‘Politicising a humanitarian issue’: India slams Pakistan for raising Kashmir during SAARC coronavirus conference
Calls for unity and cooperation between South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) nations was given by Prime Minister Narendra Modi to combat coronavirus Pakistan during the video conference, however, Pakistan ‘churlishly’ used this platform to raise the Kashmir Issue.
Pakistan has called for the immediate lifting of the "lockdown" there to allow disease containment measures. The Indian government called this an attempt to "politicise" a humanitarian issue by its "unwarranted" statement on Kashmir during a crucial video conference on coronavirus.
The video conference was attended by Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, Maldivian President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih, Nepalese Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli, Bhutanese premier Lotay Tshering, Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, Afghan President Ashraf Ghani and Special Assistant to Pakistani Prime Minister on Health Zafar Mirza.
PM Modi addressing the leaders of SAARC said, India's guiding mantra to deal with the virus was "prepare, but don't panic". He further added, "We were careful to not underestimate the problem, but also to avoid knee-jerk reactions."
Modi also stressed that the SAARC nations must work together to fight this crisis and must respond to the coronavirus pandemic by "coming together, not growing apart".
There is still no confirmation if Pakistan has managed to bring all its students from China. However, in the absence of PM Imran Khan, his Special Assistant on Health Zafar Mirza used the occasion to hail China for its efforts to deal with coronavirus and urged other SAARC nations to learn best practices from it.
Mirza during the video conference said, "Equity in health is a fundamental principle of public health" and for Pakistan, it is a matter of concern. He further added that all lockdown in Jammu and Kashmir must be lifted immediately.
Speaking to the heads of state of SAARC nations, Modi stressed on the importance of creating a regional platform to coordinate research on controlling epidemic diseases within our South Asian region.
