Pakistan%27s%20terror%20factories%20unable%20to%20produce%20urgently%20needed%20vaccines

In%201999%2C%20the%20renowned%20columnist%20Thomas%20Friedman%26nbsp%3Bwrote%20that%20the%20world%20had%20gone%20from%20a%20system%20built%20around%20walls%20to%20a%20system%20increasingly%20built%20around%20networks.%20Such%20networking%20entails%20the%20responsibility%20of%20helping%20partner%20countries%20in%20their%20time%20of%20need.%20As%20the%20old%20saying%20goes%2C%20a%20friend%20in%20need%20is%20a%20friend%20indeed%2C%20and%20India%27s%20vaccine%20diplomacy%20has%20demonstrated%20its%20determined%20approach%20towards%20playing%20the%20role%20of%20a%20true%20friend%20and%20a%20genuine%20partner%20country.

India%20had%20sent%20the%20vaccines%20developed%20by%20%3Ca%20target%3D%22_blank%22%20rel%3D%22noopener%20noreferrer%22%20href%3D%22https%3A//opoyi.com/astrazeneca-says-covid-19-vaccine-supplies-to-europe-will-be-lower-than-originally-anticipated%22%3EOxford-AstraZeneca%3C/a%3E%20and%20mass-produced%20by%20the%20pharmaceutical%20firm%20Serum%20Institute%20to%20several%20countries%20in%20South%20Asia.%26nbsp%3BOn%20January%2020%2C%20the%20first%20consignments%20of%20free%20vaccines%20were%20airlifted%20to%20Nepal%2C%20Bangladesh%2C%20Maldives%20and%20Bhutan.%20By%20January%2023%2C%26nbsp%3B%20India%u2019s%20total%20consignment%20of%20free%20Covishield%20vaccine%20to%20other%20countries%20had%20reached%203.2%20million%20doses.%26nbsp%3BNext%20in%20line%20are%20Seychelles%2C%20Mauritius%20and%20Myanmar%20and%20will%20be%20followed%20by%20more%20vaccine%20shipments%20to%20Sri%20Lanka%20and%20Afghanistan.

%26nbsp%3BApart%20from%20countries%20in%20South%20Asia%20and%20some%20of%20those%20bordering%20the%20Indian%20Ocean%2C%20India%20on%20Friday%20sent%20two%20million%20doses%20of%20the%20vaccine%20to%20Brazil.%26nbsp%3BJair%20Bolsonaro%2C%20the%20President%20of%20Brazil%2C%20took%20to%20Twitter%20to%20thank%20the%20Indian%20prime%20minister%2C%20saying%3A%20%u201CThank%20you%20for%20assisting%20us%20with%20the%20vaccine%20exports%20from%20India%20to%20Brazil.%26nbsp%3BDhanyavaad.%22%26nbsp%3B%26nbsp%3BSaudi%20Arabia%2C%20South%20Africa%20and%20Morocco%20are%20also%20in%20line%20to%20receive%20supplies%20of%20the%20vaccine%20from%20India%20over%20the%20next%20few%20days.

In%20sharp%20contrast%2C%20Pakistan%20has%20not%20reached%20out%20to%20India%20for%20the%20vaccines.%20Asked%20whether%20India%20is%20sending%20the%20vaccines%20to%20Pakistan%2C%20the%20MEA%20spokesman%20Anurag%20Srivastava%20said%20he%20was%20not%20aware%20of%20any%20request%20for%20their%20supply%20by%20Pakistan%20on%20a%20government-to-government%20basis%20or%20commercial%20basis.%26nbsp%3BPolitics%2C%20it%20seems%20has%20trumped%20the%20decision-making%20process%20in%20Islamabad.%26nbsp%3B

No%20doubt%2C%20Pakistan%20has%20reportedly%20received%20a%20pledge%20for%20half%20a%20million%20vaccines%20from%20China%2C%20but%20in%20a%20nation%20of%20around%2022%20million%20people%2C%20this%20quantity%20will%20prove%20totally%20inadequate.%20There%20are%20also%20reports%20that%20Pakistan%20is%20desperately%20trying%20to%20get%20supplies%20of%20more%20vaccines%20from%20China%2C%20but%20there%20is%20no%20clarity%20when%20it%20will%20get%20these–and%20at%20what%20political%20cost.%26nbsp%3B

Of%20course%2C%20Pakistan%20is%20the%20world%27s%20largest%20terror%20factory%2C%20but%20it%20has%20not%20developed%20an%20indigenous%20capacity%20to%20produce%20vaccines%20for%20dealing%20with%20the%20current%20pandemic.%20It%20may%20be%20recalled%20that%20ten%20months%20ago%2C%20when%20the%20first%20cases%20of%20coronavirus%20were%20reported%20in%20Pakistan%2C%26nbsp%3BImran%20Khan%20reassured%20the%20people%20there%20with%20these%20words%20%22aapne%20ghabraana%20nahin%20hai…%20%28you%20don%27t%20have%20to%20panic%29%22%2C%20adding%20%22We%20are%20Muslims%20and%20it%20is%20our%20faith%20that%20life%20and%20death%20is%20in%20God%27s%20hands.%22

Nations%20can%20meet%20the%20aspirations%20of%20their%20people%20only%20if%20they%20are%20well%20networked%20and%20connected%20with%20each%20other%2C%20especially%20within%20their%20own%20region.%20There%20must%20not%20exist%20a%20trust%20deficit%20among%20them.%20This%20has%20been%20the%20rationale%20behind%20the%20emergence%20of%20numerous%20regional%20groupings%20such%20as%20the%20European%20Economic%20Community%2C%20ASEAN%2C%26nbsp%3B%20the%20African%20Union%2C%20the%20Gulf%20Cooperation%20Council%2C%20the%20Union%20of%20South%20American%20Nations%2C%20Mercosur%20and%20a%20host%20of%20other%20regional%20organisations.%26nbsp%3B

The%20need%20for%20regional%20cooperation%20was%20felt%20in%20South%20Asia%20too%2C%20and%20the%20South%20Asian%20Association%20for%20Regional%20Cooperation%2C%20or%20SAARC%26nbsp%3Bwas%20established%20in%20December%201985%20with%20the%20objective%20of%20working%20together%20to%26nbsp%3Bpromote%20the%20welfare%20of%20the%20people%20of%20South%20Asia.%20There%20have%20been%20a%20few%20achievements%20to%20the%20credit%20of%20SAARC.%20These%20include%20the%20South%20Asian%20Free%20Trade%20Agreement%2C%20The%20South%20Asian%20Trade%20in%20Services%2C%20SAARC%20Arbitration%20Council%2C%20South%20Asian%20Regional%20Standards%20Organisation%20and%20SAARC%20Trade%20Fairs.%20There%20is%20also%20the%20South%20Asian%20University%20which%20was%20set%20up%20in%20New%20Delhi%20in%202010%2C%20and%20for%20which%20India%20provides%20around%2079%25%20of%20the%20funding.%26nbsp%3BHowever%2C%20if%20you%20look%20at%20the%20balance%20sheet%2C%20there%20can%20be%20no%20doubt%20that%20SAARC%20has%20failed%20in%20promoting%20regional%20cooperation.%26nbsp%3BThere%20are%20many%20factors%20for%20this%2C%20but%20foremost%20among%20them%20is%20Pakistan%27s%20unending%20hostility%20towards%20India.

%26nbsp%3BAmidst%20all%20the%20turbulence%20which%20has%20marked%20Pakistan%u2019s%20seventy%20two-year%20history%2C%20and%20which%20has%20seen%20civilian%20governments%20and%20military%20juntas%20play%20musical%20chairs%20with%20one%20another%2C%20one%20aspect%20that%20has%20retained%20the%20stamp%20of%20permanence%20has%20been%20its%20unremitting%20hostility%20towards%20India%20and%20its%20steadfast%20desire%20to%20foment%20trouble%20across%20its%20eastern%20border.%20The%20inevitable%20conclusion%20that%20is%20drawn%20in%20India%20is%20that%20the%20ill-will%20of%20the%20Pakistan%20establishment%2C%20especially%20that%20of%20the%20army%20cannot%20be%20transformed%20into%20goodwill.

Given%20its%20own%20resource%20constraints%2C%20India%20has%20been%20fairly%20generous%20in%20giving%20aid%20to%20its%20smaller%20neighbours.%20For%20example%2C%26nbsp%3BIndia%27s%20developmental%20assistance%20to%20six%20South%20Asian%20countries%2C%20namely%26nbsp%3BAfghanistan%2C%20Bangladesh%2C%20Bhutan%2C%20Maldives%2C%20Nepal%20and%20Sri%20Lanka%20during%20the%20four-year%20period%20from%202014-15%20to%202017-18%26nbsp%3Bamounted%20to%20about%20three%20billion%20US%20dollars.%26nbsp%3B%26nbsp%3BWe%20have%20assisted%20our%20South%20Asian%20neighbours%20in%20a%20variety%20of%20ways%26nbsp%3B.%20Bhutan%20has%20traditionally%20been%20the%20largest%20recipient%20of%20Indian%20aid.%20In%20Afghanistan%2C%20India%20has%20focused%20on%20building%20infrastructure%20such%20as%20roads%2C%20buildings%20and%20hospitals%20besides%20providing%20training%20to%20their%20personnel.%20In%26nbsp%3BSri%20Lanka%2C%26nbsp%3BIndian%20assistance%20has%20focused%20on%20rebuilding%20that%20country%2C%20especially%20its%20Tamil%20majority%20areas%20in%20the%26nbsp%3Bnorth%26nbsp%3Band%26nbsp%3Beast%26nbsp%3Bthat%20were%20the%20worst%20affected%26nbsp%3Bdue%20to%20the%26nbsp%3BSri%20Lankan%20Civil%20War.

Despite%20this%2C%20our%20neighbours%20sometimes%20give%20the%20impression%20that%20they%20feel%20threatened%20by%20our%20size%20and%20allege%20that%20we%20have%20a%20big%20brotherly%20attitude.%20Some%26nbsp%3Balso%26nbsp%3Bdraw%20in%20China%20as%20a%20balancing%20strategy.%26nbsp%3B%20On%20its%20part%2C%26nbsp%3BChina%20views%20India%20as%20a%20regional%20rival%20and%20its%20policies%20are%20aimed%20at%20pulling%20the%20smaller%20South%20Asian%20countries%20away%20from%20India%20.Through%20grants%2C%20loans%20and%20aid%2C%20China%20has%20made%20the%20ruling%20regimes%20in%20some%20South%20Asian%20countries%20vital%20stakeholders%20in%20its%20strategy%2C%20which%20helps%20it%20to%20pursue%20its%20interests.%20Pakistan%20is%20an%20outstanding%20example%20of%20this%20phenomenon.

India%27s%20vaccine%20diplomacy%20has%20shown%20our%20capacity%20and%20willingness%20to%20help%20our%20neigbours%20without%20seeking%20a%20quid-pro%20quo.%26nbsp%3BIt%20is%20an%20axiomatic%20truth%20that%20our%20region%20needs%20not%20conflict%20but%20development.%20The%20need%20of%20the%20hour%20is%20for%20Pakistan%20to%20close%20down%20its%20terror-factories%20and%20use%20its%20energy%20for%20meeting%20the%20real%20needs%20of%20its%20people.%26nbsp%3BBy%20working%20together%2C%20South%20Asian%20countries%20can%20usher%20in%20a%20new%20age%20filled%20with%20hope.%26nbsp%3B

%3Ca%20class%3D%22mention%22%20data-mention%3D%22%23Pakistan%22%20data-user-id%3D%22wizuXkuQ3rL8%22%20href%3D%22/topic/pakistan%22%3E%23Pakistan%3C/a%3E%20%3Ca%20class%3D%22mention%22%20data-mention%3D%22%23Vaccine%22%20data-user-id%3D%22zyoa0s9Rqx9V%22%20href%3D%22/topic/vaccine%22%3E%23Vaccine%3C/a%3E%20%3Ca%20class%3D%22mention%22%20data-mention%3D%22%23SerumInstituteofIndia%22%20data-user-id%3D%22l3zztglQ09a3%22%20href%3D%22/topic/serum-institute-india%22%3E%23SerumInstituteofIndia%3C/a%3E%20%3Ca%20class%3D%22mention%22%20data-mention%3D%22%23Covishield%22%20data-user-id%3D%223Isl4VBP3eZt%22%20href%3D%22/topic/covishield%22%3E%23Covishield%3C/a%3E%20%3Ca%20class%3D%22mention%22%20data-mention%3D%22%23CoronaVirus%22%20data-user-id%3D%22GAsoCYGBGwx5%22%20href%3D%22/topic/corona-virus%22%3E%23CoronaVirus%3C/a%3E%26nbsp%3B