THE world breathed a collective sigh of relief early in the week as drug maker Pfizer announced a significant update regarding its coronavirus vaccine trial. The American multinational pharmaceutical company said early analysis of its Covid-19 vaccine shows more than 90pc efficacy — a development that will give billions of people hope that the end of the pandemic is in sight. The interim analysis of the vaccine is indeed promising, as it looked at the first 94 confirmed cases of Covid-19 among the more than 43,000 volunteers who got either two doses of the vaccine or a placebo and found that less than 10pc of infections were in participants who had been given the vaccine. Yet, even as medical experts are celebrating this vaccine breakthrough, expectations around it must be managed, especially since mass-producing it and rolling it over to the rest of the world will not come without challenges. Who will be inoculated first and how much it will cost are also significant factors, as there are many countries where cases and death tolls are alarmingly high but that are not in a strong economic position that would allow them to procure the drug.
Where Pakistan is concerned, a major problem will be maintaining the cold supply chain and establishing vaccine logistics — something that has marred efforts on the polio vaccination front. Experts have said the Pfizer vaccine will have to be stored at “ultra-cold temperatures” of -70°C until the day it is used — a requirement that is beyond the capacity of everyday refrigerators and one which makes the likelihood of holding the drug in regular clinics a challenge. This task is further complicated by the requirement that the vaccine must be administered in two doses, three weeks apart. As the vaccine manufacturers seek emergency authorisation and FDA approvals, the authorities in Pakistan must consider these challenges and formulate a plan for effective vaccination if and when the time comes.
Meanwhile, the government at the federal and provincial levels must do everything to curb the rising numbers of Covid-19 cases. This week, the NCOC revealed startling figures that suggest that community spread is rampant — increased testing is necessary to get a better idea of the actual extent. The countrywide positivity ratio is at an alarming 4.5pc, with some places such as Hyderabad, Gilgit and Multan recording a positivity ratio of over 15pc. In the last 24 hours (at the time of writing), the virus had claimed 24 lives. As hospitals get full and doctors become overwhelmed, it is critical for the authorities to enforce strict SOPs to prevent a doomsday scenario. Relying on an American or Chinese vaccine is impractical, as it may be months before either becomes available in Pakistan. Instead, the authorities should curb large public gatherings and the flouting of restrictions and irresponsible behaviour by its own members when it comes to prevention mechanisms.
‘Karachi incident’
UNLIKE most ‘midnight knocks’ in this country of late, this one has at least had some consequences for the perpetrators. A statement by the ISPR yesterday said the ISI and Rangers officials involved in the “Karachi incident” have been removed pending further departmental proceedings for having acted “overzealously”.
It was in the early hours of Oct 19 that Rangers personnel, accompanied by some intelligence officials, had arrived at IG Sindh Mushtaq Mahar’s home and compelled him to accompany them to the local sector commander’s office.
There, the province’s top cop was forced to sign arrest orders for Capt Mohammed Safdar who had been accused in an FIR of having violated the sanctity of the Quaid’s mausoleum the previous day. His arrest from the hotel room where he and his wife Maryam Nawaz were staying during their visit to Karachi for the PDM rally in the city hugely embarrassed the Sindh government.
The provincial police too was incensed; at least 13 senior officials applied for leave on the grounds that their high command had been “ridiculed” and the entire force left “demoralised and shocked”. What appeared to be snowballing into a full-blown crisis was somewhat defused only when army chief Gen Qamar Bajwa acceded to PPP chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari’s request to hold an inquiry into the euphemistically termed “Karachi incident”. Now it turns out the FIR against Capt Safdar too was based on false information, adding to the already farcical nature of the episode.
It is in the fitness of things that a probe has been conducted and action initiated against those who trampled so brazenly upon the rule of law. However, this should not be the end of the matter. Junior officers, however zealous, would not act thus on their own initiative without a green signal from higher ups.
That Mr Bhutto-Zardari looked to Gen Bajwa to order an inquiry, and this was undertaken, also indicates that the perpetrators were taking instructions from individuals in the security establishment. Both the ISI and Rangers, whose top cadres comprise serving military officials on deputation, technically report to the prime minister and the interior minister, respectively. However, the near calamitous fallout of this episode indicates the perils of this chain of command being disturbed. The military has unnecessarily been dragged into an ugly political fracas, one that its reputation could well have done without. Security institutions must disengage from civilian affairs; therein lies the path of least controversy.
Pilgrimage politics
THE opening of the Kartarpur Corridor last year, providing visa-free access to a revered gurdwara located on Pakistani soil to Sikh visitors, was designed to help improve relations between Islamabad and New Delhi. Prime Minister Imran Khan had inaugurated it on the 550th birth anniversary of Guru Nanak, Sikhism’s central figure, as a gesture of goodwill to Sikhs across the world, particularly in India. However, politics and rigidity on the Indian side have ensured that the dream of this ‘peace corridor’ remains unfulfilled. As the Foreign Office has observed in a statement, India has yet to reopen the corridor from its side. The passage was closed in March this year as a measure to control the Covid-19 outbreak, but even before the pandemic spread far and wide, not many people were using the corridor, ostensibly due to obstacles created by India. Indian Sikhs have also demanded that their government open the passage.
While it is true that people will be hesitant to travel during the Covid-19 pandemic, where the Kartarpur Corridor is concerned it appears that India’s concerns are less about health and safety, and more about maintaining a confrontational posture with Pakistan. Once the danger from the pandemic subsides, India needs to seriously consider reopening the corridor if it truly wants to give Sikh pilgrims access to the religious site. In fact, as has been stated before in these columns, if both countries allow religious visits for nationals of the other country, this can play a role in reducing levels of mistrust and hatred through people-to-people contact. Along with Kartarpur, there are a host of other Sikh shrines, as well as historical Hindu temples, across Pakistan. On the other hand, a large number of Pakistanis have a desire to visit the famed dargahs in Ajmer, Delhi and other Indian cities to pay their respects to venerated Sufi masters. Once the Covid-19 wave subsides, both states must work on giving easier access to religious visitors from across the border.
