Dr Mehmood-ul-Hassan Khan
WORLD economy is continuously on the decline but geopolitics is getting momentum every where. Struggling communities, weak political factions and vulnerable communal groups and fragile ethnic communities around the globe especially, in Indian occupied Kashmir, Azerbaijan Nagorno Karabak, Palestinians and Africans Americans have been in the line of fire since the outbreak of Corona Virus (COVID-19) in the world. Now COVID-19 has been termed as communal virus or corona jihad specifically, in India. Muslim communities have been targeting as carriers of COVID-19 throughout India. While giving interview to famous DW news channel the famous Indian writer and social activist Arundhati Roy shared callousness aspects and dirty geopolitics of COVID-19 against Muslim communities living in India. Muslims of occupied Kashmir have been under government’s siege for the last 250 days with no access to even basic necessities of life. Outburst of COVID-19 has further aggravated their socio-economic miseries and political marginalization because its outbreak has now granted the “license to kill” all the freedom fighters being labelled rebels. Bloodbath is on the rise and beasts of humanity are walking in the streets of occupied Kashmir like wandering souls to lynching the helpless after epidemic of COVID-19 in the valley.
It has further divided the Indian society on the basis of communal orientations, ethnic associations and above all religious beliefs. It has provoked to launch series of fresh attacks on the Muslim communities throughout India. Physical, verbal and psychological warfare is being waged against Muslims, pushing further their ostracisation in Indian society. Access to medical facilities and proper medication in hospitals and social centres has been denied to Muslims after being declared responsible for widespread of COVID-19 in India. On its part, government of Pakistan showed its great concerns about the Indian discriminatory approach towards Muslims on the issue of COVID-19 because it has nothing to do with religion. Gangs of Hindu youth have been manning the entry points of villages to prevent the entry of Muslims. Muslim vendors have also been asked to stop selling on the streets.
Moreover, there has been a sudden surge in Islamophobic hashtags and posts on different social media platforms badly accusing Muslims of purposefully spreading the virus. A new term, corona jihad, has been coined to describe this conspiracy. Fortunately, most of the Gulf Cooperation Council countries mainly, UAE and Kuwait have now denounced Indian perpetual obligatory policies of hatred, prejudice, bigotry and systematic marginalization against Muslims especially on the issue of COVID-19. People belonging to illegally occupied areas of Nagorno Karabak (Azerbaijan) by Armenians have yet again confronted dirt of power politics during the eruption of COVID-19. Their rights of self-determination, evacuation of illegal occupiers and free choice have been again bulldozed by holding of so called presidential and parliamentary elections in Nagorno Karabak by Armenia, violating even the instructions of the World Health Organization (WHO) pertaining to COVID-19, disallowing all kinds of social gatherings. Armenia has also vehemently, rejected resolutions of the United Nation Security Council (UNSC). In 1993, the UN Security Council adopted resolutions 822, 853, 874, and 884 strongly condemning the occupation of the territories of Azerbaijan and reaffirming respect for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Azerbaijan and the inviolability of its internationally-recognized borders.
Furthermore, the Security Council had also confirmed that the Nagorno-Karabakh region is an “integral part” of Azerbaijan, and demanded the immediate, complete and unconditional withdrawal of the Armenian occupying forces from all the occupied territories of Azerbaijan. Armenian fake national narrative has been yet again tarnished by the civilized world unanimously terming it fake, futile and fruitless. International organizations like OIC, EU, NATO and the Organization for Democracy and Economic Development (GUAM), NAM etc. also labelled it anti-democratic and anti-humanistic. Armenia has been clandestinely pursuing policies of genocide and ethnic cleansing against Azerbaijan and its communities living in and around South Caucasus for centuries. Kholije massacre is still a curse to Armenia, which carried out it without any fear against innocent people of Azerbaijan. Armenia is notorious for its state terrorism planned ethnic cleansing and dirty schemes and once again Armenia tried to disguise its political dispensation and annexation through holding of so-called valid transaction during transitory period of COVID-19 and put the human survival at stake. COVID-19 has been haunting struggling Palestinians living in and outside of Israel. Orthodox Israelis, clergy and even government has been taking all possible measures to cage living souls of weak Palestinians into containment areas and camps. Gaza struggled against coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic which has been further decimated by Israel’s 13-year blockade that has caused severe shortages of medicine and equipment,
According to Palestine health ministry (April 10, 2020) 43% of medicines, 25% of medical consumables, 65% of laboratory supplies and blood banks have already been consumed. A huge shortage of sterilizers and personal protective equipment are compounding the challenges. It appealed to local, regional and international authorities to take immediate action to provide Palestine with supplies, because it has only 63 ventilators and 78 intensive care unit (ICU) beds which hardly meet the daily needs of patients as the occupancy rate is at 72% in hospitals. Palestine badly needs 100 ventilators and 140 ICU beds to cope with the deadly infectious COVID-19. Zionist is now in search of definite political comparative advantage and ideological gains in fight against COVID-19 by further dehumanizing and peripheral insignificance of Palestinians.
COVID-19 has now become a nightmare throughout United States of America. So far more than 45,000 US citizens have been killed with widespread of COVID-19. The latest US data (April 15, 2020) also revealed that more than 70-80 percent died US Citizens were “African Americans”. It rattled the civilized world and produced shocks & awes around the world. COVID-19 has now become a transcontinental disease, dismantling old human prophecies, political philosophies, social models and last but not least, human psychological modules which has also unfortunately, empowered dirt of power politics, institutionalization of anti-human policies, promulgation of anti-development programs, legislation of anti-social implementations and above all persuasion of anti-co-existent spirits around the globe. During the ongoing human saga in shape of COVID-19, Islamophobia is again on the rise especially, in so called secularized India. Anti-democratic policies and its brutal execution have already burnt the souls of unlimited helpless living in occupied Kashmir. Anti-socio-economic discrimination and geopolitical denial of Azerbaijanis population of Nagorno Karabak have now been further ruined on the plea of so-called presidential and parliamentary elections. Perpetual political denial and systematic debarring of necessary medical facilities of Palestinians are showing ugly geopolitical endgame of Israel. To conclude high death toll of African Americans in the ongoing combat against COVID-19 is also a shocking revelation to modern world.
—The writer is Director, Geopolitics/Economics, Member Board of Expert, CGSS, Pakistan.
