Former Pakistan PM Yusuf Raza Gilani tests positive for coronavirus

Pakistan's former prime minister Yusuf Raza Gilani tested positive for the coronavirus on Saturday, becoming the latest top political figure to contract COVID-19 that has claimed 2,551 lives and infected 132,405 people in the country.

Gilani, 67, tested positive after attending a hearing of the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) in a corruption case. On Thursday, Shehbaz Sharif, chief of the Opposition Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), tested positive for the coronavirus after he appeared before the NAB in a money laundering case.

Gilani's son Kasim Gilani announced on Twitter that the former premier had tested positive for the coronavirus. "Thank you Imran Khan's govt and National Accountability Bureau! You have successfully put my father's life in danger. His COVID-19 result came positive," Kasim said.

Former Pakistan captain Shahid Afridi also tested positive for the coronavirus on Saturday. Pakistan's COVID-19 cases reached 132,405 after a record 6,472 new infections were detected, while 88 more people have succumbed to the coronavirus, pushing the death toll to 2,551, the health ministry said on Saturday.

The Ministry of National Health Services said a record 29,850 tests were done in the last 24 hours, taking the total number of COVID-19 tests conducted in the country to 839,019. "So far, 50,056 people have recovered across Pakistan, making it a significant count," it said.