ISLAMABAD: Philanthropist Bill Gates praised Pakistan’s success in the fight against coronavirus despite having limited resources in a telephone call with Chief of Army Staff General Qamar Javed Bajwa, the armed forces media wing said on Friday.

COAS Qamar credited the success against Covid to a “coordinated national response,” which was possible thanks to the former National Command and Operation Centre and the latest technology available to them, said an Inter-Services Public Relations statement.

Both the dignitaries also discussed the efforts to stem the spread of the poliovirus spread as the second case of polio confirmed from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s North Waziristan on Friday. They discussed education and the promotion of information technology in Pakistan.

The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation co-chair also praised the Pakistan army’s efforts for ensuring coordination in the national polio drive.

“A polio-free Pakistan is a national goal and endeavour,” COAS Qamar said.

The call comes days after Pakistan on April 22 reported the first polio case in 15 months in North Waziristan. “A 15-month-old boy was paralysed by poliovirus in the first such case in 15 months. This is the third case of wild polio to be recorded globally in 2022,” read a statement issued by the Pakistan Polio Eradication Programme.