Domestic Politics
After a staff member tested positive for COVID-19, 500 people entered into self- isolation in the staff quarters of India’s Rashtrapati Bhavan. In Afghanistan, following an outbreak that infected 20 palace officials, President Ashraf Ghani and his wife tested negative. Further, in Pakistan, Imran Khan will undergo testing after Faisal Edhi, the head of the country’s largest charity organisation, who Khan recently met, tested positive. [Reuters]
Vijay Mallya, an Indian businessman accused of defaulting on over $1.3 billion in debt, was arrested in London after losing an appeal in Britain’s High Court on Monday against the decision to extradite him to India. [SCMP]
Three journalists, Masrat Zahra, Peerzada Ashiq and Gowhar Geelani, were arrested in Kashmir. While Ashiq, who is a journalist with The Hindu was arrested over an allegedly "factually incorrect" news story, the other two were arrested for social media posts that the authorities claim to be unlawful. Activist Khurram Parvez of the Jammu Kashmir Coalition of Civil Society said that this was “a brazen attack on the right to freedom of expression”. [Al Jazeera]
In a major setback to the Afghan peace deal, clashes between Afghan forces and Taliban militants killed dozens nationwide, including eight security force members. [France 24]
International Relations
In a telephonic conversation between Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan and American President Donald Trump, the two agreed to formulate a coordinated response to fight the pandemic and minimise its impact on their countries’ respective economies. [Times of India]
Health
After receiving unreliable results, India ordered a suspension on testing for antibodies for COVID-19. Earlier in April, Indian health authorities had approved blood tests for COVID-19 antibodies to expedite the testing process and ordered more than half a billion testing kits from China. [Reuters]
Society
Following the decision by the Pakistani government to remove the restrictions on religious congregations, Pakistani doctors urged the government to rethink the decision and warned that the outbreak could spiral out of control, particularly due to the increase in the size of such gatherings during Ramadan. [Reuters]
In Myanmar, an attack on a World Health Organisation vehicle carrying COVID-19 test samples left the driver dead and a government official severely injured. The WHO condemned the attack and condemned all such physical, verbal and psychological violence against doctors, nurses and health workforce. [CNN]
Image Source: Newsweek
South Asia in Review: April 23, 2020
Read more about the latest events from South Asia.
April 23, 2020
