THE fate of Punjab Chief Minister Usman Buzdar has become a permanent feature of the country’s political discourse. A similar round of speculations about his status erupted in the wake of the Senate elections. However, so far there is no clear indication that he is on his way out.
The larger problem is the poor record of governance in Punjab. Whether it is the failure of the waste management system or frequent reshuffling of senior officials, in most areas the government of Chief Minister Buzdar has been found wanting. In addition, weak political management has led to disgruntlement among the ruling coalition parliamentarians from the province.
In the last two years, there has been a visible attempt by the PTI’s federal leadership to run Punjab’s affairs from Islamabad. The results have not been encouraging. Yet, Prime Minister Imran Khan continues to reiterate that Mr Buzdar is the most suitable person for the job.
This despite the fact that people in his own party and allies have been advising him to rethink his decision to keep him on as chief minister. This is linked to an increasing tempo of pulls and pushes by aspirants from within the ruling coalition to elbow their way into the province’s top office. Within the PTI, there is a long list of aspirants who have been lobbying to replace Mr Buzdar. From among the allies, PML-Q leader and Speaker of the Punjab Assembly Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi is seen as the strongest candidate. However, the PTI leadership is said to be reluctant to hand over the reins of the province to an allied party. The PPP is also eyeing an in-house change in the Punjab Assembly by roping in the PML-Q and having the PML-N lend its support. For now, there is little headway on this front.
If the performance of the present chief minister is an indication of how things will be managed ahead, it is hard to see the kind of betterment happening in Punjab as claimed by the ruling party. This means with each passing day the poor governance will start to weigh heavy on the PTI’s re-election prospects in the province. This can have dangerous consequences because Punjab remains a stronghold of the PML-N and mismanagement in political and administrative areas will help the PML-N build its own stock for the next elections.
The prime minister will need to take some action in order to halt the slide. However, the complexity of the situation will make such a change very difficult. Punjab is turning out to be the biggest challenge for the PTI government at a time when it needs to show performance in all areas. Till such a change happens and there are visible signs of improvement in the province, the fate of Usman Buzdar will keep featuring prominently in our national discourse.
A virulent wave
PAKISTAN’S third Covid-19 wave has seen an alarming jump in positive coronavirus cases, with the most recent figures released by the NCOC showing a national positivity rate of approximately 10pc. Reports coming from Islamabad and Punjab, too, are worrying. This week, the capital recorded the highest number of single-day positive cases since the pandemic started, while Lahore has persistently reported more than 60pc of the positive cases in Punjab. Prime Minister Imran Khan, too, has tested positive, a worrying development that underscores how rampantly the virus is spreading. It is important for the government to send a strong, unambiguous message that Mr Khan’s vaccination two days prior to his Covid-19 test in no way means the vaccine is not effective. In fact, as Minister Asad Umar clarified, it is certain that the prime minister was infected before being vaccinated — a very likely scenario given that Mr Khan was seen at events and meetings that week without a face covering. His testing positive for Covid-19 will fuel vaccine scepticism, and it is imperative the government make it clear when and how the vaccine takes effect and that caution is still necessary.
As cases rapidly climb, there is speculation that a national lockdown is being considered. Given the spike in positivity, increased hospital admissions and several patients in critical care, this may be inevitable. But it is important to understand that it was avoidable. The past few months have marked a shocking and careless approach to the spread of the virus, as the country’s public gatherings and commercial activities were allowed to resume at full throttle. Prevention protocols, especially wearing a face covering, are ignored even by some key government figures — a deeply disappointing reality given how fast the new Covid-19 strain is known to spread. How can the authorities expect members of the public to be responsible and observe SOPs if they themselves are not strict about following them? It is time for officials to go beyond appeals and caution about Covid-19 prevention. They must enforce a strict SOP mandate — one that even top officials are not exempt from. At the same time, they must encourage people to get vaccinated and be transparent and accessible when it comes to sharing information about vaccine data. Fearmongering and anti-vaccination sentiment in the country are a reality that the government must strive to overcome with an effective communication strategy. Failure to do so will come at an enormous price.
Journalist’s murder
ANOTHER journalist has been murdered in cold blood, this time in Sindh’s Sukkur district, indicating that reporting the truth in Pakistan remains a perilous pursuit. Ajay Laalwani, a reporter for a private TV channel, was reportedly gunned down on Thursday while he was sitting in a barbershop in Salehpat town. Despite the passage of several days since the crime was committed, no one has been arrested in the journalist’s murder. Protests are continuing, however, with media workers demanding justice for Laalwani and calling on the state to provide them security. The journalist community’s apprehensions are genuine, as despite the passage of over a year, the killers of Aziz Memon, a reporter found murdered in February 2020 in Naushahro Feroze, are yet to be convicted, with senior police officials saying he may have been killed due to ‘enmity’. Moreover, it is of deep concern that terrorism cases have been lodged by the state against journalists in Sindh simply for doing their job. Some activists say that up to 50 media persons face terrorism cases in Sindh alone. This flies in the face of the government’s stated ‘respect’ for freedom of the press.
Sadly, journalists face dire threats to their lives and safety all across Pakistan. According to the Council of Pakistan Newspaper Editors, 10 reporters were murdered in the country last year. This is besides the numerous instances of harassment, threats and intimidation from powerful quarters that journalists face. The fact is that when killers of journalists go unpunished, it has a chilling effect on the entire media industry, with the truth and press freedom being major casualties. It is easy for officials to brush murder cases of media workers under the carpet by attributing them to ‘enmity’. But they end up shielding powerful actors who seek to silence the media. The killers of Ajay Laalwani must be brought to justice and the Sindh government must withdraw dubious cases of terrorism against journalists if it is serious about respecting media freedom.
