Zaheer-ud-Din Babar
The coronavirus is still not under control in our beloved country. Speculations are still ongoing but the uncertainty is still there. In the West, many countries are badly infected and trying desperately trying to overcome this pandemic. The encouraging point is that, in the past, humans have faced numerous pandemics and hundreds of thousands have lost their lives, but humanity has ultimately prevailed and progressed as a species. A major difference between now and the past times is that humans have advanced vastly on a technological level, which has resulted in less threat from the coronavirus.
As we know, the coronavirus implications are still ongoing, however the worlds’ political, social and economic will severely be affected, no matter how and when this pandemic ends. Experts says that, around the globe, coronavirus will result in increased poverty, with undeveloped countries suffering the most. Even though the world powers claim that they will play their role to control inflation and support the third world countries in overcoming their miseries, observers say that this will only be lip service.
On Pakistan’s side, Prime Minister Imran Khan’s government has handled the situation in an admirable way. During the pandemic’s initial stage in Pakistan, the Prime Minister was opposed to complete lockdown. In the presence of cameras, the PM has repeatedly emphasized the importance of both human lives and the country’s economy. A major challenge for the government is to save the people from hunger due to the lockdown.
The provincial and central government are at loggerheads concerning the pandemic. The PPP government in Sindh has repeatedly defied the central governments’ advice and gone on complete lockdown, despite which people are still being infected by the coronavirus. The dark side is that the Pakistan People’s Party blames the federal government and says that they are unwilling to cooperate with the provincial government. The PPP’s two senior ministers have openly claimed that the federal government is solely responsible for the spread of the coronavirus pandemic. The sensible Pakistanis have felt embarrassed due to the Federal and provincial governments’ confrontations and finger pointing. They feel that the, during this historical crisis, it is better for the politicians to unite and play their role positively in halting the spread of the virus and helping the nation overcome this unique challenge. The sensible Pakistani asks the question that why do our elected members of the national and provincial assembly do not understand the seriousness of the situation.
We all know that Pakistan is facing multiple challenges in the shape of coronavirus. In these challenging times, our businessmen, religious scholars, teachers and students all must unite to overcome this crisis. We are lucky that Pakistan is one of the democratic countries, and we have numerous platforms from which to express our point of view. Print, electronic and social media openly present different point of views on a certain topic. The majority of government officials are active on social media, which is how they are up to date with the hardships faced by the people and their suggestions on how to improve the situation.
The reason the government is seriously considering implementing a smart lockdown is because the prime minister wants routine life to be restored as soon as possible. Recently, the Prime Minister clearly said that the issue of the coronavirus is not for a few weeks and may be prolonged for a year. That brings a pressing question to mind: Are we ready for a whole year of lockdown?
