India denies claims troops will be sent to Sri Lanka

22 Apr, 2020

India has denied claims troops will be sent to Sri Lanka to offer assistance in the fight against the coronavirus.

The Press Trust of India (PTI) had reported yesterday that the Indian Army is readying separate teams to be deployed to Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Bhutan and Afghanistan to help those countries boost capabilities to deal with rising cases of coronavirus.

PTI quoted sources as saying that the teams for Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Bhutan and Afghanistan are being readied as part of India?s policy of extending helping hand to all friendly countries in the region to fight the pandemic.

However, Indian High Commission sources told the Colombo Gazette this morning that there was no move to deploy the army to Sri Lanka.

“We checked on this and found that the news was wrong,” sources told the Colombo Gazette.

India has also been playing a key role in pushing for a common framework in fighting the pandemic in the SAARC region. (Colombo Gazette)

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