Daily Times

One must give full credit to Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah for having grasped the gravity of the situation at the outbreak of devastating COVID in Sindh. His immediate measures to stem the COVID tide in the best interest of the people got him well deserved plaudits from the WHO that did not hesitate to acknowledge that Sindh had responded to COVID challenge most bravely and in a befitting manner.

On the other hand, the Federal government under PTI, following the instructions of Prime Minister Imran Khan, responded to the lethal challenge in a most confused manner amounting to condemnable lethargy. Not only that, Prime Minister Khan was directly daggers drawn with the Sindh government over lockdown. He did not let go any opportunity to criticise Sindh government. He opposed it tooth and nail using all the oppressive powers of the federal government to deter the province from continuing what is best recourse to fight COVID. Besides, he let loose his hordes of barking ministers, advisers, spokespersons and Team of Tigers who have mastered the Goebbelian art of propaganda.

As opposed to Imran Khan’s hardening stand against lockdown as the most effective means to contain COVID, one found it encouraging that even other provinces followed Sindh’s pragmatic approach to counter the pandemic. Experts say had Prime Minister Khan not opposed policy of lockdown by Sindh and adopted it federally, deaths by the virus would have been minimal. Being stubborn that he is, Prime Minister Khan kept his pressure on the Sindh government making it worst by letting loose his barking hyenas on Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah accusing him of just point scoring against the federal government. Doctors repeatedly underscore and point out that they being in the frontline of the war against COVID-19 with hardly any PPE paraphernalia, it is they who know the magnitude of the threat posed by the virus. Scores of doctors and paramedics have died in line of duty. As such they are not willing to accept relaxation in lockdown situation. They have rightly warned that God forbid relaxation in lockdown would lead to opening of floodgates of virus.

Prime Minister Imran Khan must remember when independent history of his time would be written, he would be singled out as the villain of the piece for playing cricket with the CO-VID 19

The most ironic part is that Imran Khan has adopted a suicidal policy despite being a claimant to his education at Oxford and having established one of the most successful medical philanthropy as epitomised in SKMH for treatment of cancer. Instead of being alive to the needs of challenging times, IK remains tied down to bigotry. While he ignored the unanimous advise of the medical community that lockdown is the need of the hour, he compromised with the Mulla brigade to allow easing of lockdown on the functioning of the mosques and banning of Ramzan prayers/traveeh in congregations, a measure much akin to the draconian steps adopted by the Saudi Custodians of Hermain Sharifain to lockdown highest places of Muslim worship

The Pakistani doctors’ community in rare show of unity hitherto unseen in our history have continued unabated to demand imposition of lockdown. It may be mentioned that ever since lockdown relaxation in the country against professional advise since April 10 the number of COVID-19 deaths have increased manifold. And now IK’s axe has fallen on Sindh’s head. At gun point, under the threat of possible imposition of Governor’s rule under a twit who is himself afflicted with CO-VID-19 because of his alleged ‘meetings with public in the province’ without precautions. Finally, Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah who otherwise proved himself to be man of right actions at the right time-has surrendered his good sense to bedlams in power at the federal level. Political analysts rightly view the entire gun slinging from the Centre as something that has more than meets the eye. It is not COVID-19 and the health issues related to it but something more than that connected to Federal government’s blackmail and bullying to bring Sindh government to its knees to Federal government’s diktat to get the 18th Amendment rolled back.

Prime Minister Imran Khan must remember when independent history of his time would be written, he would be singled out as the villain of the piece for playing cricket with the CO-VID 19. His firm NO to lockdown and his easing of conditions against the wishes of the doctors fraternity cannot be passed on to his so-called elitist bearing. Everybody knows that he is one of those prime ministers in Pakistan who despite being Oxford University educated, does not have a sound ear for saner advice. By relaxing lock down against the considered professional view of the doctors, he seems to advertently push the country on an evitable suicidal path. When he expressed his reservations at a recent function regarding lockdown as an elitist imposition much against the wishes of the poor without thinking where they would go for their next meal. In order to reinforce his strange logic and in support of his earlier point of view that selfish politicians in power previously had rendered life short, brutish and nasty making sustenance impossible for the poor living below the poverty line. He rather took on the rich-notwithstanding his being one in the category of richest, his diatribe against the rich elite singled them out as solely responsible for lockdown that caused limitless unemployment and growing starvation among the poor.

One would agree with the editorial of Dawn (May 2) that ‘it is no secret that Mr Khan along with some prominent voices in his party harbour a disdain for the ‘elite’. The word has become a common political epithet invoked by the PTI to deride political opponents from dynastic political parties and also the rich in the country who ‘take but don’t give’. Perhaps, Khan forgets his own ATM machine and the private jet of his former buddy and financial caretaker JKT that has been responsible for his cash life and coffers that have no end to his open ended spending. Indeed, IK’s posturing is misleading.

Author is former High Commissioner of Pakistan to UK and a veteran journalist