Pakistan raises Kashmir at SAARC COVID-19 meet, demands lifting of 'lockdown in J&K'

Taking a shocking political jibe at the SAARC Conference on COVID-19,  Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan's special assistant Dr. Zafar Mirza on Sunday, raked up Kashmir while discussing the seven countries' efforts to battle the epidemic. Mirza expressed his 'concerns' that 19 cases have been detected in Jammu-Kashmir. Demanding India remove the 'lockdown in J&K immediately', he said it was imperative in the face of the emergency. The Pakistan Prime Minister was the only country leader who did not attend the meeting. 

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Pakistan rakes up Kashmir at COVID-19 meet 

"We hope that during this COVID-19 our member countries will provide access to all the regions. In this regard, it is a matter of concern that COVID-19 has reported from Jammu and Kashmir. In the view of emergency its imperative that all lockdown in Jammu and Kashmir must be lifted immediately, opening up communication and movement," said Mirza.  The video conference was led by PM Modi and was attended by Afghanistan President Ashraf Ghani, Maldives President Ibrahim Solih, Sri Lanka president Gotabaya Rajapaksa, Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, Bhutan Prime Minister Dr Lotay Tshering, Nepal Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli and Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan's assistant - Dr Zafar Mirza.

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Pakistan locks down POK

Incidentally, the Pakistan administration has imposed a health emergency across Pakistan Occupied Kashmir on Friday as 'a precautionary measure' in spite of allegedly reporting no cases of COVID-19. The Pakistan government has announced that all the schools, colleges and universities across PoK will remain shut till April 6 and has installed strict screening mechanism at all 11 entry points. Meanwhile, in Pakistan, the tally of Coronavirus cases has risen upto 34, as of date.

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Imran Khan and Kashmir

Imran Khan has repeatedly meddled into the Kashmir issue since the Indian Parliament abrogated article 370. He has repeatedly fearmongered and peddled fake news on Kashmir's ground situation, in spite of India releasing restoring internet connection and releasing political detainees in a phased manner. He has also faced defeat on an international scale after he called for global mediation into the bilateral issue. 

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After facing defeat at the UNHRC, UN informal meeting, European Parliament, G7 Summit, Khan also dragged up Kashmir at the UN General Assembly meeting. India has all the while maintained its stance that the abrogation of article 370 is an internal matter while any other disputes regarding Kashmir will be solved bilaterally. His allies China and US too have maintained the same.