It seems that the standard of political discourse is hitting new lows every week. We had just gotten into the thick of ludicrous treason accusations when Federal Minister for Kashmir Affairs and Gilgit-Baltistan Ali Amin Gandapur, feeling left out, decided it was time for him to throw his hat in the ring for the most vile political commentary of 2020. At an election rally in G-B, the federal minister accused Maryam Nawaz of getting plastic surgery at public expense and saying that he could have anyone look like a Brad Pitt or Tom Cruise using money from the public kitty.
We won’t get into the legality of Gandapur’s presence in G-B, which opposition leaders claim amounts to election interference. Gandapur, who established himself as a connoisseur of fine ‘honey’ during the PTI dharnas, is no stranger to ludicrous comments. Even if his ‘sweet tooth’ had gotten the better of him, there is no excuse for such personal attacks. Whether or not Maryam has gone under the knife is irrelevant. Gandapur needs to learn to keep his mouth shut until he learns how to conduct himself like a public servant and representative of the people, rather than a two-bit street thug. He can start by focusing on his tremendously important day job, unless, of course, it is beyond him. We are hard-pressed to find anything on his record that stands out as an accomplishment. Alternatively, he could go quietly into the wilderness and look for alternative career options. Maybe honey farming.
The inclination to attack rivals with derogatory remarks is not just restricted to a certain political party. Members of nearly all parties are part of this contest of who can be louder and more insulting, and who can sling more mud. It’s like a match of name-calling no party wants to be left out of. Unfortunately, this venomous political rhetoric is what is expected of party members by their leaders. The leaders themselves tend to lead from the front, completely neglecting they are supposed to act as role models for the nation.
A potential vaccine
The wait for the development of an effective vaccine for Covid-19 could finally be over. Developers — Pfizer and BioNTech — have been able to formulate a vaccine that can prevent 90% of people from contracting the deadly virus. Having been tested on 43,500 people across six different countries without any safety concerns, scientists remain highly optimistic because no other vaccine has given such positive results in a short period of time. Many have gone as far as to say that life could be back to normal by spring.
The data provided by developers indicates that two doses, three weeks apart are needed and 90% protection is achieved 7 days after the second dose. Analysts still claim that the overall efficiency of the virus may change as these results were based on the first 94 volunteers to develop Covid-19. Further testing is yet to reveal how long the immunity from the vaccine will last. But if this vaccine does all phases of testing, it will be a “much-needed breakthrough to help bring an end to this global health crisis”.
However, a major hurdle will still remain: who will get the vaccine? Being only able to supply 50 million doses — 10 million of which have been booked by the UK — by the end of the year, countries will struggle to secure the vaccine for themselves. WHO Director General has asserted time and again that even when a vaccine is developed, countries need to remain sane so as to prevent the unequal distribution of the vaccine, as only First World countries have the monetary capability of securing high number of doses from private pharmaceuticals. This would mean that poor countries would have less of a chance to fight the virus. The situation could also further exacerbate the pressing issue of severe inequality out of control.
Keeping in mind the fact that resurging waves seem to be even deadlier, Pakistan needs to be on the forefront of acquiring this vaccine from the very start. Our healthcare and economy is not in the best shape to sustain multiple blows from the pandemic. Resilient measures are necessary.
To have or have not
A combination of price rise and the coronavirus pandemic is increasingly impoverishing the masses and turning many haves into have-nots. And this is the meanest thing about inflation. One does not have to go to government offices or contact experts to know this. Daily experience is sufficient to convince one of the ruinous effects of price rise and inflation. The current trend of rising prices resulting from shortage of essential commodities is obviously the result of complacency on the part of the government and the alleged machinations of furtively-active mafia groups. Prices of essential food items have increased so much that now even after cutting down on the consumption of some items through various permutations and combinations the common people are left with no savings. All this has compelled people of limited means to go on tightening their belts.
The government is taking measures to control prices. It has set up sahulat bazaars in urban areas where essential commodities are to be provided at rates lower than those prevailing in the open market. Officials reportedly often visit these bazaars to ensure that commodities are available at the officially-fixed prices. Unfortunately, even at these markets vendors are selling food and other items above the fixed prices. Reports show that at most sahulat bazaars in Lahore, essential commodities of substandard quality are being sold at premium prices. In cities, vegetables are gradually disappearing from the market.
Recently, the government increased the prices of medicines, saying it would help ensure availability of drugs and streamline the supplies. Even then, nine out of ten times medicines are not available in the market in one visit. One or two medicines are available on one day, and people get other drugs after making rounds of markets over several days. The government needs to focus simultaneously on controlling prices and taking strict actions against those causing artificial shortages. There is already murmur of dissent over runaway prices even within the ruling coalition. This does not augur well for the government.
