The World Health Organisation’s (WHO) representative for Pakistan had previously said (on 14th March) that Pakistan had ‘one of the best National Response Program’ against COVID-19. On the other hand, local and international media has heavily criticised the Pakistani government and bureaucracy response to COVID-19, while key opposition leaders and figures have also shown dissent over Imran Khan’s ‘light approach’ to the situation. Imran Khan has fought back the criticism by stating that the opposition is politicising the coronavirus outbreak and that more Pakistanis will die from hunger if a full lockdown is imposed. These varying views and conflicts prompt us to ask: has Imran Khan’s government done well?
What is the situation in Pakistan like?
At the time of writing, more than 5000 SARS-CoV-2 cases have been confirmed in Pakistan which includes 1030 recovered cases and 86 deaths. At the moment, cases are doubling in a week’s time, hence the peak of the outbreak is expected to occur in the month of May; medical and health experts in Pakistan have advised the Pakistani government to maintain a lockdown throughout the month of May. According to government projections, the total number of cases could rise to 50,000 and the number of deaths to 5,000 by early May.
The Pakistani opposition and Imran Khan
The opposition to any incumbent government is critical of the government but the current opposition is perhaps harsher and more offensive than usual. During the Parliament’s joint session in August 2019 on the Kashmir crisis, opposition leaders Bilawal Bhutto, Shehbaz Sharif and Asif Ali Zardari walked in late to disrupt Imran Khan’s address. Then the anti-government protests in November 2019 staged by Fazlur Rehman – termed as the ‘Azadi March’ – were backed by the opposition who had requested for Imran Khan to step down as Prime Minister. Now, Shehbaz Sharif has returned from London after being away for four months prompting many experts to argue that he is trying to take advantage of the coronavirus outbreak by returning to criticise Imran Khan’s government.
Imran Khan and the Pakistani opposition parties have had a tense and rough past which seems to be interfering with their response to the COVID-19 crisis too. During a multiparty video conference on the COVID-19 pandemic, Imran Khan logged out of the conference after having his chance to speak which upset opposition leaders giving rise to their exit from the conference too. This divide between the opposition and ruling party even during times of national crises is unprecedented and to some extent, this non-coordination between parties has hampered the national response against COVID-19.
What is the criticism of Imran Khan’s response?
The major criticism of Imran Khan and the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI)’s response has been that the Government underestimated the SARS-CoV-2 and that the response was not only too slow but too late as well. Other criticisms include a lack of complete lockdown, the formation of a new Government welfare organisation known as the ‘Corona Tiger Relief Force’ and a shortage of medical equipment and protection for doctors.
How has Imran Khan responded to this criticism?
Imran Khan has maintained his view that a full lockdown is not possible as more people will end up dying from hunger than from COVID-19. He has continued to argue that his response has been cautious but not panic-inducing as he frequently tells the nation, ‘Ghabrana nahin hai (do not panic)’. Moreover, The Corona Tiger Relief Force will help organise the distribution of ration and funds to the poor and unemployed more efficiently and effectively than local authorities as per PTI. Lastly, PTI has acknowledged that there is a lack of personal protective equipment (PPE) for doctors but it is trying its best to get hold of much as PPE as possible.
What has the federal government done well?
- The federal government has introduced a partial lockdown – implemented precautionary measures (social distancing), closed most non-essential businesses and banned all public gatherings. This has significantly reduced public crowds and helped limit the spread of the disease
- Pakistan has ramped up testing of COVID-19, supplied hospitals with more beds and built 35 emergency hospitals equipped with 118,000 beds
- After some cities began to experience shortages of basic food items, the federal government accommodated by increasing the number of freight trains and implementing harsh punishments against goods hoarders and profiteers
- On March 24, Imran Khan approved a Rs1.2 trillion economic relief package to pay unemployed people a monthly Rs12,000 per family, and aid small businesses and essential industries
- The Corona Tiger Relief Force has received overwhelming support as more than 700,000 people have volunteered to help carry out the operations and distribute ration to the needy
Where has the government failed?
For one, the Government should have closed all borders to Afghanistan and especially Iran to prevent the spread of SARS-CoV-2. Iran had been and still is a hotspot for COVID-19 as it has some of the highest number of recorded cases and deaths so closing the Taftan border (border with Iran) would have been a good move to avoid bringing in cases to Pakistan. To make matters worse, the quarantine conditions at the Taftan border were incredibly poor and there was a lack of security which led to many COVID-19 infectants running away and causing community spread in other cities. To add on, the Pakistan Civil Aviation Authority had introduced screenings at major airports, but the screenings only involved a quick temperature check and most airports were not even performing such checks initially. On top of that, people arriving from COVID-19 affected nations were not quarantined when they arrived which is thought to be the major reason for community spread of coronavirus in Pakistan. Lastly, there is a massive lack of ventilators and PPE in Pakistan as the country currently possesses around 3,000 ventilators and many hospitals lack PPE for their staff.
What can be done now?
With 12 to 18 million Pakistanis expected to go unemployed, the government needs to continue providing relief to the affected families so they can survive. The industry that has resulted in most unemployment appears to be the construction industry which employs more than 5 million daily wagers in the country, so it is essential that the government tries to help the industry resume their operations. Preliminary research has shown that open air work in hot conditions limits the contagion of SARS-CoV-2, so the government must closely monitor the situation to find ways of helping those 5 million daily wagers get back to work safely. Imran Khan has already announced incentives to the construction industry including reduced taxes and fewer regulations which will help spur growth of the industry leading to the creation of more jobs in the immediate future – a plan that will significantly reduce unemployment after the COVID-19 crisis is over. The government also needs to purchase and distribute more PPE to hospitals especially N95 masks as doctors need to be protected at a time where there is already a lack of medical staff. To deal with the lack of doctors, the Government needs to approve certification to 30,000 doctors waiting for their registration renewal and 15,000 fresh graduates without certification. Integrating such doctors to the healthcare system will help relieve the pressure on the system due to a lack of specialized and skilled staff. Finally, the government needs to ramp up production or purchasing of ventilators as it currently possesses only 3,000 of them. As per WHO estimates, this number of ventilators will only be enough to deal with a maximum of 50,000 cases – a total Pakistan is expected to reach by early May.
Outlook
The situation looks bleak in Pakistan due to a range of reasons; a mix of good and bad responses from the federal government, lack of unity between provincial governments and political parties, and poor economic conditions which have been accumulating for the last two decades. There is a lot that the government has done well, a lot it should have done better and a lot it can still do. The damage to the Pakistani people, economy and healthcare system can still be limited to an extent where a quick recovery can be made, but all political organisations must put their agendas aside and work together for that to happen.
