Pak misused humanitarian platform by raising Kashmir issue: India on PM Modi's video conference on coronavirus

India on Thursday expressed its displeasure on Pakistan choosing to use the SAARC nations video conference on coronavirus to raise Kashmir issue. Pakistan State Minister of Health Zafar Mirza had joined Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, Maldivian President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih, Nepalese Prime Minister K P Sharma Oli, Bhutanese premier Lotay Tshering, Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, Afghan and President Ashraf Ghani in the video conferenc held on March 15 to address the global coronavirus scare.

In the conference, Mirza had called for an immediate lifting of the "lockdown" there to allow virus containment measures.

"This SAARC platform was to address this pandemic. It was a humanitarian platform that Pakistan misused," the spokesperson for the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), Raveesh Kumar, told reporters, in a press briefing in New Delhi.

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The MEA further assured the government was effectively carrying out the evacuation of Indians stuck in different parts of the world, amid the global coronavirus scare. Additional Secretary Dammu Ravi said the government was carrying out assessments of countries that require evacuation of the Indian nationals and accordingly, trying to employ its resources.

A second evacuation from Italy was also in the works.

"The ministry is strengthening the Covid Control Room. Right now 25-30 people are working in the control room. They work in shifts. We are getting about 400 e-mails and 1000 calls in a day. We are planning to evacuate the next batch of Indians from Italy this weekend," he said, adding, "further details are being worked out with the civil aviation ministry."

Raveesh Kumar also said all countries would be duly helped by India, as and when required, adding, "a crisis of this magnitude doesn't recognise borders."

"We're moving fast on proposals announced during PM Modi's video conferencing with SAARC leaders. The emergency fund is up and running. We've received many requests from other SAARC countries in form of masks, gloves etc. Quantum of assistance requested so far as crossed $ 1M," he said.

The MEA also said India has evacuated 590 people from Iran where the situation is very severe.

"Indians infected with coronavirus in Iran have been segregated are well being taken care. We believe they will recover and we will bring them back," it added.

A total of 166 cases of coronavirus have been detected in India, and four deaths have been reported.