COVID-19: Indian govt sources slam Pak bid to politicise humanitarian issue

While admitting that no nation can afford to be unresponsive to the situation in wake of coronavirus outbreak, Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan's Special Advisor Dr Zafar Mirza raised the issue of lockdown in Kashmir. Government sources here said that Pakistan sent their Health Minister who was uncomfortable in speaking and he was given a slip, showing their churlish approach. The sources said that it was a humanitarian issue which Pakistan was trying to politicise, adding that Pakistan's comment does not merit a reaction. It showed what they are, the sources said.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi's proposal to interact with SAARC leaders from the region via video conference evoked a prompt response as well his proposal during the conference to create an emergency fund of US $ 10 million found ready support from them.

Government sources said that India is ready to send more Rapid Response Teams to SAARC region, if asked. The sources pointed out that already one fully equipped team is in Maldives. Rapid Response Teams carry with them trained doctors as well as huge diagnostic equipment to detect cases of COVID 19 infection.

The sources said that from Indian side, the emergency fund will be available immediately and it would be coordinated through embassies and missions. The fund will be used as effectively and fast as possible.

During nearly two-hour long video conference, Bhutanese PM Lotay Tshering said that all countries in the region should be on the same page in the fight against novel Coronavirus. He said that SAARC member nations must pool in their limited resources to battle this crisis.

Government sources said though there were only 150 cases in the SAARC region, much less than other regions, it was not an indication that the spread would be contained in the days to come. The sources said that the consensus among all leaders was to put in use best practices, share their experiences and pool together resources in medical and research areas to tide over the crisis posed by the outbreak of the pandemic.

Sources pointed out that India took an early lead in evacuating its 1444 nationals so far -- 336 from Iran, 218 from Italy, 766 from China and 124 from Japan. The sources added that the process was on to further carry out evacuation from Iran and Italy after following stringent protocols.

The sources said that Prime Minister Modi's initiative in bringing together SAARC leaders through video-conference came in for much appreciation, showing India's political will to forge cooperation among SAARC member-nations though the grouping is practically on the back burner. Mr Modi appreciated the effort of his Nepalese counterpart K P Sharma Oli in joining the conference after a surgery.

Admitting that the spread of Coronavirus had impacted global economy which was already bogged down by a slowdown, the sources said that most affected sectors were civil aviation, travel, hospitality, tourism and transport.