Daily Times

Pakistan is reeling under the attack of the global pandemic COVID-19 but the nation, instead of being united to combat the scourge of the deadly disease, is playing politics. The Sindh Government, which had initially won plaudits for its bold handling of the outbreak of the novel Coronavirus, is now facing flak for its tall claims and attempts at the denigration of the federal government.

Ironically, Sindh public doctors have exposed the plight of their provincial government in Karachi. Where every so called anti-State, element was praising PPP for taking substantial measures against the pandemic, doctors in Karachi have exposed the hidden corruption in Sindh Health Ministry. Hospitals in Sindh no longer have the capacity to handle effected patients and due to lack of PPEs, many doctors are getting effected from COVID. Meanwhile Sindh Government is doing shallow propaganda on social media, pointing out that everything is happening because of Federal Government.

It is high time that the Federal Government intervenes in this issue regarding Sindh and ensures that demands of doctors are fulfilled. There have been harrowing tales of the rations meant to be disbursed to the needy and poor, were gobbled up by greedy officials of the provincial government. Corruption, sleaze and perfidy are deplorable elements but when they pervade the society during the times of pandemics or natural calamities, they must be condemned in the harshest possible manner.

The need of the hour is sinking the differences and teaming up to ensure that Pakistan emerges from this trial and tribulation with minimum casualties.

Rather than unleashing outrage on the takeover of the hospitals, perhaps the Sindh Government could serve its people better by providing its citizens premium healthcare

The bone of contention appears to be The Federal Ministry of National Health Services, Regulation and Control which has taken over the administrative control of the National Institute of Cardiovascular Diseases, Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre and National Institute of Child Health, evoking strong reaction from the ruling Pakistan People’s Party (PPP).

According to a notification issued by the ministry, in pursuance of Supreme Court of Pakistan’s orders and with the approval of federal cabinet, three major Karachi hospitals are restored to the federal government and placed under the administrative control of the ministry of National Health services, Islamabad.

Reacting to the development, PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari condemned the taking over of three major hospitals of Sindh by the federal government and termed it as an attack on provincial autonomy.

In a statement, the PPP chairman said: “The people of Sindh have invested billions of rupees on revolutionary improvements in Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Center (JPMC), National Institute of Cardiovascular Diseases (NICVD) and National Institute of Child Health after these hospitals were handed over to the province under the 18th Constitutional Amendment.”

Rather than unleashing outrage on the takeover of the hospitals, perhaps the Sindh Government could serve its people better by providing its citizens premium healthcare. There are gory tales of even medical practitioners being turned away from hospitals after being afflicted by the pandemic and succumbing to the virus attack.

If the PPP’s woes regarding healthcare were not enough, a US journalist Cynthia Ritchie’s exposé of some of its senior leadership in sexual harassment charges has sent the veteran politicians reeling. The social media was already abuzz regarding the ongoing allegations made by Cynthia on PPP and its mafia nexus. The former and all powerful Minister of Interior was accused of making advances of a sexual nature on the young journalist. In a TV show on a private TV Channel, using graphic details to describe the carnal advances made on Cynthia stirred the emotions of the chivalrous male society of Pakistan. The same US journalist also leveled accusations of groping and physically mishandling her by a Former Prime Minister and Federal Minister of the PPP regime, causing embarrassment and red faces to the old guard politicians. Surprisingly, in an era of me-too exposés, the so called activists, feminists and human rights representatives have completely sidelined these allegations. Contrarily, many famous me-too organizers and leftists were slut shaming and harassing Cynthia. Powerful public figures like US President Donald Trump have been publicly named and chastised. Simultaneously, show biz moguls like Harvey Weinstein have been sentenced to 23 years in prison for criminal sexual act in the first degree and three years for rape in the third degree to be served consecutively for assaulting the two women in New York. This was a major victory for #me-too activists but in Pakistan, the pseudo social media activists appear to be mercenaries, ready to work for the highest bidder and used by high level international intelligence agencies as proxies to instigate chaos in the region. One cannot expect an iota of condemnation from these chaos generators, when alleged suspects are their own sponsors.

In this grim milieu, where Cynthia Ritchie’s video alleging that Rahman Malik raped her in 2011 when the PPP was in power and claiming that she was “physically manhandled by former Health Minister Makhdoom Shahabuddin and Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani while he was staying at the President’s House” became viral, yet no champion of justice for women stood up to defend her.

The writer is a retired Group Captain of PAF. He is a columnist, analyst and TV talk show host, who has authored six books on current affairs, including three on China