- There is not enough attention paid to the pandemic
While the world is at its wits end to combat the adverse effects of the global covid-19 pandemic, where world powers like the USA and economic giants like Italy, Spain and France have been the worst hit, instead of concentrating on efforts to contain the virus, the powers are resorting to a blame game. The USA, Britain, Italy and France are suffering severe mayhem from covid-19 because they failed to grasp the gravity of the situation and responded late. Countries like China, Germany and South Korea took timely remedial actions and managed to stem the tide. The USA, Japan and Australia, instead of atoning for their errors in judgement, are looking for scapegoats and blaming others for their woes.
Pakistan, which has a frail economy and even weaker health and disaster management infrastructure, has managed to bear the storm of covid-19 with fewer casualties than were being projected. Allah has been kind that the full fury of the global pandemic was not felt by the masses in Pakistan otherwise the shantytowns and congested residential areas, poor hygiene and lack of adequate toilet facilities would have hit the people hard with maximum casualties. With 40 percent of the population living below the poverty line, Pakistanis would have been the worst sufferers of covid-19. With the timely action of the political dispensation in Islamabad and the provinces, coupled with the support of the military, the threat has been met head on.
Despite its hectic efforts to bail out the less privileged members of Pakistani society, find adequate numbers of testing kits and set up quarantines, and retrieve stranded Pakistanis abroad, some journalistic practitioners find faults with the government. In their opinion pieces, laced with malicious intent, these champions of freedom of speech continue to spew venom against the government. Based on half-truths, their editorials and analytical articles misinform their gullible readers to smear the current political leadership with malevolent grudge. An editorial in a weekly, titled “Fallout”, the editor informs that the outlook for Pakistan is definitely depressing against covid-19. The claim that in the midst of this unprecedented crisis which requires a national will and ability to overcome, is that the country remains bitterly divided. The disinformation continues that the civil-military establishment has abandoned all pretext of political neutrality; the “selected” PM and ruling party are still focused more on hounding the opposition than tackling the challenge of covid-19.
The entire world is rethinking its options in the milieu of covid-19 and Pakistan is no exception. The priority now is to survive and come out of the crisis with minimum damage rather than engage in meaningless harangues
This could not have been further from the truth, where the government tabled the findings of an investigative report looking into sugar and wheat shortage and found its own senior party members culpable of the crime. The columnist says that Khan would have leveraged national power to exhort the rich to dig into their pockets for the sake of the poor, not just for now but for the future. He adds vitriol stating Alas. We can go on wishing but nothing, it seems, will change the fallout from Mr. Khan’s ego-driven, rigid and severely limited vision. International observers have showered praise on Imran but our myopic scribes are hellbent upon sullying the waters.
In another anti-state article published in the same issue of the weekly, another writer also takes jabs at the government. He says that “the opportunity for a rethink of state policies offered by the pandemic must be seized and the shift away from militarization by the cancellation of the military parade should be continued.” What is his grouse with military parades? They are conducted by most countries of the world and are aimed at restoring the confidence of the people in their defenders as well as send a message to any would-be aggressor. The parades are not exclusive to the military; provinces and industries also present their respective floats and participate wholeheartedly in depicting the rich culture of Pakistan.
The writer says that “Pakistan must seriously begin a rethink of its own state policies and begin to make a shift away from a security-driven state towards a welfare-driven one.” No country would like to allocate scarce resources to security instead of welfare unless there was a dire need. Unfortunately, Pakistan is surrounded by enemies. Our eastern neighbour is openly hostile while the internal threat due to terrorists persists and the western neighbour too is “blow hot blow cold”. Under these circumstances, Pakistan cannot afford to keep its guard down.
The writer states that the “trajectory of the nation’s thinking was put on a wrong course when General Ayub Khan replaced ‘Yaume Jamhooriah’ with a Pakistan Day military parade which implanted a false idea that national pride lay in brass and band instead of constitutionalism, democracy and people’s welfare.” He glibly adds that “General Zia prescribed the motto of ‘Iman, taqwa, jehad fi sabillilah’ for the troops which helped to create an environment for strident militarization of the state and society that continues till today. Pakistan can survive and prosper only as a welfare state, not as a security state. The narrative imperceptibly built by these archaic symbols of a security state must give place to the narrative of welfare of the people as Coronavirus forces a rethink. It will cost nothing but do enormous good to the state and society.” The writer must be aware that the entire world is rethinking its options in the milieu of covid-19 and Pakistan is no exception. The priority now is to survive and come out of the crisis with minimum damage rather than engage in meaningless harangues.
Similarly, another editorial in the weekly, with its usual penchant for targeting the state and state institutions, states that more than 100 countries and 2.6 billion people are in various stages of “lockdown” against the spreading Corona virus. US President Donald Trump & UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson, two reluctant “lockdowners”, have bitten the bullet and embarked on progressive lockdowns. He then fires a broadside in a diatribe: “the military establishment is so alarmed at PM’s lack of leadership and clarity of action when it is urgently needed that it has autonomously readied for “aiding civil power”. If there is no swift, concerted and coordinated lockdown in the entire country, the infection will hit over 100,000 Pakistanis and many will die. NDMA Chairman has pointed out that 85 percent of the infections come from infected Pakistanis returning to Pakistan, from Iran via Balochistan without being tested and quarantined. However, Mr. Khan has heaped praise on the Balochistan CM for effective action.” He says that Imran Khan claims his government doesn’t have the economic resources and manpower to stem the infection via a national lockdown. The so-called “relief package” is pathetically lacking for the poor and most vulnerable. He passes the unfair judgment that Imran Khan has singularly disqualified himself from being able to make swift, decisive, effective national consensus policy in Pakistan’s perilous hour of need.
It is wished that the writer would have paid heed to the world media’s accolades being showered upon the Pakistani leadership’s response to the crisis instead of blindly targeting him in his typical jingoistic style.
