Pakistan rejects India's 'twisted response' to humanitarian issue: FO

Pakistan on Friday rejected India's "twisted" response to raising the humanitarian issue in the occupied Jammu and Kashmir due to continued lockdown in the recently held SAARC video conference on Covid-19 as "misleading and mischievous".
"Pakistan rejects the Indian Ministry of External Affairs attempts to twist the remarks made by the Minister of State for Health, Dr Zafar Mirza, at the Covid-19 Video Conference of the SAARC member countries on 15 March 2020. The Indian contention of 'politicization' of humanitarian issue is both misleading and mischievous," said Foreign Office spokesperson Aisha Farooqui.
Farooqui was responding to her Indian counterpart Raveesh Kumar's comments in which he blamed Pakistan for politicizing the issue of coronavirus on the platform by raising Kashmir in the video conference chaired by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in which Pakistan was represented by Dr Mirza.
"The MoS for Health had drawn attention to the health emergency in IOJ&K in the context of coronavirus and underscored the need for lifting of restrictions on communications and ensuring access to medical supplies," Farooqui said.
In making this call, she asserted that Pakistan has not been alone.
"Indeed, numerous voices from within IOJ&K, India, and the world are echoing the same message," she added.
Farooqui said that Pakistan's participation in the video conference of SAARC member states on Covid-19 was aimed at showing solidarity with SAARC members and reaffirming our abiding commitment to the SAARC process.
"The people of South Asia are well aware as to which country has been seeking to 'politicize' the SAARC process and continues to obstruct its onward march," she added.
Farooqui said that Pakistan believes that the collective endeavours of South Asian nations to fight common challenges should not be allowed to become victim of self-serving propaganda.
"As an illustration of Pakistan's commitment, we have reaffirmed our readiness to host the SAARC Health Ministers' Conference at the appropriate time," she added.