Zaheer Bhatti
WITH increased global realization that the world needs to fight the Coronavirus collectively, donor agencies must earn nature’s goodwill by waiving off their increasing mark-up against loans given to developing nations, slash tariffs and even write-off some of the loans of countries facing economic meltdown in their moment of distress. Trump’s tirade against China for delayed revelation of Covid details, resulting in a four trillion dollar loss to American economy, is nothing but an absurd pretext to pave ground not to pay its loans obtained from China which today reportedly stand at around 7-8 trillion US dollars. Voluntary concession by the donors to stressed borrowing nations being welcome, such unilateral absurdities coming from the greatest nation of the world, is not only a sad commentary on its outlook but likely to result in total chaos with no nation obliged to pay back to any of their international donors.
The Coronavirus in a way should have been a blessing in disguise for economically burdened nations as it has brought the world oil prices tumbling down. But Pakistan, despite considerable reduction of traffic on the roads owing to restrictions resulting in an overall cleaner smog-free environment, has failed to capitalize on the opportunity to buy cheap oil in bulk since it does not have storage capacity, which besides calling for another suo motu action to place responsibility of this grave national negligence, the Supreme Court must forthwith order building of reservoirs on a war footing to purchase and store cheap oil for heydays.
Boding not too well at home, criminal negligence if not complicity of successive Governments with vested interests within who have always made their buck at the expense of the common man, to have preferred contracting expensive oil-based power generation instead of cheap hydro-electric power to meet the systematically created shortfall through leakages and mismanagement, on the plea that IPPS was the right course because of the urgency of demand as hydro-electric power required building of dams which were time consuming, warrants a judicial probe; also as to why in decades not even small dams could be constructed for hydro-electric power which are being erected in hundreds by neighbouring India. The steep fall in global oil prices must in any case cause rewriting the country’s deals with the so-called International Power Producers which have their tentacles within the country, who must be made to slash their rates commensurate with the global prices; another fit case for suo motu action by the Apex Court as to why Pakistan took the route it could hardly afford or sustain.
This oil price fall should automatically have caused at least 25% decrease in transportation, air and rail fares besides prices of all consumables ie, vegetable, fruit, groceries and energy tariffs. But all and sundry in this Islamic Republic of Pakistan regardless of the bounties of the holy month of Ramazan they crave to be blessed with, continued their merciless skimming of the customer at every outlet of public concern without let or hindrance with the price control mechanism of the government totally wanting; That the curse of Corona has not taken a heavy toll of this remorseless nation is only due to God’s mercies for reasons best known to him. The cases registered are comparatively fewer for reasons other than those officially projected.
Besides the fact that there are far greater numbers of silent carriers of the virus not within the testing capacity of the Government which despite help from friendly countries has not been adequately enhanced, there are two solid reasons for lower numbers affected and casualties among Muslim-majority nations. One that by consuming all kinds of impurities as a matter of course including unclean drinking water, their immunity levels have been raised, but the other in-built factor of immunity in the Islamic social system is the 30 days of fasting every year which dramatically enhances individual resistance to any unknown extraneous attacks; viral or otherwise, which incidentally rubbishes Indian propaganda that Kashmiri Muslims were responsible for the spread of Corona in the Muslim State; a ploy used to further maim the freedom seekers .
A collective global response warrants close coordination between nations; leave alone harmony within them which is dismally absent in Pakistan due to unabated infighting; having blissfully diverted public attention to the Corona virus for which what is projected as being done is also farther from the actual truth. Government figures of so-called free testing perhaps also take into account the number of individuals tested by the scores of private pathological laboratories every day which charge patients through their nose having made it into a thriving business; each Covid Test costing around eight thousand rupees, which has been made mandatory by hospitals for patient requiring any procedure, to have each time undergone the test within 48 hours of the intervention required. The countless patients requiring such intervention throughout the country every day have no access to free testing which ought to have been State responsibility.
Where masks, as also sanitizers should be given free by shopping outlets, offices and banks, etc, they are being sold, and it is a pity that ads over TV which in any case are predominantly urban based and hardly cater to the rural folks and the lower middle class, are seen advocating mopping of hands mouth and nose with disposable tissue papers in preference to towels; little realizing that majority of population in the country can ill afford the luxury of tissue papers. But no one is thinking of sacrificing as even lawyers want courts to resume and restart their client fleecing as they seldom take charge of the case in earnest in return for the fee paid to them which defeats the very purpose of hiring them, as they often use their clients in lower courts to perform the role of their ‘munshis’, requiring them to be present on each hearing and keep track of their turn and call etc.
—The writer is a media professional, member of Pioneering team of PTV and a veteran ex Director Programmes.
