It was the December of 2019 when the Corona Virus sprang out in China’s city of Wuhan. The very early stages of the pandemic remind how pacific and normal the world was back then. But no one ever knew that this disease was to emerge as a gigantic disaster and wreck a havoc, taking the entire globe by storm. Nevertheless, it took a good two months for the infection to enter Pakistan. The entry of the virus in Pakistan indicated the government’s solemnity towards it. It depicted its planning radar and potential and evinced that the administration was sluggish to respond. The first loophole in governance come out to be a fiasco in installing screening and testing systems at the airports because indeed, a foreigner was likely to introduce the virus in Pakistan. But as this tactic had been evaded, the catastrophe came to Pakistan along with the Shia Pilgrims from Iran. Still, the situation was considerably far from worse and the closure of all the airports must have done the job. Instead, the Prime Minister persisted with his policy of ‘ill-governance and mismanagement’ and failed to shutdown air travel.
Thereafter, as the malady began to unfurl through the country, the recourse of a stern lock-down seemed to be an efficient solution. This idea also received a staggering and trivial approach or if in the practical case, an irresolute and unambitious enforcement. Here the major responsibility lies with the nation, not the government, who was astoundingly punctual in violating the lock-down.
Along with an unorthodox lock-down, the testing resources faced a drastic dearth and when a professor of the Punjab University came up with an indigenous, cost-effective testing kit, his accomplishment remained deprived of funds. Then the opening of the Afghan Border followed, which was a move, probably preferring trade. Moreover, the lack of vaccine experts, doctors and medical facilities kept the recovery rate at a limited scale. Therefore, the disease remained uncontrolled and the tensions continued to escalate but the most bewildering part of the story still remains unleashed till this word, which is the nation’s response to the ‘partial’ lifting of the lock-down, where the markets were overwhelmed by customers.
Notwithstanding the fact that Pakistan’s COVID-19 tally exceeds 200,000, the premier seems unmoved and indifferent. Instead of effective and prompt actions against the ailment, he appears to be in favor of it. Of what significance is the meagre revenue that Pakistan generates from its limited number of tourists? Or to be very straightforward, no one would bother to visit Pakistan during such a lethal pandemic. Therefore, the PM’s decision to unlock the tourism industry turns out to be an astonishing move.
The PM’s attitude towards the virus reflects his casual approach facing it. He is urging the nation to adopt the circumstances and live with them. The PM probably has lost hope in his governance and awaits a vaccine to shift the country to normalcy. There lay prominent examples from which inspiration and lessons can be extracted to combat the disease. China, Finland and most importantly, New Zealand hold the status of countries with best response to the virus.
The major hindrance in tackling the infection stands to be the lack of financial resources, as the premier continues imploring aid. But if some statistics are brought in, since the emergence of the virus, Pakistan has been donated and assured a total of about 11 billion greenbacks from sources such as the IMF, ADB, World Bank, UK, US, China, Japan and some other agencies. Including that, Pakistan’s foreign exchange reserves account for more than 17 billion dollars. So. Probably that’s it for aid and finances. Elimination, or at least downsizing of the virus is smoothly feasible with such a plethora of funds at your disposal. Consequently, this unearths the datum that the administration is at fault, not the monetary funds. And so, Khan’s Corona Virus policy still remains unfinished or if exists, feeble and futile. The government has failed to implement a strict lock-down or in the reverse scenario, ensure efficacious enactment of the SOP’s. All these highlight the vague and fragile Corona Virus policy of the PM. So, the drafting of a productive and planned policy still awaits us, as we descent into deeper crisis with infects just shy of a perturbing figure of 250,000 and if the surge continues, Pakistan could experience ‘historic future.’
It’s not too late even now! The government can reimpose the lock-down, but this time with greater determination and strictness and use its resources to safeguard the livelihood of the poor and the daily wagers in the best possible way. The nation can also contribute, both financially and morally and so we all can make Pakistan the ‘second New Zealand.’
Comments