In retrospect it almost seems inevitable. Myanmar’s military junta, which ruled the country for 22 years and only relinquished power in the early part of the past decade, was never going to cede total control. After the ruling NLD — led by the once celebrated and lately controversial Aung San Suu Kyi — secured a landslide, we should have expected trouble to brew. Where the Myanmar military’s proxy political faction, the USDP, failed — securing a measly 33 seats out of 476 — the junta decided to settle things in its favour the only way it knows how: by force.
There was a time Suu Kyi was the darling of the world community. A charismatic woman leader under detention for her seemingly unwavering struggle for democracy, she was in many ways a poster child for the political milieu of the 1990s. But we all know by now what Suu Kyi revealed herself to be. Her unapologetic justification of the genocide of Myanmar’s Rohingya Muslim minority and the arrests of journalists who dared to document it prove that it takes more than lip service to democracy to be a liberal and a humanist.
As a new generation of Myanmar youth leads the charge against this latest round of junta’s heavy-handedness, there is a risk that once again the country’s deeper ethnic issues will be overlooked. The protesters are all, once again, members of Myanmar’s Buddhist majority and their demands are limited to the restoration and release of a democratically elected leadership. To bring lasting positive change to Myanmar, both its own populace and the world at large would do well to include and safeguard the country’s minorities in an overarching political narrative.
Unspinning a mess
Textile exporters have slammed the government’s failure to resolve cotton yarn supply issues and are now warning that the industry could collapse. The supply shortage is based on a combination of local and international factors. Domestically, production has seen a 34% decline year on year due to lower yields and reduced area of cultivation. Meanwhile, international prices have shot up by about 11% in the past two weeks. The exporters say they will not be able to meet pending international orders if they don’t get yarn soon. This would lead their foreign clients to abandon Pakistan in favour of India, Bangladesh and other countries in the region.
Pakistani exporters have seen a higher number of orders this year thanks to coronavirus-induced lockdown in much of the region. This, in turn, increased their demand for yarn. The exporters claim that they had told the government some five months ago that problems were on the horizon, but no action was taken. The exporters also say that despite lower domestic output this year, the shortage is partly artificial, created by hoarding. Yarn-spinners deny the accusation of hoarding, but their own figures also show that output has been flat this year, confirming that they have not been able to keep up with increased domestic demand.
The accusation of exporters is startling, considering the government’s claim of treating textile exports as a priority. For that matter, even if it wasn’t an official priority, it is still — by far — the largest export industry and a significant employer. It is also surprising that the government had not already acted to address their rather simple demand — duty-free yarn imports. Considering that the industry is literally based on value-addition, any forex ‘losses’ due to yarn imports will cancel themselves out thanks to their higher value when being exported as finished products.
The government needs to find a quick fix to ensure there is no deluge of missed orders. It must then, as promised, treat the sector as a priority and find a way to ensure consistent supply to meet rising demand.
Securing the vaccine
Whenever Pakistan is in a fix, officials rely on the international community to provide assistance and relief. The same is the case in the current pandemic. With the number of Covid-19 cases surging by around 30% in the country, there is an imminent threat of a third, much more dangerous, wave. However, the government has made it clear that it has no plans to buy vaccines at least during the current year, hinting towards the lack of financial capability. The National Health Service (NHS) Secretary has told the Public Accounts Committee during a recent briefing they will solely rely on international donors and friendly countries to fight the virus and achieve herd immunity.
While Pakistan has received 0.5 million doses of China’s Sinopharm vaccine, of which 275,000 doses have been administered to health professionals, another 16 million free doses of the Indian-made Oxford-AstraZeneca’s Covid-19 vaccine are expected to arrive in June, courtesy the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunisation — which will hopefully cover 20% of the population. Furthermore, according to a survey conducted by the NHS, around 15% of the population has developed anti-bodies and don’t need to be immunised. Unfortunately, officials will still fall short of their initial plan of vaccinating 70 million people this year. It remains to be seen as to how they plan on achieving the task. Considering our diplomatic ties with Russia, perhaps trying to procure the Sputnik V vaccine may be a suitable option.
First World countries like the US, Canada and Britain have already secured millions of doses way before the intended deadline, leaving poor regions vulnerable and as potential breeding-grounds for new mutated variants of the virus. Therefore, it is absolutely essential for Pakistan to chart out a plan and invest significantly in buying the vaccine in order to inoculate the general public and secure their future. Soon the world will start asking for vaccine certificates to restore safe travel for business and tourism purposes. Officials need to stop playing the ‘poor card’ and put their money where their mouth is for the benefit of the entire nation.
