During raids in different parts of Karachi in the early hours of Tuesday, law enforcement agencies arrested leaders and activists of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf under the Maintenance of Public.
The Diplomat has removed paywall restrictions on our coverage of the COVID–19 crisis.
Supporters of Tehreek-e-Labiak Pakistan, a banned Islamist party, chant slogans during a protest in Lahore, Pakistan, Monday, April 19, 2021. The mass gathering, with no visible face masks, was in violation of Pakistan’s health guidance on COVID-19.
Credit: AP Photo/K.M. Chaudary
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This week has seen Pakistan report its highest number of COVID-19 deaths since the start of the pandemic. This week’s average daily infections of 5,397 this week are already 92 percent of the peak number of 5,839 reported on June 17 of last year. Given a positivity rate hovering around a daunting 25-30 percent in many urban centers, coupled with the widespread underreporting since the start of the pandemic, Pakistan’s actual COVID-19 numbers are likely to be even higher than the menacing stats officially acknowledged by the government.