Daily Times

It is simply unacceptable that even now, when the first phase of the fight against the pandemic is over and the second phase of gradually opening up is effectively underway in much of the world, we are still struggling with an overarching narrative about how to deal with the whole thing. First the centre and Sindh kept fighting about the need for a lockdown, with the prime minister refusing to accept the necessity of one even as PTI and allied parties in the other three provinces went ahead with implementing it. People naturally began to wonder that if the party chairman was against it, and everybody knows that nobody in the provinces moves without his go-ahead, then who ordered it in Punjab, KP and Balochistan. And while different theories naturally did the rounds, causing needless yet expected controversy in the process, the Sindh government lamented that people tended to defy quarantine orders because the PM played them down.

Now, while the whole world is exercising caution to whatever degree humanly possible, for some reason Pakistanis have decided to behave as if the threat from the virus is already over; as if relaxing the lockdown somehow implied a victory in this unique war. And the way people have thronged to public places, especially shopping markets, is simply appalling. They just do not seem to realise that by exposing themselves to the virus they are not just putting their own lives in danger but also the lives of all their loved ones; children, parents, etc. But clearly such wisdom is lost on people taking their children along to places jam packed because of Eid shopping. To put even more cherry on the cake, even the seemingly most sacred institutions, the upholders of the law, have also decided to step in and order, no less, further opening of shopping malls, etc.

Perhaps all the guardians of the state should also keep an eye on international headlines shouting out loud about an increased likelihood of a global second wave of the coronavirus precisely because the reopening has led to more interaction, despite all the care the people are taking in most countries, and hence more infections. Pakistan has neither the healthcare infrastructure nor the financial muscle for this second wave. We must put our house in order at once, for which the most powerful offices in the land will have to take the lead. There must be only one national narrative; and it must say that we are going the extra mile to make sure no unnecessary harm comes to any citizen of this country. *