Amid a devastating second wave of COVID-19 across the India, Islamabad ‘officially’ reached out to New Delhi in order to provide relief and support in the form of ventilators, X-Ray machines and other medical components required in the fight against the virus, Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi tweeted on Saturday, 24 April.
In a series of tweets, Qureshi said, “The virus is a reminder of the principle that humanitarian crises require responses beyond political considerations.”
He added that Pakistan will work closely with SAARC countries to tackle the pandemic. Qureshi also expressed support and extended heartfelt sympathies to affected families in India.
Pak PM Imran Khan Expresses Solidarity
Pakistan’s Prime Minister Imran Khan, too, expressed solidarity with India and said his country was praying for the “speedy recovery of all those suffering from the pandemic in our neighborhood & the world”.
Maintaining that the high number of COVID-19 cases in India is difficult for any government to handle, Pakistani cricketer Shoaib Akhtar appealed to the government and the people to help India with funds and oxygen tanks.
India recorded 3,49,391 fresh cases of COVID-19 and 2,767 deaths in the last 24 hours. According to the Union Health Ministry, five states – Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, Karnataka, Gujarat and Kerala – account for 54 percent of the cases.
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