Politics

Pakistani government shows inability to cope with pandemic

The Covid-19 pandemic has struck Pakistan and the number of patients affected by the coronavirus is increasing at an alarming rate. At the time of filing this report, a total out of 183 patients had tested positive for Covid-19. Most of those infected are returnees from Iran, but the failure of the Balochistan provincial government to keep them under quarantine and the federal government's belated decision at the border closure with Iran have already caused damage.

The Sindh provincial government led by the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), despite a lack of resources, has do one good work test people suspected of carrying the virus. To the honor of Sindh's chief minister, Murad Ali Shah, he made no secret of the count of patients affected by the virus and focused all his energies on the fight against the pandemic.

However, the rest of Pakistan remains at the mercy of circumstances and luck, as the central government led by Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) and those of the provinces of Punjab and KhyberPakhtunkhwa led by the same party are not. have shown no willingness to fight the pandemic. People in Punjab and federal areas are not tested despite symptoms of Covid-19 and the central government is not interested in tracing people who fled quarantine after entering the country in from Iran and are carriers of coronavirus in Baluchistan, Punjab and KP.

The misunderstanding of the horrific consequences of the pandemic both medically and economically is such that most Pakistanis do not care to distance themselves from society.

The government has closed educational facilities across the country, but many people still roam the malls, make unnecessary trips, and haven't even stopped shaking hands. The PTI government, meanwhile, has yet to launch an effective awareness campaign that could at least warn people that the whole world, including Pakistan, is going through testing periods and that many more people will lose life and many savings will be lost due to the impact of Covid-19.

Slow understanding of the impact of the pandemic

When Covid-19 started spreading to China, any sensible person could have seen that Pakistan, being a neighbor of this country, would certainly feel the impact and the chances that this virus would enter were high. However, the federal government has shown no interest and continued to waste energy attacking political opponents and critics.

Then came the turn of the Irans. When the coronavirus epidemic wreaked havoc there, Iranian authorities, instead of dealing with the problem, tried to hide the number of infections and deaths, but the Pakistani regime didn’t still hasn't acted.

Instead, Prime Minister Imran Khan and his cabinet continued as usual, criticizing the opposition, and apart from a few press conferences held by the PM's health adviser, Dr. Zafar Mirza , few public awareness messages have been disseminated by the media by the government.

At a time when other countries cancellation of major sporting events, the Pakistan Super League has been authorized to continue cricket matches. The Prime Minister and his cabinet did not open their eyes until the province of Sindh began reporting the cases of Covid-19. But by then, the damage was already done, as the number of cases increases with each passing day.

The delay in launching an extensive public awareness campaign and the banning of events and festivals that connect thousands of people have resulted in the spread of the coronavirus across the country.

Lack of concentration

The PTI government, as always, has been busy with optics and instead of taking precautionary measures has continued to target its political rivals, and much of its attention has been focused on how to bring back the 39; former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif of London or how to stop Maryam Nawaz from flying to the United Kingdom to see her sick father.

The ITP media team continued to mock the PPP government in Sindh for its failure to provide basic facilities in rural areas of the province. To cite an example, even at a time when Pakistan is facing a serious epidemic, the Prime Minister launched a team of digital media and allocated 42 million rupees ($ 263,800 US) in taxpayer money for the team to promote a positive image of his government.

Meanwhile, the Punjab's ITP chief minister, Sardar Usman Buzdar, is completely out of the picture, and apart from forming a helpline on the coronavirus which is useless as it only offers tests. that to those with a recent travel history, the most populous province of Pakistan has remained alone.

It is only after meeting from the National Security Council that the central government paid little attention to the epidemic. However, the masses are still not invited to stay in their homes and public places are still not closed.

In a country like Pakistan, where the literacy rate is not high and where most people see natural calamities, including pandemics, as the wrath of God and, instead of taking preventive measures, leave it to God to protect them, the government needed not only a strong awareness campaign but also should have restricted the movement of people by declaring it mandatory not to go out without an urgent need. Now, even if this action is finally taken, it is too late and there may be hundreds of carriers who have already mingled with others in public places.

Poor health infrastructure

Pakistan's health system is very weak because the government does not do it spend enough to improve it. The obsession with arms purchases and defense has hampered growth in the health and education sectors, with the bulk of the budget budgeting allocated to the defense sector. Pakistan is therefore unable to treat large numbers of people if the epidemic spreads like in Iran or Italy.

The government is placing all its bets on the hope that the summer season will end Covid-19 because of the hot weather, but there is no scientific evidence yet that the coronavirus will be affected by the summer heat. .

Even the Punjab healthcare system, improved by former chief minister Shahbaz Sharif, has collapsed due to the government's negligence and unwillingness to allocate funds to public hospitals current provincial ITP. In addition, there is no coordinated effort between the provinces to deal with this pandemic, as the political rivalry of the ITPs with the PPP government in Sindh is a problem, and the central government is only trying to gain political advantage from the situation, as it has done recently. when the World Health Organization praised the efforts of the Pakistans to stop the Covid-19 epidemic. In reality, WHO was renting the Sindh government, not the Imran Khans regime, but instead of showing political acumen, the Prime Minister chose to pretend that the WHO praised the efforts of his government.

This reflects the fact that, as with other issues, the PTI government in Islamabad is only interested in winning a political mileage from the pandemic without recognizing the catastrophic impact that this epidemic could have on people's lives and on the economy.

No plan to save the economy

Governments around the world are facing the economic impact of the pandemic and are developing strategies to deal with it. The US Federal Reserve has announced a drop in the political interest rate at almost zero to protect the American economy. In Pakistan, however, the government has shown no vision at all. He did not approach the International Monetary Fund to request a delay in repayment of the loans or to change the difficult conditions set by the IMF.

These conditions have led to an increase in direct and indirect taxes, while the key rate is set at around 13.25%. With such a high rate, small and medium businesses cannot afford to borrow from banks, while investors are happy to put money into their bank accounts to take advantage of high interest instead to put their money into circulation by investing in big companies. projects.

In the midst of the Covid-19 epidemic, the masses cannot bear the brunt of inflation, and the economy will also not survive if an immediate rescue does not come from a friendly country or an international financial institution.

The path to follow

The only way to survive the impacts of Covid-19 and stop the spread of this coronavirus in Pakistan is by adopting a coordinated national plan, and the government must focus all of its energies and resources on stopping the epidemic as the Sindh provincial government did.

A 24 hour awareness campaign to encourage social isolation and suspend gatherings in mosques, shrines and markets is the need of the hour. Restaurants and cafes should also be closed and should be encouraged to deliver food to their customers' homes.

The government needs to allocate more funds and resources to buy more test kits and ventilators. Last but not least, massive testing is needed and the government should allow private labs to perform free testing and can later compensate these labs.

Prime Minister Khan can start with an example, instead of loading 7,900 rupees (about $ 50) for a coronavirus test, he should provide free tests to the hospital he established in Lahore, Shaukat Khanum Hospita Memoriall, which was built with charity money donated by the masses.

Covid-19 is not an opposition party or dissenting journalist who can be arrested by mocking him, criticizing him or using government institutions to arrest him. This pandemic needs an unreserved, well organized and targeted effort to prevent the country from a crisis like Iran is facing.

The question remains, however, whether the PTI government has the will and the capacity to fight this pandemic. We should all know the answer in five to six weeks, or less.

Imad Zafar is a journalist and columnist / commentator for newspapers. He is associated with television channels, radio, newspapers, news agencies and political, political and media think tanks.

What Are The Main Benefits Of Comparing Car Insurance Quotes Online

LOS ANGELES, CA / ACCESSWIRE / June 24, 2020, / Compare-autoinsurance.Org has launched a new blog post that presents the main benefits of comparing multiple car insurance quotes. For more info and free online quotes, please visit https://compare-autoinsurance.Org/the-advantages-of-comparing-prices-with-car-insurance-quotes-online/ The modern society has numerous technological advantages. One important advantage is the speed at which information is sent and received. With the help of the internet, the shopping habits of many persons have drastically changed. The car insurance industry hasn't remained untouched by these changes. On the internet, drivers can compare insurance prices and find out which sellers have the best offers. View photos The advantages of comparing online car insurance quotes are the following: Online quotes can be obtained from anywhere and at any time. Unlike physical insurance agencies, websites don't have a specific schedule and they are available at any time. Drivers that have busy working schedules, can compare quotes from anywhere and at any time, even at midnight. Multiple choices. Almost all insurance providers, no matter if they are well-known brands or just local insurers, have an online presence. Online quotes will allow policyholders the chance to discover multiple insurance companies and check their prices. Drivers are no longer required to get quotes from just a few known insurance companies. Also, local and regional insurers can provide lower insurance rates for the same services. Accurate insurance estimates. Online quotes can only be accurate if the customers provide accurate and real info about their car models and driving history. Lying about past driving incidents can make the price estimates to be lower, but when dealing with an insurance company lying to them is useless. Usually, insurance companies will do research about a potential customer before granting him coverage. Online quotes can be sorted easily. Although drivers are recommended to not choose a policy just based on its price, drivers can easily sort quotes by insurance price. Using brokerage websites will allow drivers to get quotes from multiple insurers, thus making the comparison faster and easier. For additional info, money-saving tips, and free car insurance quotes, visit https://compare-autoinsurance.Org/ Compare-autoinsurance.Org is an online provider of life, home, health, and auto insurance quotes. This website is unique because it does not simply stick to one kind of insurance provider, but brings the clients the best deals from many different online insurance carriers. In this way, clients have access to offers from multiple carriers all in one place: this website. On this site, customers have access to quotes for insurance plans from various agencies, such as local or nationwide agencies, brand names insurance companies, etc. "Online quotes can easily help drivers obtain better car insurance deals. All they have to do is to complete an online form with accurate and real info, then compare prices", said Russell Rabichev, Marketing Director of Internet Marketing Company. CONTACT: Company Name: Internet Marketing CompanyPerson for contact Name: Gurgu CPhone Number: (818) 359-3898Email: cgurgu@internetmarketingcompany.BizWebsite: https://compare-autoinsurance.Org/ SOURCE: Compare-autoinsurance.Org View source version on accesswire.Com:https://www.Accesswire.Com/595055/What-Are-The-Main-Benefits-Of-Comparing-Car-Insurance-Quotes-Online View photos

picture credit