#CoronaInPakistan - PM’s biggest gamble - Jury would be out by end of June

Those supporting the easing of the lockdown consider it a landmark decision by Prime Minister Imran Khan to help millions of workers who have been rendered jobless and hundreds of thousands of small shopkeepers and retailers who maintain they were finding it difficult to keep the wolf at bay. PTI supporters firmly believe that the relaxations would also help the industry rise like a phoenix from its ashes, providing the much-needed taxes to the government’s empty kitty and bringing in foreign exchange. The opponents have all along maintained that the PTI government was determined to revive the economy through human sacrifice, which is indicative of a sociopathic bent of mind. Mr Khan had finally concluded that people would have to die if he was to save Pakistan’s economy and his own political career. Putting senior citizens in mortal peril was a small price to pay for the grand design.

The phase one of the smart lockdown has begun with Mr Khan promising to restore the restrictions If there was a worsening of the outbreak. What he exactly means by ‘worsening’  is only known to him. Many argue that the pandemic is already worsening as shown by the sharp rise in the graph of the infections and deaths.

Industrial and business activities have been given a go ahead. SOPs have been suggested to control the spread of the pandemic. But there is no information about any oversight or implementation mechanism having been put in place. There are already several reports about the violation of the SOPs in mosques. On Tuesday, over 450 mosques and imambargahs in Rawalpindi district were served notices by the police for not implementing the guidelines. The mischief is likely to have been done meanwhile.

The Punjab government is determined to open all industries connected with construction besides opening small markets and shops across the province. In Sindh APTMA has called for opening the entire textile value chain to restart production without any delay. Who will monitor thousands of large, medium-sized and small production units in Punjab and Sindh? Will violations on industrial and business premises too receive no more than a slap on the wrist as has been the case with mosques?