ISLAMABAD: Pakistan on Friday regretted negative remarks by the Indian Ministry of External Affairs’ spokesperson regarding a goodwill suggestion by Prime Minister Imran Khan to share Pakistan’s successful experience in ameliorating the impact of Covid-19 on the poorest sections of society.

On Thursday, PM Khan through his official account on Twitter @ImranKhanPTI, while commenting on a news story about India, had said: “Acc to this report, 34% of households across India will not be able to survive for more than a week without add assistance. I am ready to offer help & share our successful cash transfer prog, lauded internationally for its reach & transparency, with India.”

In another tweet, he concluded: “Our govt successfully transferred Rs. 120 billion in 9 weeks to over 10 million families in a transparent manner to deal with the COVID-19 fallout on the poor.”

Imran said Pakistan ready to help and share its successful cash transfer programme with India

The Foreign Office spokesperson in a statement on Friday said that remarks by the Indian ministry’s spokesperson reflected an unprofessional attempt at point-scoring over a serious issue that involves lives of millions of poor people in the subcontinent, worst-affected by the Covid-19 pandemic.

The prime minister of Pakistan’s suggestion was in the backdrop of a study by a reputable US university that highlighted the impact of Covid-19 lockdowns on Indian households, especially the poorest sections of society, and effectiveness of direct cash transfers and food to poor families affected by lockdowns. International agencies have appreciated positive impact of the government of Pakistan’s direct cash transfer of Rs120 billion to 10 million poor families in Pakistan in a transparent manner.

Prime Minister Khan’s offer at this challenging time of a global pandemic was in consonance with the initiative for sharing national experiences among Saarc member countries in dealing with the impact of Covid-19. If that intent was serious, then the Indian ministry’s response to Prime Minister Khan’s suggestion is inconsistent with the stated position of their own leadership.

“The Government of Pakistan emphasises that the global pandemic is a common challenge demanding serious efforts and honest sharing of national experiences among countries while rising above petty point-scoring,” the statement said.

Published in Dawn, June 13th, 2020