ISLAMABAD, Dec 1 (AFP) - Marches and musical concerts were held across Pakistan on Saturday to mark World AIDS day, while Health Minister Abdul Malik Kasi urged Pakistanis to join the fight against the pandemic.

The main event was taking place at Peshawar, where a major music concert organised jointly by the National AIDS Programme and the UN AIDS programme, was being staged.

Kasi said in a message marking World AIDS Day that a total of 1,639 HIV-positive cases and 216 full-blown AIDS cases have been reported in Pakistan.

However, he cautioned that the figures were misleading and that, based on computer estimates, some 50,000 to 80,000 people could be living with HIV/AIDS in the country.

He urged Pakistanis to "remain careful not only towards oneself but also towards others, to prevent the spread of HIV/AIDS among the masses".

011201
AF011205

Copyright © AFP or Agence France-Presse, 2001 - All Rights Reserved. AFP articles contained on the AEGiS web site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, displayed, published or broadcast without AFP's prior written permission. You may make one copy of each article for your personal, non-commercial use only; more copies would require AFP's prior written permission..  http://www.afp.com/

ÆGiS is made possible through unrestricted grants from Boehringer Ingelheim, the National Library of Medicine, and donations from users like you. Always watch for outdated information. This article first appeared in 2001. This material is designed to support, not replace, the relationship that exists between you and your doctor.

©1990, 2001 - ÆGiS. ÆGiS presents published material, reprinted with permission and neither endorses nor opposes any material. All materials appearing on ÆGIS are protected by copyright as a collective work or compilation under U.S. copyright and other laws and are the property of ÆGIS and the Sisters of Saint Elizabeth of Hungary, or the party credited as the provider of the content.