WITH Hajj season a few months away, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is making all out efforts to eradicate the Covid-19 virus from the Kingdom that could pave the way for resumption of normal life and religious activities. In a latest development, the Saudi authorities have imposed a 24- hour curfew in Makkah Mukarramah and Medina Munawwara as part of the measures to contain the spread of the novel Corona Virus. The inhabitants of the two holiest cities have been advised to say their prayers at home and avoid venturing out unnecessarily. Authorities have also sealed off Riyadh and Jeddah, barring people from entering and exiting the cities as well as prohibiting movement between all the provinces while security has also been beefed up at all the holy places. The decision, effective from Thursday and “until further notice”, excludes those working in vital institutions in the public and private sectors in accordance with a previous royal decree. What Saudi Arabia is doing to deal with the serious threat of Corona Virus should serve as a role model for other Islamic countries where some segments of the population either did not cooperate or were slow in implementing the vital guidelines issued by the local authorities to ensure safety and wellbeing of the people. Saudi Arabia deserves appreciation for moving quickly in restricting visits, Umrah and Tawaf and these measures have contributed a lot in containing the virus not just in the Kingdom but also elsewhere in the world. The Kingdom did this at the cost of a sizeable income and business activities related to religious visits. Saudi Arabia imposed restrictions at the very outset and its responsible behaviour contributed towards global efforts to address the challenge in a cooperative framework. It is to be kept in mind that the number of affected people is growing in the Kingdom despite prompt measures taken by the authorities and one can imagine the situation in countries where governments woke slowly to the threat. The new restrictions come as the kingdom reported 165 new Corona Virus cases, bringing the total number of infections to 1,885. Five new deaths were also reported in one day, pushing the death toll to 21. In the Pakistani context, President Arif Alvi, other leaders of the Federal Government and the Sindh Government have been making strenuous efforts to enlist support of religious leaders for measures deemed necessary to check the spread of the virus but the response has not been as forthcoming as it should be. The example of the cradle of Islam were before us where Umrah, Ziarat, Tawaf and prayers were restricted to save lives but here somewhat indifferent attitude was adopted. The Council of Islamic Ideology (CII) on Thursday did well by endorsing the restrictions imposed by the government on Friday and daily prayer congregations and urged the public not to associate the spread of the novel Corona Virus in Pakistan with any sect or religious group. It is true that those associating the virus with Zaireen coming from Iran and preachers of the Tableeghi Jamaat are repeating the same mistake that the United States did in initial days in dubbing the disease as ‘China Virus’. Like terrorism, the disease is also enemy of the humanity and therefore, instead of indulging in blame game, efforts should be intensified at individual and collective levels to root out the virus at the earliest. However, circumstantial evidence shows the lack of vision in handling Zaireen at Taftan and continued activities of Tableeghi Jamaat accelerated the spread of the virus. On Thursday too, Lahore witnessed a sharp spike in cases after 101 more members at Tableeghi Jamaat Headquarters at Raiwind City tested positive for the virus and the situation has led to lockdown of Raiwind housing 0.2 million people. But arresting personnel of Jamaat and their handcuffing were undesirable acts, which should have been avoided as its members have all along been peaceful and confine themselves only to preaching. Instructions issued by Sindh Government to quarantine members of the Jamaat wherever they are were also understandable as these were motivated by the desire to save them as well as others from catching infection. Similarly, Punjab government has claimed that screening of all participants in Tableeghi Ijtimaas (congregations) has been completed as they had been identified and quarantined at various locations across the province. These are right steps in the right direction and efforts should be intensified on tracing and tracking all suspects and their contacts. In the given circumstances, the CII has also come out with another praiseworthy appeal to the people. It has advised able citizens to donate the funds they have set aside for Umrah, pilgrimages or other religious rituals to people affected by Covid-19’s economic impact, and especially remember members of minority communities in this regard. We hope that taking clues from Saudi Arabia and CII, each and every individual would act as responsible citizen contributing his/ her share in the fight against Covid-19. Meanwhile, the authorities should also focus attention on other related issues like loss of studies due to closure of the educational institutions for a longer duration. Though at the moment, all educational institutions stand closed till 31st of May and the closure has been treated as summer vacations but no one knows what the situation would be at the end of May. Some educational institutions have launched initiatives for online teaching while there are plans by the Government for imparting of lessons to students of different classes through a dedicated PTV channel, the implementation of which should be expedited. The crisis should also serve as yet another reminder for the state to invest more on health and educational facilities in the country. Despite the fact that the successive governments have been claiming to have made more allocations for the social sector, the overall situation is far from satisfactory and the ground situation can be gauged by a report that reveals not a penny has been utilized out of Rs. 11 billion earmarked for improvement of health facilities in the federal capital in the current year’s budget. The financial year is about to close and non-utilization speaks volumes about the overall state of affairs. The crisis has also highlighted the need for indigenous research and development in key areas. A number of institutions have made known their plans for local fabrication of diagnostic kits and ventilators and, hopefully, they would be fully assisted and encouraged by the state in every respect.
