LAHORE: Indian Punjabi singer cum politician, Hans Raj Hans, who is a member of the Indian Parliament on India’s ruling party Bharatiya Janata Party BJB seat, took a rare stance in a video and extended love greetings and warm wishes for the people of Pakistan to combat the deadly coronavirus.
Hans Raj Hans visited Pakistan multiple times in the past and thrice at the invitation of the Pakistani Sikh MPA Ramesh Singh Arora from Punjab.
Ramesh Singh Arora told Tribune Wired exclusively that Hans Raj Hans has sent him a video in which he prayed for the Pakistani nation and especially thanked his well-wishers and fans and all Pakistanis for their prayers at times when India was going through testing times.
The Punjabi singer in a video sent to a Pakistani Sikh legislator said, “I felt overwhelmed when Pakistan prayed for India to tackle COVID-19. Hindustan also prayed for Pakistan amid COVID-19. I pray from Allah, that this love and peace would sustain forever.
“I being a humble person, prayed for my brother Ramesh Singh Arora and for her family,” Hans Raj said. He further said, “I pray for Punjab and Pakistan. May happiness prevail forever in Data ki Nagri (Lahore).”
It may be mentioned that India has recently seen the worst-ever COVID-19 wave in which hundreds of thousands of families lost their loved ones. Indian Journalist Rana Ayub and the opposition party Congress criticized Indian Prime Minister Modi for mishandling COVID-19 and for not arranging enough medical oxygen on a large scale for the common people.
It was the time when Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan formally offered help to the Indian people. Imran Khan tweeted, “I want to express our solidarity with the people of India as they battle a dangerous wave of COVID-19. Our prayers for a speedy recovery go to all those suffering from the pandemic in our neighbourhood and the world. We must fight this global challenge confronting humanity together.”
Moreover, Pakistani citizens on social networking websites ran a hashtag on Twitter #PakistanisStandWithIndia. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA) and Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi offered medical supplies to India which was then struggling to combat an overwhelming wave of coronavirus.
Hans Raj Hans is a recipient of the civilian honour of Padma Shri. Hans Raj had termed one of the best moments of his life while working alongside Qawwali maestro Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan in the movie Kachche Dhaage.
Sardar Ramesh told Tribune Wired said, “Hans Ji has conveyed the message of harmony, love and peace for Pakistani people. I think we should promote peace and a message of love across the border.”
It is relevant to note that Pakistan Foreign Office (FO) asked the Indian authorities to coordinate to finalize modalities for quick delivery of the relief items.
It is said that ice has melted between both nuclear neighbours after the militaries of India and Pakistan announced a rare joint statement in February this year that they had agreed to observe a ceasefire along the disputed border in Kashmir, having exchanged fire hundreds of times in recent months.
“Both sides agreed for strict observance of all agreements, understandings and cease firing along the Line of Control and all other sectors with effect from midnight 24/25 Feb 2021,” the joint statement said.
The return to a truce was settled by the two armies’ director-generals of military operations.
“In the interest of achieving mutually beneficial and sustainable peace along the borders, the two DGsMO agreed to address each other’s core issues and concerns which have the propensity to disturb the peace and lead to violence,” the statement said.
Pakistan’s Prime Minister has repeatedly reiterated his stance to give peace a chance and fight poverty and other challenges together.
The writer is a Lahore-based journalist.
