Even as all SAARC nations on Sunday discussed the humanitarian crisis due to the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic that has hit the world, Pakistan raked up Kashmir issue during the South Asian Association of Regional Cooperation video conference initiated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

The online summit took place after PM Modi proposed to have the meeting as he tweeted on Friday. Pakistan also agreed to the proposal on Friday. However, Prime Minister Imran Khan did not attend the summit and sent his special assistant for health, Zafar Mirza, as his representative who in turn raised the issue of Kashmir.

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Apart from PM 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 President Ashraf Ghani and Special Assistant to Pakistani Prime Minister on Health Zafar Mirza participated in the video conference.

Mirza had said that it is a matter of concern that COVID-19 has been reported from Jammu and Kashmir and in view of the health emergency, it is imperative that all lockdown in the territory must be lifted immediately.

Government sources in New Delhi said Pakistan attempted to politicize a humanitarian issue by harping on Kashmir.

“India had demonstrated its political will to bring together regional partners in the moment of crisis. India could have chosen to drop Pakistan, but we did not. We invited Prime Minister Imran Khan to attend the SAARC web-summit in view of the humanitarian crisis that has hit the entire world,” an official said.

The government sources also said Prime Minister Khan’s special assistant came across as uncomfortable during the summit. “He was given a scripted chit during the summit. Pakistan’s pitiable and churlish behaviour was for everyone to see. It got exposed once again,” the official said.

The officials further said Pakistan was the only country that appeared ungracious at the summit. “There was no acknowledgement and appreciation of the initiative for regional cooperation that India took. Pakistan did not even show the courtesy to thank Prime Minister Modi for the effort he made to reach out. All the leaders of the region were there, including Nepal’s Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli who has recently undergone surgery,” an official said.

Incidentally, Zafar Mirza has been accused of smuggling masks out of Pakistan during the Coronavirus pandemic and is being probed by Pakistan’s federal investigation agency.

The summit commenced at 5 pm on Sunday with PM Modi opening the floor for discussion saying “prepare, but don’t panic” had been India’s guiding mantra in dealing with Coronavirus outbreak.

On the meeting, the government sources said that the SAARC funds will be available from the Indian side immediately adding that it will be co-ordinated through embassies. “We will take it up from there. It will be used as effectively and fast as rapidly implementable.”

The sources also added that India is ready to send more Rapid Response Teams to the SAARC region if asked, and said there is already one fully equipped team in Maldives. Rapid Response Teams carry with them trained doctors as well as huge diagnostic equipment.

The video-summit was significant because since 2016, SAARC, comprising eight countries of South Asia, had been mostly inactive.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi had refused to attend the 2016 SAARC summit which was to be held in Islamabad, following the Uri terror attack perpetrated by Pakistani terrorists. After Bangladesh, Afghanistan and Bhutan also withdrew from the meet, the summit had been called off.

SAARC summits are held biennially and hosted by member-states in alphabetical order. The last summit was held in 2014 at Kathmandu.