ISLAMABAD: While India is in the grip of a rampaging second peak of the pandemic and its hospitals begging for oxygen supplies, Prime Minister Imran Khan on Saturday came forward expressing solidarity and offering prayers to the neighbour.
“I want to express our solidarity with the people of India as they battle a dangerous wave of COVID-19,” the prime minister said in a tweet.
I want to express our solidarity with the people of India as they battle a dangerous wave of COVID-19. Our prayers for a speedy recovery go to all those suffering from the pandemic in our neighbourhood & the world. We must fight this global challenge confronting humanity together
— Imran Khan (@ImranKhanPTI) April 24, 2021
India has been registering a record number of coronavirus cases and deaths. On Saturday alone, the infections rose by 346,786 overnight, setting a new world record for the third consecutive day.
The country is hitting a rate of one Covid-19 death in just under every four minutes in New Delhi as the capital’s underfunded and fragile health system buckles.
“Our prayers for a speedy recovery go to all those suffering from the pandemic in our neighbourhood & the world,” Imran said. “We must fight this global challenge confronting humanity together.”
His tweet follows a letter sent by the Edhi Foundation to Prime Minister Narendra Modi offering to send ambulances and medical staff to help India.
“We sympathise with you greatly and during this strenuous time, we would like to extend our help in the form of a fleet of 50 ambulances along with our services to assist you in addressing, and further circumventing, the current health conditions,” the letter — written by Faisal Edhi, the managing trustee of the charity — read.
However, there was no immediate response from the Indian government that may be reluctant to receive help from Islamabad under pressure from its hardline, anti-Pakistan political base.
India has requested various countries — including the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Singapore and Saudi Arabia — to procure containers and oxygen cylinders to meet the growing domestic demand, India Today reported, quoting sources.
Today, Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi too expressed his “heartfelt sympathies”.
“We express our support to the people of India in the wake of the current wave of #COVID19 infections, that has hit our region hard,” he tweeted. “On behalf of the people of Pakistan, I extend our heartfelt sympathies to the affected families in #India.”
#COVID19 is yet another reminder that humanitarian issues require responses beyond political consideration. Pakistan continues to work with SAARC countries to foster cooperation to tackle the pandemic. https://t.co/hgpp0vxjSM
— Shah Mahmood Qureshi (@SMQureshiPTI) April 24, 2021
Qureshi observed the pandemic was a reminder that “humanitarian issues require responses beyond political consideration”, and said Pakistan continued to work with the SAARC organisation to increase cooperation to tackle the contagion disease.
Minister for Information and Broadcast Fawad Chaudhry said prayers of Pakistani people were with the people of India, adding: “May God be kind and may these difficult times get over soon.”
In these difficult times our prayers are with people of #India may God be kind and may these difficult times gets over soon. #coronavirus
— Ch Fawad Hussain (@fawadchaudhry) April 24, 2021
Minister for Human Rights Shireen Mazari said it was “painful” to see the suffering of Indian people as they grappled with the pandemic and oxygen shortages to treat coronavirus-positive patients.
“We are all in this struggle to stem massive surge of deadly third wave. Unfortunate that many in West have sought to only seal their borders rather than help,” she said, referring to countries including the Britain and Canada that have temporarily suspended air travel from India.
It is painful to see suffering of r neighbours, ordinary Indian citizens as they grapple with Covid 19 & oxygen shortages. We are all in this struggle to stem massive surge of deadly third wave. Unfortunate that many in West have sought to only seal their borders rather than help
— Shireen Mazari (@ShireenMazari1) April 24, 2021
Despite strained relations between the two arch-rival neighbours, netizens across the country expressed support and offered prayers for India with #PakistanstandswithIndia and #Indianeedoxygen remained the top trends on Twitter for a second day Saturday.
