THE Federal Cabinet, which met in Islamabad on Tuesday with Prime Minister Imran Khan in the chair, discussed and disposed of important agenda items including electoral reforms, reformation of various departments of the energy ministry, amendment in relevant laws for appointment of heads of various government departments to attract the best human resource in public sector organizations and made an impassioned appeal to the masses to strictly observe the SOPs or stricter lockdown could return. The appeal carries weight in view of large-scale flouting of the safety protocols both by the general public and businessmen as observed after relaxation of the restrictions imposed earlier by federal and provincial governments as part of the measures to check the spread of coronavirus.
The cabinet has a point in cautioning that the country cannot afford surge in the virus but daily updates on the situation confirm the number of both affected persons and deaths is increasing with the passage of each day. Fuller impact of ‘business as usual, as witnessed in markets and bazaars after lifting of most of the restrictions, would be visible after two weeks and, perhaps, that would be the time to assess the pros and cons of the decision. Anyhow, citizens must listen to the Prime Minister when he says lockdown was a temporary process, which could limit the spread of the virus to an extent, but it was necessary to take precautionary measures as much as possible to prevent the pandemic from spread. It is obvious that the decision to ease the lockdown was taken keeping in view the economic situation and the plight of the common man, especially labourers, vendors and daily wagers and they are expected to prove themselves as responsible citizens. After all, both the business community and their customers must bear in mind that they have to lose nothing by observing safety precautions whereas their flouting has serious consequences not just for them but the entire society and the national economy. However, we would point out that mere appeals are unlikely to yield the positive response until and unless there are penalties for violators or at least measures are taken for enforcement of discipline through volunteers of the newly created Tiger Force.
