2021 saw Covid-19 cases declining, thanks to govt’s policy of smart lockdown
Zubair Qureshi
On the eve of the New Year, writers, intellectuals, human rights activists and thinkers have expressed their wish that Pakistan would be free of extremism and turn into a tolerant, pluralistic society in the New Year.
Noted writer and teacher of Urdu Literature Dr Najeeba Arif while talking to Pakistan Observer said she wished her motherland would truly reflect what its founder Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah had dreamed of in 1947 at the time of the freedom of the country i.e. a tolerant and pluralistic society where believers of all faiths and religions would live in peace and harmony with one another.
The outgoing year was marked with fear and scare of COVID-19 yet we saw some very good books published during the year, she said.
Human Rights activist of French origin working for the rights of women and children in KP and across the country, Valerie Khan said she wished to see Pakistan aligned with Jinnah’s vision of enlightened society. “In the new year, I make a resolution to continue efforts for peace and justice and to protect women and children,” said she.
According to Khan, the establishment of 8 more child courts putting the total to 13 such courts in Pakistan was quite encouraging. Thus a ground-breaking jurisprudence has promoted freedom of religion, child protection and gender equality, said she commenting on the major achievement during the outgoing year. In Health sector, Pakistan emerged as a leading state particularly in its fight against COVID-19 and when the coronavirus was playing havoc with the lives in the region as well as the world, Pakistan was considered a comparatively safe country with less than 29,000 casualties and 1.29 million cases of COVID-19 to date.
District Health Officer Islamabad Dr Zaeem Zia while expressing his wish of the New Year i.e complete eradication of coronavirus from Pakistan said accelerated vaccination, following of the COVID-19 Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) and imposition of smart lockdown were the key factors enabling the Pakistan government and the people to meet the challenge.
Pakistan on the last day of 2021 also achieved its target of vaccination of 70 million people which makes one-third of the country population.
Noted writer Hameed Shahid said the year 2021 would be remembered for a period marked by violence and extremism in the name of religion. Not only in 2021, we saw this rising trend of militancy for the last many years, he said.
Referring to the lynching of Sri Lankan factory manager Priyantha Kumara in Sialkot city of Punjab on Dec 8 and before that the Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan’s march on Islamabad and violence during the clashes between the protesters and the police, he said unfortunately religion instead of teaching us to be human and tolerant towards others was exploited by vested interests to spread hatred in the year 2021. Let’s pray the year 2022 would see a Pakistan that is less violent and more tolerant towards followers of the different faiths, he said.
