The understanding for collaborative efforts was reached during a video conference of SAARC leaders convened at the proposal of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Virus fear resurrects moribund SAARCThe PM’s special assistant also used the SAARC conference to call for lifting of all locked downs and communication blackouts from the Indian Occupied Kashmir (IOK) in view of the health emergency. Soon after Mirza’s remarks, Indian commentators began accusing Pakistan for raising political issues on the SAARC forum when the region needed to focus on fighting the corona virus. Towards the end of the conference, Mirza said the COVID-19 pandemic is a global health emergency, the likes of which have not been witnessed in the past century. He listed four pillars of response strategy include: (A) Governance and Finance; (B) Prevention; (C) Mitigation; and (D) Communication.

Source: The Express Tribune March 15, 2020 15:45 UTC