Fighting Covid-19

Prime Minister Imran Khan usually boasts of the worldwide appreciation of the policies and strategies he adopted to contain the spread of Covid-19 in Pakistan. Ground realities, however, are just the opposite and disappointing. The world generally does not accept Pakistan as a Covid-19-safe zone. Pakistan is on the red list in a number of countries and is grouped with the worst-hit India. At home, the government has miserably failed to enforce SOPs or check the violation of its own prescribed regulations. The half-hearted policy of partial lockdowns followed by the premature reopening of almost all places that can easily become Covid-19 hotspots, and, then, another lockdown reflects the government’s reactionary approach to the rising curves of coronavirus cases and deaths. Recently, the National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC) allowed the opening of cinemas, shrines, indoor restaurants and resorts (and now it has decided to close down these places); the decision made a mockery of all the previous exercises that the government did to limit the spread of the dangerous virus. The PM should focus on formulating and enforcing practical measures that can help Pakistanis travel to countries without any problem and that can ensure that the lethal virus has been eradicated from the country.

Haroon S Pasha

Islamabad