Daily Times

Indian Occupied Kashmir (IOK) was placed in a state of lockdown on 5th August 2019 after India abrogated Articles 373 and 35A of its Constitution, annexing Kashmir and Ladakh illegally to its Union Territory. The Muslims of IOK were brutalized and curfew as well as shutdown of communication facilities paralyzed them. Despite requests of restraint and a let up on the incarceration of the hapless Kashmiris by Pakistan, Turkey and Malaysia, India remains deaf while the world continued to be oblivious to the sad plight of the Kashmiris.

Nature has taken its revenge on the callousness of the world. Coronavirus or COVID-19, which was declared as a pandemic by the World Health Organization (WHO) on the 11th of March 2020, has caused over ten European countries to shut their borders while numerous are in a state of lockdown. Italy is the worst hit followed by Spain, France, Germany and the US.

The death toll is rising in hundreds and the number of afflicted cases now runs into millions. Sports fixtures have been cancelled, the Olympic Games 2020, scheduled to be held in Japan are facing the prospects of postponement while bars, gymnasiums, cinemas, educational institutions and other places of public congregation have been shut down. There is a possibility of curfew being imposed to restrict the movement of people.

It is sad that the Organization of Islamic Countries (OIC) looked the other way, when India locked down IOK. The business interests of most Islamic countries with India, dictated their heartlessness towards Kashmir

To the world that is grappling with the stark reality of COVID-19-devoid of cure, sans any effective yet-the predicament of the Kashmiris and their pain and anguish must now be apparent. In a state of incarceration, the Kashmiris were kept deprived of food, sustenance, means of livelihood, communication and basic amenities. Any attempts at protest was crushed through brute force. All this will come around to haunt the world now.

It is sad that the Organization of Islamic Countries (OIC) looked the other way, when India locked down IOK. The business interests of most Islamic countries with India, dictated their heartlessness towards Kashmir. Now major opulent Arab nations like Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Qatar and the UAE have been struck by COVID-19 prompting harsh measures. In a major religious step, they have taken the unprecedented decision of amending the Azan (Muslims’ call to prayer). Instead of the prescribed invitation to Muslims to come to the mosques to pray, the Azan now asks the faithful to offer prayers at home, making a major departure from standard practice.

Internationally, stock markets are tumbling, the hospitality industry, tourism, air and road travel are all facing huge losses. Many governments are on the verge of economic meltdown. Researchers are busy trying to project the extent of damage through COVID-19. The Australian National University (ANU) has examined seven scenarios of how the COVID-19 outbreak might affect the world’s wealth, ranging from low severity to high severity. Four of the seven scenarios in the paper examine the impact of COVID-19 spreading outside China, ranging from low to high severity. A seventh scenario examines a global impact in which a mild pandemic occurs each year indefinitely.

But even in the low-severity model-or best-case scenario of the seven, which the paper acknowledged were not definitive-ANU researchers estimate a global GDP loss of $2.4 trillion, with an estimated death toll of 15 million. They modelled their estimates on the Hong Kong flu pandemic, an outbreak in 1968-1969 that is estimated to have killed about 1 million people.

In the high-severity model-modelled after the Spanish flu pandemic, which killed an estimated 17 million to 50 million globally from 1918 to 1920-the global GDP loss could be as high as $9 trillion. In that model, the death toll is estimated to surpass 68 million. The research aims to help policymakers respond to the economic impact of COVID-19 as the disease continues to spread.

In this grim scenario, the redeeming factor is that China, which has come out of this crisis, to help Italy cope with the COVID-19, decided to dispatch an expert team to Italy. The nine-member medical team, along with medical supplies, arrived in Rome on March 12.

The Chinese medical team has been working non-stop since it arrived, sharing its experiences with the Italian Ministry of Health, the Red Cross, the Advanced Institute of Health and the National Hospital for Infectious Diseases of Rome on treatment, medication, and hospital-acquired infection control. It also exchanged views with the Italian side on raising awareness of self-protection of the public and medical staff and clarifying levels of protection for medical institutions.

The Chinese team also brought along the support of the Chinese government to its citizens living in Italy. Amid their tight schedules, they arranged online consulting sessions with Chinese nationals living and working in Italy including students, introducing the symptoms and features of the COVID-19 and sharing prevention tips and treatment measures. The live streaming video had nearly 700,000 views, and related videos have been reposted by a number of major websites.

The writer is a retired Group Captain of PAF. He is a columnist, analyst and TV talk show host, who has authored six books on current affairs, including three on China