Since its outbreak in Wuhan, China, in December 2019, the Covid-19 pandemic has been spreading and affecting the whole world. Azad Jammu and Kashmir is no exception. According to the AJ&K Government’s official portal, there have been a total of 32,095 confirmed cases of Covid-19 and 697 deaths. Muzaffarabad, the capital city has been affected the most with 7,489 confirmed cases. Despite several preventive measures, it is still a raging crisis widely affecting people, businesses, education, transport and healthcare sectors.

Most of the businesses in the AJ&K are associated with the tourism sector. These include hotels, restaurants and guest houses. Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the frequent lockdowns imposed by the government made it impossible for many people to keep their businesses running. Restrictions on visiting tourist spots and dining in restaurants were also telling. As a result, many companies closed down. This greatly affected the daily wage workers. The tourism industry, which was once thriving, suffered a severe decline. The limited operating hours made many business unfeasible. Talking to TNS, Ghulam Murtaza, a former president of the AJ&K Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said that overall sales had declined by 50 to 90 per cent. He said that his own business, located in Mirpur city, had been running losses since last October. Consequently, he said, he had had to lay off some of his valuable employees. He said this had been painful but there was no alternative available.

The transport business has also been significantly affected. Many people who had leased vehicles have been unable to pay the instalments as incomes fell. Talking to TNS, Abdul Shafeeq, a rickshaw driver, said that he had been out of work for eight months. He said he roamed the streets day and night, hoping to get some work and feed his family. He said that he had no hope left. The owner of a car renting service told TNS that he could not pay his bank loans due to a reduction in tourist activities. He said his leased vehicles had been confiscated by the lending bank.

During the last few decades, almost all AJK villages witnessed a social change as people started preferring to arrange wedding functions in marriage halls instead of homes. This paved the way to the establishment of thousands of marriages halls across the AJ&K. The Covid-19 pandemic has destroyed these businesses, particularly in Poonch and Muzaffarabad.

The education sector has been hit the hardest. Educational institutions have mostly remained closed during the pandemic. AJ&K also faces the problem of poor internet connections. A large number of parents and children lack the skills needed to use the technology. The public sector schools do not have the means to offer online teaching. The students have no choice other than helplessly watching the year go by. Online education has disrupted social life and affected the learning outcomes.

Talking to TNS, Ghulam Murtaza, a former president of the AJ&K Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said that overall sales had declined by 50 to 90 per cent. He said that his own business, located in Mirpur city, had been running losses since last October.

Covid-19 has also caused financial challenges for both the educational institutions and parents of the school going children. Due to the financial crunch, a significant number of parents have refused to pay the tuition fees. Consequently, private schools and colleges have had to let go of many of their teaching staff, aggravating the already grave unemployment situation. Unemployment now stands at 14 per cent and is worse than the four provinces of Pakistan and Gilgit-Baltistan.

Since Covid-19 has caused a global crisis, many overseas workers have had to return to their homes, mainly from Europe.

Due to violations of the lockdown and standard operating procedures, the rapidly increasing number of cases created a burden on the healthcare system. In the first phase of the Covid-19, hospitals were unable to treat people due to a lack of medical facilities. Although most hospitals remained operational, there was increased pressure on the facilities. Many people did not fully understand the harmful effects of a Corona infection and the importance of quarantine. Many people still refuse to believe in the existence of the virus and have refused to be vaccinated.

According to AJ&K government’s official record, the health sector ranks fourth in the recurring budgets. In its editorial on July 1, The News aptly mentioned a point of concern, i.e., the allocation of budget for health and education is dismally low. https://www.thenews.com.pk/print/857603-AJ&K-budget

The AJ&K lacks state of the art hospitals. The border areas are far behind even Muzaffarabad in having reasonable health facilities. The hospitals in these areas lack laboratories to provide immediate Covid-19 testing so that the tests are sent to labs in nearby cities. The patients are referred to hospitals in Rawalpindi, Islamabad, or Abbottabad.

The government has devised financial support packages for the worst affected. However, there is no direct support scheme for businesses. The government has provided little to no material help other than a two-month rebate on electricity bills to the locals. Talking to TNS, Nisar Rather, the owner of Daily Siasat, said that the government had not helped the media sector either. He said the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting had not even paid its bills after carrying special advertisements.

Prime Minister Abdul Qayyum Niazi has promised to provide health facilities, promote education and development of infrastructure across the region.

The writer is a Rawalakot, AJ&K, based freelance contributor. She can be reached at hunainmehmud101@gmail.com