PM Modi wishes Imran Khan speedy recovery from Covid-19

On Saturday, Modi tweeted, “Best wishes to Prime Minister @ImranKhanPTI for a speedy recovery from COVID-19.”

Khan, 68, is “self-isolating at home,” Pakistan health minister Faisal Sultan tweeted, and a close aide said he had a mild cough and fever.

Khan’s senior aides said that he had likely been infected before he was vaccinated on Thursday.

While it was not clear which vaccine Khan was given, the vaccine produced by China National Pharmaceutical Group (Sinopharm) is the only one available in Pakistan.

Modi’s message comes days after Pakistan army chief Gen Qamar Javed Bajwa signalled a potentially radical shift and asked New Delhi to create a “conducive environment” in Kashmir for the resumption of a dialogue towards peace between the two countries.

The Indo-Pak dynamic is shifting especially after Bajwa’s and Imran Khan’s speech over the last couple of days. This came after the two sides agreed to adhere to the ceasefire agreements, which has held so far.

On Wednesday, Khan, who has often said that his government and the Army are “on the same page”, said, “India will have to take the first step. Unless they do so, we cannot do much”.

Bajwa, who spoke at the same event a day later, said, “It is important to understand that without the resolution of Kashmir dispute through peaceful means, process of sub-continental rapprochement will always remain susceptible to derailment due to politically motivated bellicosity. However, we feel that it is time to bury the past and move forward.”

He said that “for resumption of peace process or meaningful dialogue, our neighbour will have to create a conducive environment, particularly in [Kashmir].”