Covid-19 on the rise
IN a development that ought to be watched closely by the authorities, Covid-19 infections saw a sudden increase in a span of 24 hours, with 168 new cases detected. It has pushed the national positivity rate to 3pc — the highest since September 2022 — with cities like Karachi and Islamabad exceeding 5pc and 6pc respectively. Though officials are saying that the mortality rate of the current strain is low, at least one Covid-19-related death has been reported in Lahore. The patient was an elderly woman who came to hospital with shortness of breath, and it is unclear if she had been fully vaccinated. Regardless, her death from Covid-19 marks the first coronavirus-related death in 2023. Authorities suggest that people should not panic as young and even middle-aged Covid-19 patients are unlikely to experience serious complications from the new strain. But, as we have always feared with this virus, the elderly and the immunocompromised — such as patients with diabetes, cancer and heart disease — are at risk of serious illness or even death.
In this scenario, and given the current positivity rates, health authorities need to do more than just telling people to ‘not panic’. Mask-wearing must become mandatory, especially as Ramazan is underway and public gatherings are common. The NCOC must go back to its awareness campaigns of the past, and send the message that prevention and precaution are critical. It is a great relief that the WHO last week foresaw that the Covid-19 emergency will end this year, and that the world is reaching a point where Covid-19 can be seen the same way as seasonal influenza. It said that while the virus will remain a threat, it won’t be viewed any longer as one that is ‘disrupting society and hospital systems’. No doubt this is welcome news, but in a country like Pakistan which has one of the world’s highest rates of diabetes, officials must continue to urge vigilance.
Published in Dawn, March 25th, 2023
Orwellian schemes
THE proposed task force to police social media for ‘anti-army’ content is a bad idea, simply because such vague schemes very much have the potential to be misused, and can end up as tools to crack down further on free speech. As reported on Friday, the government is mulling the formation of the task force to check online content critical of the military; personnel from the FIA, PTA, Nadra and the LEAs are supposed to man this force. However, rather than seeking to genuinely protect state institutions from a real threat from hostile actors, this appears to be a political move, as those associated with the ruling set-up have accused the PTI of running anti-military campaigns. This is only the latest in a series of arbitrary moves to increase punishment for criticism of the army and other state institutions. For example, last month the cabinet considered a bill to intensify the crackdown on social media, while in April 2021, during the PTI’s rule, a law was proposed that called for two years in jail and a fine for those who “intentionally ridicule the armed forces”.
Such proposed laws and task forces are anathema to democratic culture. In a free society, all state institutions must be open to criticism from the people. True, clear cases of defamation or calls to promote violence are a different matter, but there already exist laws on the statute books to address these situations. The latest move — and all previous moves — to stifle criticism of the institutions is linked to politics, with the government of the day bending over backwards to please the real power brokers in Pakistan. The fact is that the army is being increasingly criticised because it is still very deeply embedded in politics, despite the claims of the previous military leadership of dissociating itself from involvement in political matters. It is also ironic that many of the social media figures being targeted presently were once upon a time ‘encouraged’ by the establishment to target other political parties. The solution to the issue lies in all institutions working within their constitutional parameters, and allowing a healthy culture of criticism and debate within the norms of civility. A source told this paper that the social media task force “for now … is just a proposal”. Such proposals should be shot down, permanently.
Published in Dawn, March 25th, 2023
Elusive deal
CAN the government be trusted any longer about anything it says regarding the ongoing negotiations with the IMF? Days have turned into weeks and weeks into months, yet Finance Minister Ishaq Dar continues to insist on the imminency of a deal despite having nothing to show for his six months of efforts.
This ongoing week has now seen matters take a deeply embarrassing turn. On two occasions, the IMF’s country representative had to issue statements that appeared to contradict quite explicitly the finance ministry’s posturing on several key matters.
First, Esther Perez Ruiz, in response to journalists’ queries over a statement from the finance minister, rebutted the perception that the lending agency had sought compromises from Pakistan over its nuclear programme.
Then, she had to issue a statement underlining that the IMF ought to be kept out of the country’s internal politics and clarify that its programme requirements had nothing to do with election funding.
That is not all: it appears that the IMF has not taken lightly the government’s blindsiding of the Fund with a recently announced measure aimed at providing ‘public relief’.
It had emerged earlier this week that the government’s political stunt of introducing a cross-subsidy on petrol — under which the ‘rich’ will pay Rs100 more per litre of fuel and the ‘poor’ Rs100 less — had never been discussed with the IMF.
The lender has now confirmed that the government must satisfy it regarding its plans before the process for approving the release of requested funds can move ahead.
Since the government itself is unsure about the modalities of this subsidy — it has given itself six weeks to work out a mechanism — it seems it is not in a position to clear an IMF review of the matter anytime soon. In other words, it has delayed the finalisation of a potential agreement by its own hand.
It is unclear what the decision-makers sitting in Islamabad want. On the one hand, they remain unable to convince the IMF or any other international lender to bail the country out of its present crisis.
On the other, they seem to be acting in bad faith as they are cynically using the delays in reaching an agreement for political mileage. This would seem to be a rather unprofessional approach to negotiating with any creditor — least of all, the world’s most powerful multilateral lending agency, which was till recently only seeking commitments from the country’s rulers that they would work on fixing the severe imbalances in its economy.
Given how terribly incapable this government, especially our current finance minister, has proven to be in its management of the economy, one can only hope that matters haven’t simply been left wholly to the fates to decide. The cost of ineptitude will be brutal.
Published in Dawn, March 25th, 2023