For a better strategy

We all know that the Pakistan government’s struggle against the Covid-19 pandemic has been a fractured one. The lockdown spoken of never really happened or was at least not seen to have been properly implemented in most parts of the country.

Now we hear that after the Eid break, for which the so-called lockdown was formally ended and travel opened up, more and more Covid-19 cases are being reported even from rural areas visited by those from larger cities. We also know that the virtually non-existent health facilities in these areas cannot cope with the coronavirus and doctors lack the means to manage it, even in terms of protective gear.

As the next step in its campaign, we are told the government has moved towards further intruding into the privacy of citizens. This intrusion had already been a problem, with higher levels of surveillance put on material posted by people and the views they express on social media.

According to media reports, the country’s top intelligence agencies was to use the counter-militancy track and trace system to detect Covid patients and then their contacts with symptoms, by using phone data and content to determine who may be suffering from the sickness.

However, there is a chance that this measure could further make it seem that acquiring Covid-19 is some sort of offence. This is hardly the way to build the trust of citizens or combat the pandemic which has now infected around 100,000 persons and claimed over 2,000 lives. The idea that conversations over telephones can be listened in to is an invasion of privacy. The steps that could be taken forward from this point on are potentially even more alarming in an environment where dissent is already being stamped upon, with newspaper columnists and TV anchors threatened.

The ‘police state’ approach to tackling Covid has been used in other countries, including Israel and Singapore. These however are not the best models of democracy in the world. Far more effective was the tackling of the virus in New Zealand, where the lockdown was lifted nearly three weeks ago and no new cases have been reported for over two weeks. This is indeed success on the highest possible scale of merit. Yet it was achieved without the use of coercive power by the state, beyond imposing a tight lockdown, and even this lockdown was made effective by gaining the cooperation and support of people rather than through potentially illegal methods of surveillance.

New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Arden made it a point to talk regularly to citizens over the media and even tell stories to young children to educate them about Covid-19. This is leadership at its best. The methods used by New Zealand worked not just because of its higher economic standing, especially since the island state which depends largely on tourism as a source of income was badly hit, but because people trusted their government and were willing to voluntarily follow the advice given to them. We see just the opposite in our own state, with people in the beginning even worried that the government would ‘capture’ them if they reported to hospitals with Covid-19.

In fact, the territory of Gilgit-Baltistan, a centre of tourism, has not shown wholehearted delight at the prime minister’s proposal that tourism be opened up to help people in mountainous regions earn incomes during the crucial summer season. Authorities there have said that while the province needs financial support, doctors suggest tourism could bring in more cases of the coronavirus to GB and endanger its people. The tourism idea has also been questioned by medical experts who ask if it would be wise to allow people in remote areas to potentially be infected by those visiting from outside in a situation where they have little access to medical facilities or doctors who are familiar with treating the disease. There is also a shortage of ventilators and other equipment at hospitals in most remote mountainous areas that the prime minister hopes to open up.

But far more serious is the lack of discussion on the notion that tapping into phones is an acceptable measure. Similar steps taken by the US National Security Agency had led Edward Snowden to make his own disclosures about mass invasion of citizen privacy and become a hero in the eyes of some. But he remains a traitor in the eyes of the American state, currently run by President Donald Trump who has favoured breaking into the private exchanges of people.

In Pakistan’s unfettered situation, many comments that would be acceptable in democracies are taken to signify treason or terrorism of some kind, including those against the government at times. The confusion between government and state that we have experienced in past years has peaked. Using security protocols may also not be the ideal way to track Covid-19. After all, what kind of conversation will be interpreted as an ‘admission’ of Covid-19? Surely it would be far better to persuade people that the disease is not a crime, and that instead its victims need to follow medical advice, whether in isolation at home or in hospital. Educating people about the disease and investing in this could be a far wiser strategy, and certainly one that would build a closer relationship between the state and its citizens.

But then it appears this is not a government priority. The reality is that without the building of this trust, we will struggle to defeat a pandemic that has paralysed life in our country, with schools and higher education likely to stay shut for months. The policies need to be reassessed and a wider discussion held on privacy, in parliament and at other public forums.

The writer is a freelance columnist and former newspaper editor.

Email: kamilahyat@hotmail.com