THE opposition has once again united against a shared adversary. Still, Sunday’s multiparty conference, where more than 10 political parties with varying ideologies joined to form an alliance, is in many ways a unique event. Christened the ‘Pakistan Democratic Movement’, the alliance unequivocally hit out at what it said was the unrelenting interference of the establishment and intelligence agencies in political affairs. Former premier Nawaz Sharif, declared an absconder by a court, broke his two-year silence by taking the lead in the onslaught. On the basis of his experience as prime minister, and that of prime ministers in the past, he spoke of constant intervention by elements belonging to “a state above a state”. His criticism of alleged interference by the security establishment in civilian affairs may have been construed as an outburst of a politically aggrieved person, but his sentiments were reflected in the strongly worded resolution which made references to this encroachment. The unanimously adopted resolution also took the same position and called for the establishment to adopt a neutral and apolitical role.
Pakistan’s chequered past has seen many a military takeover, with the unfortunate result that the security establishment in the country has remained involved in civilian affairs even when the military has not been in power. However, it is also a fact that their involvement has largely been accepted — even encouraged — by political parties in the past few decades, as they sought help to oust political rivals. Although both Shahbaz Sharif and Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari say they have learnt from past mistakes, it is difficult to predict how these parties will practically galvanise support on their foremost issue of ‘non-interference of the establishment’ when their present aim is to oust the incumbent PTI. Forming opposition alliances is relatively easy, and our country’s history is full of them. The daunting aspect, however, is achieving a shared goal. Very rarely have such alliances fulfilled their objectives on their own. Such ambitions in the past became realities only with the help of extra-constitutional forces that the opposition is taking on. These forces, too, have manipulated situations to their advantage and taken charge of the country.
This time, the challenge is even bigger. In these early days, it is unclear how the PDM alliance will oust the government and simultaneously neutralise its alleged backers. Much will depend on the revised charter of democracy that they have promised to prepare and adopt. The coming days will decide how committed these parties are to their pledges at the MPC and the resolutions adopted there. Until then, the political game of push and pull may go on, with the government maintaining its age-old position that the alliance is a group of corrupt politicians, and turning its guns on Nawaz Sharif for leading the way for a future street agitation from what appears to be a self-imposed exile.
Global Covid-19 cases
AS countries continued with the unhappy dance of locking down and then reopening, the total number of Covid-19 cases worldwide crossed the 30m mark last week. Daily global cases are averaging close to 300,000. This figure is a sharp increase from July when worldwide cases diagnosed each day averaged about 200,000. The new cases are accelerating at a rate which shows that it took merely five weeks to cross the latest milestone of 10m; the first 10m were reached after six months. According to data compiled by a team of infectious disease experts at Johns Hopkins University, the US remains the worst-hit country with more than 6.6m confirmed infections, and nearly 200,000 deaths even though the number of new infections per day has been dropping after a spike in July. In Asia, India is driving the numbers with confirmed infections surpassing 5m — the world’s second highest after the US. While the death rate in India is relatively lower as compared to the size of its population, the virus is spreading faster there than in any other country as it clocks 100,000 cases per day. This spread is largely attributed to the lifting of restrictions to boost economic activity, but is also a reflection of increased testing. After India, Brazil has the third-highest number of cases at over 4m but sadly, the most number of deaths at 140,000. The global total for coronavirus-related deaths is fast approaching a staggering 1m.
It is clear that Covid-19 is not going away anytime soon, with some fearing that even with a vaccine the threat will persist. Just last week, the WHO warned Europe of a Covid-19 surge and said the data from September should serve as a “wake-up call”. As several countries brace for a serious surge and second wave, it is important to remember that science and the research on Covid-19 today have evolved from when the virus first hit earlier in the year. Then, hospitals lacked equipment, and staff had to work on Covid-19 patients without adequate PPE. But today, many countries are better equipped to tackle the infection. Still, having more information does not mean that recklessness should be permitted. Countries must strategise their next steps by thinking of the most vulnerable among the population as well as those working in healthcare and delivering essential services. As has been demonstrated, with compassion and a data-driven approach to restrictions, loss can be minimised.
In search of a temple
MEMBERS of the Pakistan Hindu Council have emphasised that having a mandir and a crematorium site in Islamabad was an ‘essential’ requirement which ought not to be politicised. The appeal is the latest attempt at a solution following a controversy over the construction of a temple in the capital. Lal Chand Malhi, a PTI lawmaker, is among those trying to bring out the apolitical nature of the move in an apparent effort to build consensus on the mandir by answering the questions being raised regarding its construction. In a press talk, he recalled that the land for the temple and crematorium was allotted in 2018, when a PML-N government was in power in the country. Around 3,000 Hindus are said to be living in Islamabad. Many of them, activists say, were forced to shift here from parts of KP, Sindh and Balochistan to escape a deteriorating law-and-order situation. This means that they have been through a lot and could do with some looking after by the state as they are citizens of this country.
Objections were raised after the prime minister approved an amount of Rs100m to build the temple. Soon after, as some political parties such as the PML-Q and JUI-F joined religious groups in passionately opposing the temple, construction was stopped. Among the points raised, the opponents said that the tax paid by Muslims could not be spent on a mandir and also that an Islamic country could not allow the building of a new temple on its territory. Mr Malhi has tried to address both questions, saying that money from the taxes paid by Pakistani Hindus could be spent on building the mandir and that there are Muslim countries such as the UAE which have allowed new temples to be constructed. A solution has to be found. The Hindu community is not just looking for a place to pray but also to hold ceremonies. Let’s see how the government responds to the ideas put forward by the council’s members.
