Unto darkness
YET another case of medical malpractice has come to light in Punjab. The eyesight of several diabetic patients has potentially been destroyed after they were administered the locally manufactured Avastin injection used to treat retinal damage. The matter first came to light when cases surfaced in Kasur. It was subsequently found that patients have been affected in Lahore, Multan and Jhang districts as well. The incident is a grim reminder of the 2021 scandal, when expired stents were used at a leading hospital in Lahore. The devastation brought upon these individuals is immense. Typically for diabetics, the hope of maintaining vision lies in such treatments, and to lose one’s sight due to medical negligence is nothing short of a crime. For such events to occur repeatedly is symptomatic of a deep malaise affecting the country’s healthcare system. The urgency to comprehensively address these malpractices cannot be stressed enough. It is extremely concerning that even after the widespread condemnation and public outcry following the 2021 stent debacle, lessons seem not to have been learned. How is it that expired or substandard medical devices were used on patients then? And why is it now that dozens of patients were affected after receiving a treatment that they had undoubtedly hoped would improve their quality of life? Is there no oversight of the quality and management of our healthcare institutions?
The damage has been done. What must now follow is serious government intervention. While an investigative committee was formed over the weekend by the Punjab health authorities to ascertain whether it was negligence on the part of doctors or whether the issue stemmed from a specific batch of the drug (which has since been banned for two weeks), and while the Punjab health minister has promised free treatment to those affected, and moreover, while 12 health officials have been suspended, one wonders whether a true wake-up call has even occurred. With 68 people having potentially lost their eyesight, will the culture of negligence and impunity continue? While swift action against those responsible is non-negotiable, it is equally imperative for the affected patients to be justly compensated, not only as a remedial measure but as a gesture to acknowledge the profound impact of this negligence on their lives. It is time the trust eroded in our institutions is restored.
Published in Dawn, September 26th, 2023
Free and fair?
IS it possible to hold ‘free and fair’ elections with a widely popular political leader facing disqualification by the courts? Should such an election be morally acceptable? And can a government formed through such an election ever make a legitimate claim on the public’s mandate?
In a country as full of internal contradictions as Pakistan, there are no easy answers to these questions.
Caretaker Prime Minister Anwaarul Haq Kakar recently made a statement suggesting that ‘free and fair’ elections are possible even if former prime minister Imran Khan and other PTI leaders are not allowed to participate.
He argued that all politicians who violate the law must pay for their transgressions. In technical terms, he is correct, and if Pakistan were a country where institutions abided by the law, no one would disagree, since the continuity of the democratic process can never be dependent on the legal status of a handful of its leaders.
However, we are clearly not such a country, and, therefore, the PM’s position needs greater debate.
In recent months, the state has applied overwhelming force against Mr Khan, his party, its loyalist leaders, their supporters, and even some supporters’ families.
From refusing to obey release orders, to outright disappearing people; from breaking into suspects’ homes, to kidnapping their family members to forcing them to surrender — the authorities have ridden roughshod over fundamental rights and legal norms in their effort to cut the PTI to size.
Even the ECP has repeatedly violated the Constitution to deny the party the advantage of having public opinion on its side. This excessive action against the PTI has placed it at a considerable disadvantage compared to other parties.
It is therefore disingenuous, given this context, to suggest that the freeness and fairness of any eventual polling exercise should be considered without regard to all that has preceded it.
The lesson that the establishment should have learnt by now from the suppression of the PPP in the Zia era, and PML-N’s persecution in the Musharraf and Bajwa eras, is that thwarting the public will by artificial means only creates long-term instability in return for short-lived gains.
Banning parties, disqualifying key leaders, forcing politicians to switch allegiances, restricting candidates from campaigning, and queering the pitch in other ways just to secure an electoral outcome that is favourable to a handful of powerful individuals has caused demonstrable and lasting harm to Pakistan’s political structure.
One should, therefore, reasonably expect that removing Mr Khan from the political equation now will do as much good as removing Nawaz Sharif did for the country in 2017-18.
Pakistan’s precarious present condition should be warning enough against repeating these failed past experiments. If this cycle is not broken, we will be doomed to repeat it.
Published in Dawn, September 26th, 2023
Justice or vendetta?
ONE wonders whether all pretence of the state as a democracy has been whittled down to a point where it has simply faded away. In a democracy, where the rule of law should reign supreme come what may, the ongoing rearrests of PTI members certainly point to such a situation.
The most recent episode involving four women activists being rearrested immediately after their release from Kot Lakhpat jail demands not only scrutiny but also introspection. This is but a snapshot of a far larger narrative.
Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi has been arrested 12 times since the May 9 protests that led to the crackdown on the party. The septuagenarian’s continuous entanglements with the law, most recently in a graft case involving alleged land value manipulation, underscore the intense pressures that PTI leaders face.
Last Saturday, an anti-terrorism court granted bail to several members of the party, including women activists, in connection with the Jinnah House attack case. The rearrest of these women, right outside jail, despite the court having ordered their release, raises many questions regarding the motive behind such a move.
While a police official cites another case pertaining to the May 9 attacks as the cause behind the fresh arrest, one cannot help but ask: is it a genuine pursuit of justice or does this smack of political vendetta?
Such events only serve to undermine the public’s trust in the criminal justice system, fostering perceptions of misuse of power. For the sake of democracy, transparency, and justice, the authorities must clarify their stance on what appear to be, since May, arbitrary arrests.
The nation deserves to know why the court’s orders seem to only be momentary effective, with individuals granted bail finding themselves in custody almost immediately. The way forward is clear: an unbiased, thorough investigation into the cases, while ensuring that the rights of PTI members are upheld.
Published in Dawn, September 27th, 2023