Pandemic of leadership

Pakistan is fast losing its grip over the COVID-19 spread with more than 150,000 cases of infections and about 3000 deaths by late June 16, 2020. Hospitals that are already short of healthcare facilities for the COVID-19 patients are choked with the patients.

Federal government is shamelessly blaming people for not taking care of themselves during the last days of the holy month and even now. This is insanely strange. It is the federal government that was confused in making decisions for the lockdown rather intentionally opposed the provinces to lockdown. They wanted the rise of misery and it’s here.

We shall actually give credit to the judges of the Supreme Court of Pakistan for taking the irrational decision to open the markets and shopping malls without considering the consequences. They made the criminal decision even without listening to the warnings of the healthcare professionals.

Afterwards, the brave judges shut down their courts and restricted themselves to their homes. Still, the judges are enjoying the safe environment at their homes while the public is suffering in hospitals. The public in Pakistan is always butchered by its own leadership.

The world is suffering from COVID-19 pandemic but some countries are unlucky to have Donald Trump, Boris Johnson and Imran Khan – ‘the pandemic of leadership’. In the case of Pakistan, we have judges too.

The worst form of pandemic we suffer from is the senseless population brimming with short-sightedness and ignorance. Another pandemic is the variety of mafias from religion sellers to traders, political traitors, land and timber mafias and those sitting in the power corridors or pulling the strings of power centres.  No state could be as unfortunate as we are. Very thin is the voice of the wisdom that could easily be ignored by the insane ears all around.

In a month, Pakistan jumped from 29th to 13th most affected country. Still, the government believes that it is not that worst as it was expected. They have opened all the sectors and businesses knowing that there would be no one to enforce the compliance of the Standing Operating Procedures (SOPs).

By selling the miseries and vulnerabilities, the federal government has already pocketed generous grants in cash, Personal Protection Equipment (PPE), masks and gloves, and sanitizers, and so on. What could actually reach the destination is a big question. Maneuvering won at every tier in the government folds and those pretending to fight against the menace. Most of the poor got infected and killed while the government was pretending to save the poor from hunger.        

Everything happens for good. This is what we believe in. What is the good in having so many pandemics in one go? I really can’t apprehend. I could see only one plus point of the COVID-19 and that is some improvement in the air quality alone for some weeks. Sadly, the air quality has started suffering again from the carbon concentration as the traffic flow has increased again after the lockdown was officially lifted. Again, we are back to the square one.