ISLAMABAD: A journalist in Islamabad died of Covid-19 on Monday - the first such death reported from the disease in the country.

Zafar Rasheed Bhatti, 70, had served as the head of the English desk at Associated Press of Pakistan (APP) and led the union of the state news agency.

He had been placed on a ventilator in a Rawalpindi hospital for 25 days and died Monday morning. He is survived by his wife and son.

A Rawalpindi district administration official has confirmed that the deceased was suffering from Covid-19.

Journalist Ilyas Chaudhry, a close friend of the deceased, told Dawn that he retired in 2010. He participated in the Tableeghi ijtimaa few months ago, he said, and had been unwell since.

Mr Chaudhry said that Bhatti was eventually confirmed to have contracted Covid-19, after which his family, including his wife, son and other relatives, were quarantined.

Bhatti was from a family of journalists; his father Abdul Rasheed Bhatti was the editor of the Daily Kohistan, while his brother Pervaiz Rasheed Bhatti retired as a senior producer at Pakistan Television.

PML-N spokesperson Marriyum Aurangzeb expressed condolences regarding Bhatti’s death and urged the government to take steps to protect journalists.

Expressing concern about Covid-19 cases in media organisations, Ms Aurangzeb said that journalists should be provided personal protective equipment.

She added that the services of the deceased to journalism would be remembered, as he was a good journalist and a skilled trade unionist.

Published in Dawn, April 28th, 2020