Pakistan has offered to provide relief support to India as a gesture of solidarity with the people of India in the wake of the current wave of COVID-19 pandemic during recent days. Pakistan said that it can provide COVID-19 related medical equipment to India including ventilators, Bi PAP, digital X-ray machines, PPEs, and other items. According to reports, Prime Minister Imran Khan has expressed solidarity with the people of India battling a dangerous wave of COVID-19 pandemic with 2.5 million active cases in the country. Prime Minister Imran Khan expressed his prayers for a speedy recovery to all those suffering from the pandemic in the neighboring country India and around the Globe in a tweet on Saturday. According to him, we must fight this global challenge confronting humanity together. Foreign Minister Qureshi also joined the Prime Minister and expressed Pakistan’s support and sympathy to the Indian people. Qureshi said COVID-19 pandemic is yet another reminder that humanitarian issues require responses beyond political consideration. Qureshi expressed his resolve that Pakistan will continue to work with SAARC countries to foster cooperation to tackle the pandemic. In the same go, Pakistan concerned authorities had been advised to work out modalities for quickest delivery of the relief items to India when a positive response come back from there. It is said that Pakistan is ready to further cooperate with India in mitigating the challenge posed by the pandemic. Presently, India is passing through a very crucial time of its history as the Coronavirus had it hard on the country and the daily cases of coronavirus infections had reached to 314,835, the highest ever one day tally anywhere in the world. The health system of the country had reached to its capacity and available resources are squeezing against the ever-rising requirements. The hospitals in most of the effected areas including northern and western India had issued notices that their oxygen stock left only to run few hours to keep the COVID-19 patients alive. As per reports, more than two-thirds of the hospitals had no vacant beds to entertain the patients reaching to the hospitals in the state of helplessness. As per available data, presently, there are total 15.93 million active cases in India, while death cases rose to 2,104 to reach a total of 184,657. According to experts the new double mutant coronavirus variants, is largely responsible for the new spikes in the cases in India, this variant is more dangerous than the old variants of the disease.
Although, India has a well-developed health industry and currently a member of a small group of countries producing coronavirus vaccines in the world. However, it preferred to export the vaccine to other countries in a bid to earn money instead of investing in its public. As per reports, the current worst situation is due to government’s slackness overcrowded political rallies for local elections and packed religious festivals.
In fact, Pakistan had been advocating for regional cooperation among South Asian Countries under the platform of SAARC, to combat the challenge of coronavirus pandemic in the region. However, India restricted such initiatives because of its hegemonic behavior. However, people and government of Pakistan have deep sympathies with the people of India and ready to help them during this hard time. Either than its up to India to come out of politics and give a chance to regional cooperation by accepting Pakistan’s offer to meet the current challenge of pandemic for the broader benefit of South Asian people.
