Gift of life
T is unfortunate that while the world makes medical leaps such as the first-ever eye transplant, in Pakistan, the practice of organ donation remains tepid, despite the passage of the ethical transplantation law over a decade ago. This inertia is surprising, given the profound need: data suggests that over 150,000 people in Pakistan die annually from end-stage organ failure, including 40,000 from kidney failure and 70,000 from liver failure. These numbers represent lives that could potentially be saved through organ transplantation. The reluctance in Pakistani society towards organ donation is perplexing, especially considering that other Muslim countries such as Saudi Arabia and Iran not only permit but actively support organ transplantation. The organ transplantation law, when it was passed in 2010, was sanctioned by religious leaders from all sects. And yet there is resistance, often resulting in families not fulfilling the deceased’s wish for organ donation, leading to missed opportunities to save lives.
This is where awareness campaigns become crucial. They need to be robust, persistent, and culturally sensitive, engaging religious scholars and community leaders to dispel myths and promote organ donation as an act of compassion and altruism. Moreover, the existing legislation, aimed at curbing the illegal organ trade, has not gained wide public traction. Politicians and public figures should actively endorse this law, openly declaring their support for organ donation. The technical aspects are also vital to consider. Organ donation requires well-equipped hospitals, advanced preservation techniques, effective coordination systems, accurate protocols for determining brain death, and post-transplant care. The system must be transparent and equitable, ensuring organ allocation based on medical need. Public trust is essential, and transparency can help build this trust. By embracing these changes, Pakistan can not only revolutionise its approach to organ donation but also foster a culture of lifesaving generosity that can transform thousands of lives.
Published in Dawn, November 12th, 2023
Regrettable approach
IT is unbecoming of a caretaker government with a limited mandate to resort to ad hominem criticism of an elected president over something that seems evident enough even to the most detached observer.
President Arif Alvi’s recent letter to the caretaker prime minister — in which he highlighted the PTI’s concerns over the caretaker government’s unfair treatment of the party, its leaders and workers, while seeking constitutional protections equally for all citizens — clearly does not sit well with the incumbent regime.
Information Minister Murtaza Solangi duly took to social media platform X on Friday to gaslight the president by highlighting his party affiliation, deny that the playing field was uneven, and state that the president’s actions seemed to be increasingly “conflicting with his constitutional role” as elections draw nearer. It was another disturbing example — after the ugly rift over who had the authority to announce election dates — of the caretaker set-up operating as if the presidency is somehow beneath consideration.
President Alvi may be rightly criticised for seemingly prioritising his own party’s concerns over others’, but it is inappropriate for a handpicked caretaker set-up to take a publicly adversarial position against him. It must be pointed out that the complaint regarding the inequality of opportunities for political parties ahead of the upcoming general election is not the PTI’s alone, nor does it seem fanciful or exaggerated. It is a reality that the party’s political workers have continued to be harassed and detained, that a large number of its leaders are being held without trial, and that even the women associated with it have not been spared the state’s excesses.
Meanwhile, the PPP has been complaining consistently about being denied a level playing field; that party’s leadership is seemingly convinced that the engineered ‘selection’ of another government is under way. Yet, despite the PPP’s complaints and the piling evidence of PTI’s political victimisation with the help of state machinery, the ECP remains unable to demonstrate that it is sufficiently committed to fostering the conditions necessary to hold a free, fair and inclusive election.
Why, then, should anyone pretend all is well? The onus remains on the caretaker set-up and the ECP to demonstrate their commitment to their respective mandates: perhaps they ought to start focusing on delivery rather than waste time deflecting valid criticism.
Published in Dawn, November 12th, 2023
Out of the contest
ONCE England won the toss in Kolkata yesterday and elected to bat, Pakistan’s task of reaching the World Cup semi-finals by overcoming New Zealand on the basis of the net run rate became all but impossible. Before the game, certain permutations made for grim reading for Babar Azam’s men, especially if they were to be chasing a target in the last game of the league stage. When England posted 337-9, it meant Pakistan had to chase it down in 6.4 overs to have any chance. For the second World Cup in a row, Pakistan failed to progress beyond the league stage. Once again, they left themselves with too much to do, not to mention they were relying on other results going their way as well.
Pakistan had entered the tournament as the world’s top-ranked side but four successive defeats put them in a perilous position. They showed some powers of recovery with the return of Fakhar Zaman inspiring hope and the opener leading them to victories against Bangladesh and New Zealand. However, it wasn’t enough and as team director Mickey Arthur put it, they needed ‘divine help’ when New Zealand were playing Sri Lanka on Thursday. The predicted rains didn’t arrive and New Zealand’s thumping win saw them put one foot in the semi-finals; Pakistan were left to rue their narrow loss to South Africa and the shock defeat to Afghanistan.
Winning and losing, though, is part of the game. While yet another early World Cup exit will rankle, it shouldn’t shift the focus from governance issues in the Pakistan Cricket Board. If PCB’s interim management committee chairman Zaka Ashraf’s move to share a screenshot of a private conversation between skipper Babar and PCB COO Salman Naseer wasn’t enough, there was the saga of the resignation of the chief selector. Inzamam-ul-Haq quit during the tournament after PCB began investigating a potential conflict of interest as he was on the board of directors of a company alongside an agent who represents a majority of the players on the Pakistan squad. PCB’s media head appeared on a private television network, saying it was Inzamam’s responsibility to inform the PCB about the conflict of interest and that his resignation had not been accepted. His resignation was only accepted after the former captain gave an explosive interview in which he lashed out at Zaka Ashraf, whose committee has been given a three-month extension. While there will be a postmortem of the team’s performance, there also needs to be clarity on matters pertaining to the board. It is imperative that elections are held by the PCB interim committee by the end of this term so that not only is there stability at the top but also better decision-making.
Published in Dawn, November 12th, 2023