A former Pakistani health official has sounded the alarm over a surge in HIV cases in Pakistan, following a BBC investigation that uncovered an outbreak in Taunsa (a district in Punjab province). Dr Zafar Mirza, former special assistant to the prime minister on health, told a press conference in Islamabad that contaminated syringes and unscreened blood transfusions were driving the spread of the disease, warning that roughly 70 per cent of blood transfusions in the country are conducted without proper screening. He called on both federal and provincial governments to take urgent action, demanded the release of a Punjab government commission report on the outbreak, and urged an audit of international health funding received by Pakistan.