- Incompetence and obstinacy
Ten days back Prime Minister Imran Khan prided himself on making petrol cheaper in Pakistan compared to the rest of South Asia, claiming that the measure would also bring down inflation. Both claims are belied by the situation on the ground. Petrol disappeared from the market soon after Mr Khan’s announcement while the prices of commodities of everyday use remained as high as before. Sugar prices, for instance, failed to come down despite a widely publicized enquiry leading to the circulation of a 263-`page report. This has created a perception that the purpose behind the formation of the Sugar Commission was not to bring down the sugar price, but to punish political opponents. Meanwhile, the price of flour all over Punjab has increased by Rs 50 per bag. It appears that the man in the street will continue to suffer on account of the PTI government’s incompetence.
Political rivalry with PPP’s Sindh administration led the Prime Minister to oppose a lockdown to control the spread of covid-19. Despite examples of countries like China, South Korea and New Zealand which made a successful use of lockdowns to control the pandemic, Mr Khan continued his cynical denial of the available evidence. Over the last few days he has made claims like “the entire world understands now that lockdowns are not a solution” and that the world has discovered that the only solution is imposing a smart lockdown that allows economic activity to continue while implementing the recommended SOPs. He has also patted himself on the back for being the pioneer of the smart lockdown approach. On Tuesday the government policy resulted in over 5,000 new covid-19 cases and 105 deaths for the first time in the country.
The WHO has attributed the dramatic rise in positive cases to the government’s decision to relax the restrictions without any of the prescribed six conditions having been fulfilled. The UN body attributes the spurt in the spread of the virus to every nook and corner of Pakistan to the premature lifting of the lockdown. The WHO has recommended a “two weeks off and two weeks on” lockdown strategy besides raising the country’s testing capacity beyond 50,000 tests per day. Will a willful PM heed the writing on the wall?