Islamabad: Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, who returned from a five-day stay in the United Kingdom a day earlier, had tested positive for Covid-19, country’s Information Minister Marriyum Aurangzeb said on Tuesday.

In a tweet, the minister said the prime minister was feeling unwell for the past two days and took a Covid-19 test today as per the doctor’s advice.

She appealed to the nation and to PML-N workers to pray for PM Shehbaz’s speedy recovery.

This is the third time Sharif has tested positive for the virus. He had previously contracted Covid-19 earlier this year in January and in June 2020.

PM Shehbaz had landed back in Pakistan on Monday after a brief but busy trip to London, but had taken the day ‘slow’ due to feeling unwell, reports Dawn.

Sharif had fallen ill in London, which was why he had extended his private visit by two days, the report cited a source as saying.

He reached London last week after attending the COP27 summit in Sharm el-Sheikh in Egypt.

During his five-day stay in the British capital, the Pakistani PM held a slew of meetings with his brother and former prime minister, Nawaz Sharif.