad: Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari said on Thursday that he is self-isolating after testing positive for Covid-19 but that he will address the upcoming opposition rally via video link.
Bilawal’s diagnosis comes just a day before the engagement of his sister, Bakhtawar Bhutto-Zardari, to a Dubai-based businessman and four days before the Pakistan Democratic Movement’s (PDM) next rally in Multan scheduled for November 30, which is also PPP’s Foundation Day.
Taking to Twitter, Bilawal said that he was currently experiencing mild symptoms. “I’ll continue working from home and will be addressing PPP foundation day via video link. Wear a mask everyone, see you on the other side.”
Well wishes poured in shortly after the PPP chairman made the announcement, while members of the government crticised him for “putting the public at risk” by insisting on holding large public gatherings despite having tested positive for the virus himself.
Taking to Twitter, PTI’s Senator Faisal Javed Khan questioned the “cruelty” behind calling people out on the streets while addressing them via video link.
“You are putting their lives in danger. Take care of others as well as yourself. These rallies have no pros, only cons.”
The government and opposition have been at odds over the holding of public rallies at a time when Pakistan is in the throes of a second coronavirus wave. Former prime minister Yusuf Raza Gilani’s son was arrested yesterday for organising the November 30 rally in Multan, where the district administration refused permission citing the high incidence of coronavirus infections.
Meanwhile, Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly Shehbaz Sharif sent Bilawal his best wishes and prayed for his recovery, according to a statement by the PML-N. The party added that Shehbaz was informed of Bilawal’s diagnosis during his appearance in court.
“Shehbaz offered prayers for all those who have contracted the virus, including Bilawal,” the statement added.
