- CM Buzdar thrown in at the deep end
There is a steady and rapid increase in coronavirus cases in Pakistan. On Sunday evening there were total 52 cases but by Monday morning the number had increased to 94 and by afternoon to 137. Three days back Pakistan had less than half of India’s coronavirus cases. Now it has 23 cases more than its neighbour’s. The tally has suddenly increased due to the discovery of 51 new cases in Sindh and 15 in KP who were a part of thousands of pilgrims, students and traders coming from Iran. Had a proper medical checking system been put in place at Taftan by the federal government, the cases would have been identified there and sent to hospitals of the provinces of their origin.
Had the Sindh government not detained those arriving from Taftan at its Sukkur identification facility for further checkup, they would have proceeded straight to their homes spreading the virus all over the province. The media reports over the last two weeks have described the pathetic condition at the Taftan camp where three internees would reportedly sleep on a single mattress and everyone bathed inside the toilets for lack of separate arrangements. SAPM for health Zafar Mirza visited the place weeks back for a photo op but failed to take notice of subsequent reports in the media. Barrister Murtaza Wahab, Assistant to Sindh CM, tried on Saturday to draw the attention of the PM towards a need for strict screening measures at Taftan border as well as at the country’s three international airports.
Punjab being the most populous province of the country, many more coronavirus affectees are likely to have entered it than Sindh. Some of the Punjab pilgrims had actually narrated to media the tribulations they were undergoing in Iran. The Punjab government however displayed little keenness to discover how many of those coming from Taftan might have reached the province by bus or train undetected. There have also been reports about laxity in the checking of incoming passengers at Lahore airport. While one breathes a sigh of relief that there is only one coronavirus patient presently in the province, one shudders at the idea of any big spurt of cases in Punjab caused by unscreened virus carriers.
