As the onslaught of Coronavirus in the second phase has taken a serious turn in India and caused thousands fatalities, neighbouring China, Pakistan and a well-known NGO from Pakistan, Edhi Foundation, offered help in the efforts to provide relief to Covid affected people.
The grim situation of the pandemic that has created emergency like situation in India has attracted global attention. France, Europe also offered help to deal with the second Covid-19 wave.
Beijing is in touch with New Delhi and has offered any assistance the Government of India may need to deal with the second wave of the Covid-19 pandemic, the Chinese Government said on Friday.
Beijing is “maintaining communication” with New Delhi. “China believes that people and government of India will be able to overcome the epidemic at an early date,” Zhao Lijian, the spokesperson of the China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said in Beijing, according to media reports.
Meanwhile, Pakistan’s well-known humanitarian organisation, Edhi Foundation, founded by Late Abdul Sattar Edhi, too offered to send 50 staffed ambulances to India to help transport the Covid-19 patients to the hospitals.
“As a neighbouring friend, we sympathise with you greatly and during this strenuous time, we would like to extend our help in the form of fleet of 50 ambulances along with our services to assist you in addressing, and further circumventing, the current health conditions,” Faisal Edhi, the Chairman of the Edhi Foundation, wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
As the Telegraph India reported, Faisal Edhi said in the letter, “Our organisation understands the gravity of the situation, and we wish to lend you our full support, without any inconvenience to you, which is why we will arrange all the necessary supplies that our team needs to assist the people of India. Importantly, we are not requesting any other assistance from you, as we are providing the fuel, food and other necessary amenities that our team will require. Our team consists of emergency medical technicians, office staff, drivers, and supporting staff.”
All that the Foundation is asking from India is permission to enter the country, besides any necessary guidance from the local administration and police. “We are willing to deploy our team into any critical areas of concern at your direction without hesitation,” Edhi added.
Twitterati was quick to point out how the Edhi Foundation’s offer, in particular, stood out in the face of US refusal to come to India’s help in vaccine manufacturing.
“Pakistan’s Edhi Foundation, founded by the late great Abdul Sattar Edhi, has done what most of the world’s richest governments have declined to do: Extend an offer of assistance to an Indian nation deeply in need. This is the example that must be set, and that the world must see,” tweeted Michael Kugelman, South Asia senior associate at the Washington-based Wilson Centre.
Happymon Jacob, a professor at JNU, tweeted: “The US refuses to help India with vaccine raw materials when the latter faces its worst humanitarian crisis! With friends like this, who needs enemies?!.” He did not refer to the Chinese or the Edhi offer but the swipe appeared to be at India’s foreign policy choice of sidling up to the US on various fronts.
Meanwhile, late Saturday night Pakistan government through its foreign office announced an offer of aid to India in the form of ventilators, Bi PAP, digital X-ray machines, PPEs and related items.
This came after Pakistan stands with India trended on Twitter in a show of solidarity by people of Pakistan towards India reeling under catastrophic conditions due to second wave of covid-19 pandemic.