A recipe for disaster

The recent decision of the federal government to ease restrictions in the lockdown could lead to catastrophic consequences. It may cause a phenomenal surge in the number of Covid-19 cases jeopardizing not only the lives of millions but also making it impossible for our health staff to grapple with the situation. Our hospitals are likely to be overwhelmed because of this imprudent policy being pursued by Prime Minister Imran Khan and his tedious acolytes.

No one with a modicum of political consciousness would disagree with the Kaptaan that the people on the bottom layer of social stratification must be protected while making a decision about the lockdown. Even the political rivals of Khan cannot dare ignore these hapless souls living in abject poverty in the country’s slums and shanty towns. Everyone wants they be extended help and succour but the question is: what has Khan done to ameliorate their conditions? Does he even know about the inhuman conditions in which they have been condemned to live for decades? Has he ever visited any informal settlement to witness the miserable condition of these unfortunate people? Did he come up with any relief package for these ignored folks before the outbreak of the coronavirus?

In reality, his government added to their woes. Just in the midst of this terrible outbreak, dozens of houses were demolished in the Maherabad slum of Islamabad rendering people homeless. The heart-wrenching scenes of these helpless people staring at the debris of their little abodes moved everyone to tear, triggering a backlash on Twitter. This brutal action, taken soon after the criminal amnesty announced by the government to appease construction tycoons, speaks volumes about a possible nexus between the ruling elite and the vultures of real estate who have been vying for the precious lands of Islamabad.

It is not just this slum that fell prey to greedy developers and builders. In fact, such unscrupulous elements manage to carve out a place for themselves in the power corridors during the tenures of all governments. The Nawaz government also ruthlessly carried out a crackdown against the slum dwellers of Islamabad but all Pakistanis knew that the N League is the party of big businesses. This is what Kaptaan would also repeat religiously at all public gatherings of the PTI. But the prince of Bani Gala had promised to be a messiah for the downtrodden. He would talk about the stunted growth of children, abject poverty of Pakistanis and indifference of Nawaz’s government towards human development. Much of this criticism was also justified, fascinating millions of Pakistanis.

It seems that the messiah of the poor has turned out rather the opposite. Soon after the victory of the PTI, the country witnessed a vigorous anti-encroachment drive – not against federal minister Azam Swati or the thousands of acres of land doled out to influential individuals on the pretext of establishing farm houses but rather against small hotels, roadside eateries and abodes of insignificant creatures called slum dwellers. The rich were also appeased by lavishing favours on stock exchanges, textile lobby, power producers, sugar mafia and construction industry. Out of a 12 billion rupees stimulus package, less than Rs200 billion might directly benefit the poor, the rest is likely to be pocketed by the elite. So, the mantra related to poor people’s plight will not work. The ease on restrictions cannot be justified on the pretext that the poor people are suffering. Everyone believes in feeding poor people and such lockdown should ensure that they are properly looked after. In fact, essential commodities should have been arranged before even thinking about the lockdown – instead of pumping money and resources into creating social media teams to defend the indefensible or the so-called Tiger Force to help those affected by corona in the presence of a myriad of government departments that can do this in much better way.

It seems that PM Khan is surrounded by a brigade of sycophants who did not dare challenge him when he likened the coronavirus to a flu. Similar positions were taken by Trump and British Prime Minister Boris John. Their miscalculations proved to be catastrophic for the two countries with the US witnessing the highest number of deaths and the UK reeling under a faltering health system that is overwhelmed by corona cases. The two leaders dismissed all criticism as scaremongering but the streets of London and New York today seem to be vindicating their critics.

That is the situation of the world’s most advanced countries spending trillions of dollars on their health. But in Pakistan our federal budget of 2019 allocated health a paltry Rs13 billion. Precaution is perhaps one of the best defenses for us but by easing restrictions we are also demolishing this defence. People have already started thronging streets and markets. How many cops can we deploy to prevent violations of the lockdown? Which tiger force can prevent the flood of people from converging on every nook and corner of slums and working class areas after the relaxation? No amount of force can convince people to stay inside because they might use different excuses to come out.

We need not only to impose strict restrictions after ensuring measures to feed the most vulnerable groups of our society but also rein in our defiant clerics who are hellbent on jeopardizing the lives of people. In the past, we have seen such elements hurling abuses at our institutions and instigating people to rebel against the state but when the law of the state was employed against their threatening attitude, their power evaporated. The state should use all powers at its disposal in ensuring a strict lockdown. In addition to that, it should enhance its capacity to test as many people as possible besides efforts must be made to provide PPEs to all doctors and paramedical staff instead of providing it to only the staff posted at isolation centers.

Mobile testing labs could really work well which the state should use to test slum dwellers across the country. Quarantine at home is not working as most of the people in slums live in one or two-room houses. So, anyone who is diagnosed with the virus should be shifted to isolation centers so that he or she do not affect others. A country-wide lockdown with millions of tests a day would ensure the provision of correct data which will help battle this outbreak in an effective way.

The writer is a freelance journalist.

Email: egalitarianism444@ gmail.com