Pandemic politics: a dangerous game

I write this article in the form of an open letter to the Prime Minister, on behalf of all Pakistanis concerned with the recent outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic. Mr. Prime Minister, the very fact that this virus has been classified as a global pandemic should have raised the alarm bell for your government to put politics aside, take all provinces and opposition parties on board and create a unified strategy to fight this invisible but deadly menace. Instead, what we have been forced to witness in the midst of this pandemic, is a score of federal ministers and spokespersons take every opportunity to undermine and belittle provincial governments and their efforts to control the spread of the virus. Whilst we applaud your decision to impose a national lock-down, more needs to be done, Mr. Prime Minister, and with much greater clarity. The lockdown itself has been made ineffective by the contradictory messages emanating from Islamabad. The consequences of this flip-flopping are becoming alarmingly clear: the number of confirmed coronavirus cases have risen rapidly in the last few days to well nearly 8,000, and fatalities will inevitably follow.

Public health is a serious business, one that we have never been very good at, and this pandemic will test the limits of our health system’s ability to put together a coherent response. Equally importantly, it will test our ability to come together as one nation. Mr. Prime Minister, this article is a plea to you on behalf of the Pakistani population to put politics aside and begin working with your very able opposition - who have ample experience in administration, including overcoming epidemics like the dengue outbreak of 2011. Even in the current outbreak of the coronavirus, the Sindh government has by far been the most proactive, and can share valuable experience with you as you build a national strategy to defeat this virus. Sadly, the walkout of leader of the opposition Shahbaz Sharif and Pakistan People’s Party President Bilawal Bhutto Zardari from the All-Party Conference on coronavirus only underscored the fact that consensus building is not amongst your government’s strong suits.

It was also upsetting to see members of your cabinet, including Sheikh Rasheed, Faisal Vawda and Firdoos Ashiq Awan, resorting to petty politics and attempting to point fingers during a national crisis, when in fact, we must act in unison. In the midst of this lethal pandemic, their behaviour is not only counter-productive, it borders on the criminal. Does the poor Pakistani labourer, who works day and night to feed his large family - somebody your party claims to represent - not deserve to be protected from this virus? Prime Minister Khan, this labourer can only save his family if you decide to do what is right. This would mean taking the appropriate steps to ensure that his life is not put at risk in the name of reviving the economy, at a time when we have no vaccine or cure to offer him. The right solution to this complex challenge can only come if not one, but a number of great minds sit together and evolve a strategy in the best interest of the country.

Prime Minister Khan, please do not let your government’s collective ego get the best of it. Despite your reservations about members of the opposition, this is not the appropriate time to continue to display your contempt for them. It is the time to be the captain of all of Pakistan, and lead us into victory through unity. It is with high hopes that you will take charge that I write this letter to you, Prime Minister Khan. Godspeed.

A student of Aitchison College, Lahore