Rallies and Covid-19

In order to mitigate the possible effects of the fourth wave of the Covid-19 pandemic, the government has once again tightened restrictions across the country. The government also ran a campaign to educate people about celebrating holy festivals carefully. We also commend the government for taking strong steps to vaccinate people against Covid-19. To encourage people to get vaccinated, the government is thinking to stop unvaccinated people from travelling to other cities. While we appreciate the government’s measures, we are also concerned about one thing: why are the political parties, including the ruling party, carrying out election rallies in Azad Jammu and Kashmir? Political leaders should act like role models. If they fail to follow SOPs, how will they ask people to exercise caution? We don’t even know whether those people who are attending these rallies are fully vaccinated. Shouldn’t our political leaders ensure that everyone is following SOPs? Why can’t our political parties decide to postpone the upcoming elections in order to contain the spread of the fourth wave of the virus? There is no doubt that our carelessness can definitely result in the unmanageable spread of the virus.

Meher Azeem Hakro

Islamabad