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Pakistan offers assistance to India to deal with COVID-19 crisis
Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi said in a Twitter post, "On behalf of the people of Pakistan, I extend our heartfelt sympathies to the affected families" in India and, as "a gesture of solidarity" with them, Pakistan offered to provide ventilators, digital X-ray machines and personal protective equipment.
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Pakistan's Foreign Minister Makhdoom Shah Mahmood Qureshi gives a joint press conference with his German counterpart on April 12, 2021 at the Foreign Office in Berlin.
(AFP/Kay Nietfeld )
P
akistan late Saturday night offered medical assistance to neighboring India, which is battling with one of the worst coronavirus crises in the world.
Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi said in a Twitter post, "On behalf of the people of Pakistan, I extend our heartfelt sympathies to the affected families" in India and, as "a gesture of solidarity" with them, Pakistan offered to provide ventilators, digital X-ray machines and personal protective equipment.
The archrival neighbors have had very tense ties since August 2019 when India annexed its portion of the disputed territory of Kashmir.
The two had then downgraded their diplomatic ties and are currently without ambassadors in each other's capitals, while their embassies are working with reduced strength.
Qureshi said Pakistan has made this gesture because it believes in the policy of humanity first.
The Pakistani offer came after Indian External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar appealed for international assistance for dealing with the coronavirus crisis in his country.
India reported nearly a million new cases during the past three days that overwhelmed its hospitals. The country is also faced with a severe shortage of medical oxygen.
Pakistan's Foreign Ministry, in a statement, said that Indian authorities have been asked to coordinate quick delivery of the relief items. It said that ways for further cooperation to mitigate the challenges posed by the pandemic could also be explored.
Notwithstanding tense political ties between the two countries, Pakistani Twitter users on Friday ran a Twitter trend #IndiaNeedsOxygen to urge the government to help India.
Edhi Foundation, a philanthropic organization that runs ambulance services in Pakistan, has written a letter to Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi offering a fleet of 50 ambulances and support staff.
Prime Minister Imran Khan, meanwhile, in a message posted on Twitter, expressed solidarity with the people of India and prayed for the "speedy recovery" of those affected by the pandemic.
"We must fight this global challenge confronting humanity together," he further said.
