Mohammad Jamil
PRIME Minister Imran Khan announced on Thursday that the National Coordination Committee (NCC) has decided to lift lockdown across the country from today in phases. “We have decided to lift the lockdown because small business owners, daily-wagers and labourers are facing extreme difficulties. We fear that small and medium industries may completely vanish if we do not lift the lockdown,” the Premier said. During his speech, the Prime Minister explained that the government had earlier opened the construction sector and now it has decided to open industries connected with it in different phases. Throughout his speech, he emphasised the need of maintaining social distancing and following the SOPs earlier prepared. Reiterating that Pakistan’s situation was different from the rest of the world, the Premier said, the government has decided to make things easier for the people.
In every speech, Prime Minister Imran Khan consoled his nation. In every media interaction, the Prime Minister of Pakistan told Pakistanis not to panic. In his tweets he advised the nation to chin up, observe prevention guidelines, practise self-isolation. In every address, he reassured the economically weak and those living below the poverty line that he was there for them. Similarly, Army Chief also has welfare of the people and the have-nots close to his heart; and since civil and military leadership is on the same page both said ‘No’ to indefinite lock down. The National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC) is playing an important role, as it was established to collate and analyze information received from provinces, after which recommendations are made to National Command Centre. As regards decision to ease the lockdown, only those sectors are being opened on which there was consensus. Imran Khan the politician and Imran Khan the Prime Minister has always been deeply concerned about the well-being of the people of Pakistan. Even when he gave concessions to the industrialists, the objective was the wheels of industry should run that would provide jobs to the unemployed or those who were laid off. Coronavirus, so far, is the biggest test of his leadership as the Prime Minister of the country. The media in most countries has a single-point agenda — COVID-19. In Pakistan, media also has a single-point agenda: how to politicise coronavirus while saying how not to politicise coronavirus. When the world is united in its agony of once-in-a-century pandemic; and when the international media has synchronised all its coverage and reportage to COVID-19, a part of Pakistani media raises questions and passes remarks that had not much to do with Coronavirus.
The PM, addressing the Cabinet members on Tuesday vowed to take care of the vulnerable segments of society, and those who have been deprived of their livelihood in the wake of the lockdown. The PM backed the proposal of easing restrictions in the country, keeping in view the hardships being faced by people due to the lockdown. However, he warned of abrupt spike in spread of virus if the Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) were not implemented strictly after easing of the lockdown. Since Cabinet had already announced opening of construction sector, now its subsidiary sectors such as glass manufacturers; PVC and steel pipes manufacturers, aluminum fixtures manufacturers, hardware stores and shops selling construction material will also be granted permission to resume operations. Small markets, and small shops will be allowed to open from Fajr to 5 pm, and those markets will remain closed two days a week.
With Pakistan under an unpopular lockdown aimed at fighting the Coronavirus pandemic that has wreaked havoc around the world, a large portion of the country’s traders and poverty-stricken people are resisting limits on physical and social contacts and their mobility. Sindh government, however, from day one has been insisting on complete lockdown, but was unable to implement its plan, as large opposition to the closure of businesses and places of worship could have resulted in upheaval in the religiously conservative and economically fragile country of 220 million people. That worry has led many to sympathize with Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan’s opposition to a strict lockdown in a country where about one-quarter of its people earn only 300 rupees (roughly $2) per day. This is the reason that his government is taking measures to ease restrictions so that millions could earn their living with dignity.
There are three major factors that make Pakistan’s lockdown difficult to enforce – a strained economy with a large number of people living in poverty; the strong social ties and traditions in the country, and the devout religious beliefs in large segments of the population. One of the hardest-hit segments of Pakistani society are the daily workers and self-employed who have not only lost their daily earnings to feed their families but also cannot pay rents, utility bills, school fee, or medical expenses. While Imran Khan’s decision to allow construction firms to resume operations was welcomed by many who believed this would kick-start economic activity and help generate jobs for daily wagers; others criticized it, arguing it will increase social contacts that are likely to spread the Coronavirus.
Anyhow, Imran Khan has a point when he says that European countries where incidence of deaths was extremely high are easing the lockdown. More than 4.4 million Italians went back to work on Monday after seven weeks of extraordinary restrictive measures. In Italy, Europe’s worst-hit country in terms of deaths, almost 30,000 people have died amid more than 210,700 infections, according to the National Civil Protection Agency. Many European countries including Greece and Germany have also eased the lockdown and Germany’s Chancellor Angela Merkel has announced to hold National Football League next month.
—The writer is a senior journalist based in Lahore.
