Afghanistan welcomes PM Modi's SAARC proposal on COVID-19 crisis, stresses on unity

On Friday, the government of Afghanistan welcomed Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s proposal for the SAARC nations to jointly chalk out a strategy to tackle the novel coronavirus. This was confirmed by Sediq Sediqqi, the spokesperson of Afghanistan President Ashraf Ghani. PM Modi contended that such a collaboration would set an example for the rest of the world. Acknowledging the PM’s appeal, Tahir Qadri, Afghanistan’s envoy to India highlighted the importance of nations being united at this juncture. Barring for Pakistan, all other SAARC members have responded positively to India’s initiative.  

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The coronavirus crisis

First detected in Wuhan in December 2019, COVID-19- the novel coronavirus has affected nearly 118 countries in the world. Presently, there are 1,32,536 confirmed cases of COVID-19 which has led to the death of 4,947 people. As there is no vaccine or specific antiviral medicine to deal to treat COVID-19, countries have been grappling with all possible mechanisms to contain its scope. So far, China, South Korea, Italy, and Iran have witnessed the most number of confirmed cases of the novel coronavirus. 

On Wednesday, the World Health Organization declared the COVID-19 outbreak as 'pandemic'. Meanwhile, India has suspended all visas, barring for a few categories such as diplomatic and employment apart from keeping in abeyance the visa-free travel facility to OCI cardholders till April 15. Moreover, the Centre has “strongly advised” Indians to avoid all non-essential travel abroad. So far, the number of confirmed coronavirus cases in India is 88, officially more than any other SAARC member nation. 

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