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The Sindh government has imposed a strict lockdown across the province till August 8 amid the rising number of coronavirus cases. Anyone who has not been vaccinated till end of the month will also not be paid. The administration will be mandated to check vaccination cards of those roaming around during the lockdown. It has also been decided to deploy law-enforcement agencies to enforce SOPs and improve the worsening situation.
Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry has said the coronavirus situation in Karachi would not have been serious if SOPs had been followed. The federal government’s policy is crystal clear; they will not allow anyone to harm the economy by imposing a lockdown. The minister says that under the Supreme Court’s directives, provinces cannot make unilateral decisions on such matters. It is the responsibility of the provinces to follow NCOC which monitors the coronavirus situation in the country.
The Sindh government allows opening businesses and then abruptly shuts them whenever it wants without anyone to question them.
Nowadays, there is a lot of emphasis on vaccination in Pakistan these days but the vaccine is only for the general public. The ministers and higher-ups are exempted while the masses are blackmailed to get themselves vaccinated. We are threatened that our mobile SIMs will be blocked, travel restricted, told not to get out of our house, keep social distance and wear masks. It is known that masks cannot protect you from coronavirus and also prevent dust. The Sindh government has formulated bizarre policies in the province. It seems as if they have made a ‘deal’ with the virus that people will not head out to markets, travel in buses nor take any precautionary measures and the virus will not “bite” anyone.
The government banned pillion riding and narrowed the flow of traffic on roads by setting up checkpoints across the city to stop the movement of people. Now on roads where you would normally drive at full speed, only a single car can pass through at a time. This is a mind-boggling solution by our police officers thinking the virus would get caught up at these pickets and they would nab it. The Sindh Police has given up this task and they have started implementing the royal decree. You will find roadblocks on all roads and streets across Karachi. People are being stopped from commuting and asked to furnish their vaccine cards. This has certainly increased bribes because obviously the Sindh government and police have impunity.
I am not denying the presence of the coronavirus but the mockery in Pakistan amid the pandemic has devastated the poor, businessmen and traders are forced to beg, unemployment has reached its peak and the economy has been ruined. Rather than this economic exploitation, the government should formulate policies that can control the epidemic as well as save people from economic hardship.
