THE initial realisation that Cyclone Tauktae was headed for the Sindh coast prompted the powers that be in the province to call for ensuring that Karachi’s drainage system was in working order. While the weatherman now says that the city — along with Sindh’s other coastal districts — is out of danger as the cyclone makes landfall in India, the nightmare of last year’s monsoons is fresh in the mind. After the heavens opened up in August and unleashed some of the heaviest rainfall in the metropolis’s history, Karachi’s already creaking drainage system collapsed, and with it much of the city’s infrastructure, including electricity, water supply and communication systems. However, here the lessons of disasters past are quickly forgotten. The cyclone may have thankfully changed course, but the real test of the authorities’ readiness will come when the monsoon season sets in later this summer.
The government is quick to issue statements indicating it is ready to deal with disaster, as was the case when the cyclone alarm was sounded. But the proof of the pudding is in the eating, and when disaster does strike, more often than not the state is not able to cope. After last summer’s monsoon disaster, the high and mighty of the land promised to resolve Karachi’s urban flooding problem. The federal and provincial governments and disaster management bodies as well as other state institutions promised not to leave the megacity in the lurch, while the apex court ordered Karachi’s nullahs to be cleared of encroachments. One hopes all these efforts will bear fruit and that the disaster of the past will not be repeated in the city. The fact is that due to decades of neglect by the federal, provincial and local governments Karachi’s drainage system has been destroyed, with the natural flow of water blocked and sewage and solid waste thrown into storm-water drains, while encroachments have done the remaining damage. Along with cleaning the drains, a long-term solution is needed to address the issue.
Hard balancing act
FOREIGN MINISTER Shah Mahmood Qureshi has told his US counterpart Antony Blinken that Pakistan desires a broad-based and comprehensive partnership with America. In his second telephonic conversation with Secretary of State Blinken, Mr Qureshi emphasised that Pakistan wanted ties based on “close economic cooperation, enhanced regional connectivity and common vision for a peaceful South Asia”.
The two senior officials also discussed the situation in Afghanistan in the wake of the US announcement of withdrawal of troops by September this year. Mr Qureshi emphasised the importance of “responsible withdrawal” of the US and other foreign forces from Afghanistan and noted that reduction in violence, a permanent ceasefire and securing an inclusive, broad-based and comprehensive political settlement were “indispensable”. This was the second phone call between him and Mr Blinken since the Biden administration took office. However, the first call between the two was dominated by the release by the Pakistani courts of Omar Shaikh who was accused of involvement in the kidnapping and murder of Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl. Mr Blinken had previously spoken to army chief Gen Qamar Bajwa and the conversation was reported to have focused primarily on Afghanistan.
The Qureshi-Blinken call comes at an important time in Pakistan-US relations. The new US administration is in the process of reducing its footprint in the region with the withdrawal from Afghanistan. Pakistan has in recent years invested heavily in its relationship with China especially through CPEC. At the same time, Pakistan has also paid special attention to consolidating its ties with Russia. This has led to deeper engagement between Islamabad and Moscow that was evidenced by the recent visit to Pakistan of Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov. Defence cooperation between the two countries has also seen an upswing with joint defence exercises now a regular feature. This, however, makes for some tightrope walking for Pakistan as the US is now locked in a difficult relationship with both China and Russia.
Pakistan has traditionally enjoyed very close relations with both Washington and Beijing and now is the wrong time to start prioritising one over the other. It is therefore important that Pakistan strike the right balance in these ties and not attempt to strengthen one relationship at the expense of another. CPEC remains a vital project for Pakistan despite the opposition from the US. At the same time, Pakistan remains deeply invested in America on many fronts including the military, economic, social and educational spheres. The challenge for the PTI government is to facilitate the successful withdrawal of America from Afghanistan and partner with the US to ensure a smooth transition of power in Kabul, while at the same time keep strengthening its ties with China. This balancing act may not be easy, but it is necessary if Pakistan wants to maintain a healthy relationship with the two major powers.
Covid awareness
THE effects of large gatherings over Eid as well as multiple home visits will be apparent in the days to come and will largely depend on how far people complied with the SOPs. Only recently, as the virus ravaged India, and even now continues to bring unimaginable suffering there, officials in Islamabad warned we could be in a similar situation if precautions were not taken. The variant across the border, B.1.617.2., spread rapidly just as India was proclaiming it had beaten Covid-19 — a terrible fallacy that had lulled many into a false sense of security. This misguided belief, propagated by India’s top officials, was a major factor behind the mass gatherings and indifference to precautions — a trend that was witnessed in Pakistan some months ago when compliance fatigue and huge political and private gatherings were in full swing.
Pakistan cannot afford to be complacent. Our healthcare infrastructure and medical manpower do not have the resources to cater to a high volume of critically ill Covid-19 patients. We have already lost over 200 doctors and at least 30 paramedics — an alarming figure given that Pakistan’s overall recorded infections at each peak were far lower than badly hit countries like the UK, where nearly as many healthcare workers have died. The high number of medical personnel deaths in Pakistan reveal the gaps in our healthcare system. With a new study showing multiple virus strains in Punjab, there is even more reason for concern. Given our lack of healthcare resources, the government’s focus must be on ramping up testing, SOP compliance and vaccine coverage. Mask-wearing, social distancing and limited gatherings, too, are key to keeping infections low. Superspreaders like the Kumbh Mela in India have been linked to the crippling third wave of infections. Even when Pakistan emerges from the third wave, it should ensure that gatherings are restricted and mask-wearing is compulsory. Above all, the government must make all-out efforts to encourage people to get vaccinated. As vaccine supplies come in, a mass awareness campaign should begin. This is essential, as the return to any kind of ‘normalcy’ is underpinned by mass immunisation. While the government is doing a good job of managing vaccination centres, the real challenge lies in persuading reluctant members of the public to get the jab. An awareness campaign that educates people on the dangers of contracting the virus and the protection the vaccine offers will encourage reluctant citizens to get themselves inoculated.
