- Stop the situation from bleeding over
There has been a disturbing surge in coronavirus cases and deaths caused by the pandemic in the country. Instead of sitting down with the opposition leaders to hammer out a unanimous national response to the situation, the PTI wants everyone to follow it since it holds the centre.
The efficiency displayed by the Sindh government in expanding testing facilities, setting up quarantine centers and acquiring equipment needed by medical staff created apprehensions in Prime Minister Imran Khan that the measures were meant to isolate the PTI in Sindh as the role of its Karachi legislators had been reduced to that of bystanders. The PM, who had failed to provide leadership in the fight against the pandemic, came out strongly against measures taken by Sindh, particularly the lockdown. As the provinces ruled by the PTI also followed Sindh by announcing lockdowns, Mr Khan alternately denounced the media and the “elite”for misleading them. When The National Coordination and Operations Centre too endorsed the idea, Mr Khan’s antipathy for the Sindh government increased manifold. A campaign was launched against it which has intensified with every passing day.
The Sindh government offered to follow whatever line of action was decided jointly. The PM however is unwilling to sit with the opposition, something unheard of in democracies. There is a need on the part of National Coordination Committee (NCC) set up to fight the covid-19 pandemic together and its implementation arm, the NCOC, to restrain the federal government from taking the fight too far.
It suits the federal government to berate the Sindh government’s policy of fighting the coronavirus on front foot. The statements by a number of PTI MNAs from Karachi threatening to lead the people against the provincial government are seen as attempts to incite the business community into violating the lockdown. PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari’s statement calling on the PM to desist from opposing the Sind government’s policies has led to strongly worded rejoinders from the PTI’s official and unofficial spokesmen. With the PTI government holding 18th amendment responsible for Sindh government’s independent approach, a new dispute has been initiated that has the potential to distract the attention from the fight against the pandemic. With NSC, NCC and NCOC not inclined to intervene , the Parliament would have to act as an arbiter.
