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Thursday March 28, 2024

Foreign Office caught up by corona

By Muhammad Saleh Zaafir
November 17, 2020

ISLAMABAD: The coronavirus has assaulted the Foreign Office in a big way as Pakistan’s ambassador for Afghanistan Mansoor Ahmad Khan, Additional Foreign Secretary for Americas Syed Faisal Niaz Tirmizi, three director generals and four directors have been so far tested positive for the coronavirus.

They have gone off the duty and are staying at their places under a strict quarantine. The second wave of corona has hit several government offices in the federal capital but the Foreign Office that didn’t experience a big deal during the first wave has been caught up this time. The fresh incidents of being infected in the offices have sent across a wave of panic among the staff and officers of the government equally. Well-placed diplomatic sources told The News here on Monday that Pakistan’s envoy for Afghanistan Mansoor Ahmad Khan who had come here for consultations in the wake of a planned visit of Prime Minister Imran Khan to Afghanistan was engaged in the Foreign Office with the highups in back-to-back meetings. He visited some exalted offices early this month as well. Mansoor suddenly developed serious physical pain and related trouble. Upon testing, he turned out to be corona positive. Like Syed Faisal Tirmizi, he opted not to shift to hospital although his doctors advised him to obtain treatment in hospital, but both the additional secretary grade officers opted to stay in their respective homes as they are getting treatment in quarantine.

Syed Faisal Niaz Tirmizi is viewed as a noble officer among his colleagues. He told this scribe he had been following all SOPs and despite that, he became a victim to the horrible disease. He was facing difficulty in speaking and asked people to take utmost care and appealed for prayers for him. The director general, Afghan Desk, and the director, Afghanistan, of the same desk also tested corona positive. Mansoor Ahmad Khan interacted with the both for consultations, the sources said.

Director General Europe Aamir Shouket was tested coronavirus positive earlier. The foreign minister and the foreign secretary weren’t available for their comments till Monday evening. Interestingly Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi tested corona positive in early July, but he recovered in ten days after experiencing intense physical pain. He too stayed at his residence in Multan.

The sources pointed out that the schedule of the visit of the prime minister to Afghanistan is in the pipeline and Pakistan’s ambassador wouldn’t be available to receive him in Kabul. Pakistan’s deputy head of the mission Muhammad Hasan Wazir will assist the visiting delegation from Pakistan in the absence of the envoy, the sources said.

Meanwhile, the sources pointed out that the authorities concerned failed in carrying out corona tests of government servants at a large scale by visiting them in offices not only during the previous wave of the pandemic but this time too, they didn’t give due heed to the requirement since the government has kept the offices opened in the federal capital under the prescribed SOPs against the virus.