Lockdown controversy

Since the coronavirus pandemic struck, the controversy over what kind of lockdown was necessary, affordable, and viable has continued to rage. Two protagonists on opposite sides of the debate have been the federal and Sindh governments. The latter kicked off the campaign against the pandemic by imposing a stricter lockdown than the federal government or the rest of the provinces. This became a bone of contention between Islamabad and Karachi, although the way things were playing out on the ground cut both ways and arguably weakened both sides' positions. Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan has made no bones from day one regarding his reluctance to impose a total or even overly strict lockdown on the argument that this would leave the poor daily wagers and even other deprived sections of society without the means to sustain themselves. Tacitly, this was an admission and acknowledgement of the fact that Pakistan lacks a social security system that could help citizens in trouble ride the crisis out. It perhaps also means that the country does not have a reliable data base that could help identify and bring to the needy amongst us whatever the state and private philanthropy could muster in the way of cash, food, and other essentials. On April 30, 2020, while addressing a ceremony in Islamabad regarding the production of ventilators, sanitizers, safety kits, testing kits and masks, Imran Khan delivered a swinging yorker against the 'elite', accusing it of being responsible for the decision to impose the lockdown without a thought for the poor. Unfortunately, the PM did not elaborate who he meant by the 'elite', considering if by that term was meant the rich and powerful, the ranks of the ruling Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaaf (PTI) are not without such worthies in their midst. Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah in fact gained appreciation throughout the country for his policy of a strict lockdown to avoid the kind of exponential explosion of the tally of cases that has been experienced in some developed countries of the world. However, despite their differences, both sides of the argument soon were confronted with the dilemma that desperate people were still pouring out into the streets and bazaars to fulfil their everyday needs, rendering the lockdowns, strict or relatively loose, more or less infructuous. Long and loud though the remonstrance by the federal and Sindh governments was urging the people in their own interest to follow the Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) regarding only necessary exit from home, keeping social distancing intact, wearing facemasks, etc., this appeared to fall on deaf (or desperate) ears. Ordinarily, the continuing exchange on a daily basis between the two sides in this controversy may have been put down to nothing more than 'normal' politics, but too much was at stake to simply ignore the whole matter.

The results of conflicting policies on the lockdowns in Sindh and the rest of the country have not turned out very differently, unfortunately. The latest reports indicate a sharp spike in the number of infections, and a steadily growing tally of fatalities amongst them. Sindh has now overtaken Punjab, where the majority of people live, with Karachi, the thickly populated metropolis, suffering by now a quarter of Sindh's total cases. Sindh has been leading the rest of the country in the number of tests undertaken, accompanied by the inexplicable drop in Punjab's tally on this score in the last week of April. With the pressure of possible mass unrest looming on the horizon, the federal government is now contemplating easing the lockdowns in Islamabad and the rest of the country under its sway. We can only hope this otherwise creditable concern for the fate of the poor, as argued by Imran Khan, does not turn out to be a factor in the lengthening of the affliction and eventually result in neither lives not livelihoods being saved as far as humanly possible.