KARACHI, Pakistan—A coronavirus variant first discovered in the United Kingdom now accounts for up to 70 percent of COVID-19 infections across Pakistan, a research centre studying the disease in the country said on Saturday. The country has imposed strict nationwide restrictions in the lead up to the Muslim festival of Eid al-Fitr next week in a bid to control a spike in cases, including banning public transport over the holiday period. “There is a 60 percent to 70 percent prevalence of the UK variant in Pakistan (today),” Professor Muhammad Iqbal Chaudhry, director at the International Centre for Chemical and Biological Sciences (ICCBS), University of Karachi, told Reuters, adding that this figure was 2 percent in January. The ICCBS works on COVID-19 samples and provides research and data to the government. The “UK variant”, known as B.1.1.7 and first identified in Britain late last year, is believed to be more transmissible …