Dawn Editorial 18 October 2020
After the rally
THE Pakistan Democratic Movement jalsa in Gujranwala on Friday has set the stage for a charged few weeks ahead. The inaugural event of a lengthy anti-government campaign promised by the opposition alliance saw a galaxy of leaders addressing a large crowd that had, by most accounts, filled up the venue by late evening.
The leaders of the PML-N, PPP and JUI-F among others took their time in reaching the city which led to a delayed start of the event. The presence of sizeable crowds inside and outside the stadium and the tone and tenor of the speeches suggest that political temperatures will continue to rise as opposition parties keep upping the ante against the PTI government.
However, it is the speech by former prime minister Nawaz Sharif that has set the national discourse ablaze. In directly blaming the army chief and the head of the ISI for the removal of his government, and saying they will have to answer for all they have done, Mr Sharif has brought Pakistani politics into uncharted territory. By doing so, he has amplified in the public domain what was hitherto fodder for whispers and innuendos. While the other speakers at the jalsa did not go as far as Mr Sharif did in his accusations, they did refer repeatedly to the role of the establishment in bringing Imran Khan and his PTI to power.
The government spokesmen reacted predictably by ridiculing the opposition for a ‘flop show’ but the fact is that with the Gujranwala event the opposition and its red-hot narrative have taken centre stage. But the big question remains: what now?
The PDM is all set for its Karachi jalsa which would essentially be a PPP show. Therefore, it will not face the administrative hurdles that the Gujranwala event did. What will matter more than the size of the crowd will be the content of the speeches. With PPP playing host, it may not be surprising if the criticism is directed more at the PTI government than the establishment. It is yet to be determined if Mr Sharif’s line of attack remains his alone or whether it will determine PDM policy.
The government for its part is not brimming with options. It can unleash a wave of arrests and other obstacles to undermine the jalsas scheduled for the coming weeks in Peshawar, Multan and Lahore, but administrative solutions to political problems are usually not very effective. The government will somehow need to address the inflationary pressures bearing down on the citizens. One can expect a barrage of press conferences and statements combined with a degree of administrative repression from the government, but the real issue is how the establishment will react to the PDM campaign after the latest salvo by Mr Sharif. Action will speak louder than words, but lack of action may speak even louder.
More Iran sanctions
AS election day in the US draws closer, the Trump administration is tightening the screws on arch-nemesis Iran through more sanctions, apparently to please the American president’s right-wing voter base, and his allies in the Middle East. Some days ago, Washington sanctioned 18 Iranian banks, while any foreign parties dealing with these entities will also invite American wrath. This, in effect, is a recipe to completely strangulate the Iranian economy that is already reeling from international isolation due to American pressure, as well as the effects of the Covid-19 crisis. While the US treasury secretary has said “humanitarian transactions” with Iran would be exempt, the international financial community will likely not be willing to process these, fearful of earning Washington’s ire despite the reassurance. The justification for the latest sanctions? Iran’s “support of terrorist activities and … its nuclear activities”. This, quite frankly, is a flimsy excuse, for while Iran may be playing an expansionist game in its own backyard, the American rhetoric is unconvincing, especially when it has no problems with allies that have abysmal human rights records. Tehran has reacted by terming the American move “economic and medical terrorism”. Indeed, independent observers have said US sanctions have badly affected Iran’s efforts to deal with the coronavirus pandemic, especially considering that the Islamic Republic has one of the highest caseloads in the region.
While Donald Trump is trying to please his domestic constituency and Middle Eastern friends by pushing Iran to the wall, it is not wise policy to further increase the temperature in a volatile region. Presidential elections in Iran are due next year, and constant American pressure may propel an ideological hardliner towards the Iranian presidency, one who might have little interest in talking to Washington and prefer fighting the US and its allies in Iraq, Yemen, Syria and elsewhere. Moreover, if a new Iranian administration decides to jettison the nuclear deal — which America unilaterally left in 2018 — the US will be principally to blame. To avoid these worst-case scenarios, saner elements within the American establishment need to prevent the rhetoric from escalating. While Mr Trump makes attempts to win re-election, this cannot be at the cost of vitiating the situation further in the Middle East. A Biden administration may or may not seek to repair ties with Iran after Nov 3. Therefore, Mr Trump must hold off on his confrontational actions vis-à-vis Iran and give diplomacy a chance.
Breast cancer awareness
ACROSS the world, the month of October is marked as ‘PINKtober’, a campaign to raise awareness about breast cancer. The most common form of cancer globally, it claims around 458,000 lives every year. However, according to WHO, the number of deaths is higher in developing countries, including Pakistan where, while several factors have led to an increased incidence of breast cancer, there are myriad problems in accessing health services which prevents early detection. With about one in nine women in Pakistan suffering from the disease, a conservative estimate holds that around 40,000 of them die of it every year — the highest mortality rate in Asia. Of late, the government has taken a few initiatives to increase awareness about breast cancer. President Arif Alvi has called on all elected members of parliament to work towards raising awareness of this health issue in their areas in collaboration with mediapersons and health bodies. The government has also initiated an awareness campaign in partnership with private cellular networks. However, a consistent and holistic effort is required to curb the incidence of the disease in the country. For women, knowledge of early symptoms is essential for timely treatment but awareness campaigns can only be effective if adequate investment is also made in basic healthcare infrastructure and breast cancer screening facilities. Mammography procedures are often costly and, given the poor service delivery in public-sector hospitals, constitute an unthinkable out-of-pocket expense for millions of households in the country.
Also, since the disease mostly occurs in females, their societal roles and the attitudes of men in their own family play a significant part in their being able to seek help and receive treatment. Moreover, taboos associated with regular screening and breast examination also lead to delayed diagnosis which contributes to the high death toll. The government must invest in strengthening the primary healthcare system while keeping up a consistent awareness campaign to be able to effect change in the prevalence and morbidity of breast cancer.
