Special Assistant to the PM on Health Dr Zafar Mirza will participate in the video conference of Saarc member countries on the issue of coronavirus pandemic on Sunday evening.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi called for the video-conference over the coronavirus issue.

The conference, which aims to promote the World Health Organisation’s advice to avoid public gatherings, is being organised for the formulation of a joint strategy by Saarc member nations to control and monitor the Covid-19 outbreak.

On behalf of Pakistan, Dr Zafar Mirza, Special Assistant to Prime Minister Imran Khan on Health, will be attending the conference. Pakistan’s response to the proposal came with Foreign Office Spokesperson Aisha Farooqui saying the threat of COVID-19 required coordinated efforts at global and regional levels.

“Timely action for a healthier planet. Tomorrow (March 15) at 5 PM, leaders of SAARC nations will discuss, via conferencing, a roadmap to fight the challenge of COVID-19 Novel Coronavirus,” Modi had tweeted on Saturday. “I am confident that our coming together will lead to effective outcomes and benefit our citizens.”

According to the data from the World Health Organisation (WHO), there are 126 coronavirus cases in the Saarc region, most of them, over 90, are reported in India.