As the pandemic gets worse across the country, reaching the highest daily toll reported since July, its effects do not escape politicians either. It appears holding mass country-wide rallies in a pandemic might have been a mistake, as now one of its ringleaders, Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari has confirmed that he has tested positive for COVID-19 and is self-isolating.
We wish Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari well and a speedy recovery. Yet the reach of the pandemic should alarm those who have so far been neglecting social distancing and have been advocating rallies and events with mass gatherings. It is unfortunate also that the PDM is still insisting on holding large public gatherings. The government and the opposition have previously been having a war of words on the issue of rallies—with Prime Minister Imran Khan accusing the opposition of “playing reckless politics with people’s safety”, with PDM president Maulana Fazlur Rehman replying that the government was making desperate attempts to foil the rally on the pretext of COVID-19. The opposition has vowed to continue with its rallies despite bans by the district government on outdoor gatherings which exceed a certain size.
The government may have political reasons to oppose the rallies—yet the opposition at this point cannot deny the disastrous impact that its campaigning through open rallies will have on the country, the hospitals and indeed, their own followers who will be put most at risk. Like Bhutto contracted the virus, hundreds of thousands of people who gather at the rally will also be put at risk. Experts and doctors have warned that intensive care units at major hospitals in the country are running out of beds. The daily toll has exceeded 3000 in the last two days.
The opposition can no longer pretend that the contentions against their current approach towards campaigning are only political, and the government needs to take responsibility in negotiating with the opposition to tone down the rallies. If the country means to control the pandemic without a strict economic lockdown, it desperately requires unity of all factions.
https://nation.com.pk/27-Nov-2020/the-opposition-s-neglect
The Opposition’s Neglect: edit in The Nation, Nov 27, 2020
As the pandemic gets worse across the country, reaching the highest daily toll reported since July, its effects do not escape politicians either. It appears holding mass country-wide rallies in a pandemic might have been a mistake, as now one of its ringleaders, Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari has confirmed that he has tested positive for COVID-19 and is self-isolating.
We wish Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari well and a speedy recovery. Yet the reach of the pandemic should alarm those who have so far been neglecting social distancing and have been advocating rallies and events with mass gatherings. It is unfortunate also that the PDM is still insisting on holding large public gatherings. The government and the opposition have previously been having a war of words on the issue of rallies—with Prime Minister Imran Khan accusing the opposition of “playing reckless politics with people’s safety”, with PDM president Maulana Fazlur Rehman replying that the government was making desperate attempts to foil the rally on the pretext of COVID-19. The opposition has vowed to continue with its rallies despite bans by the district government on outdoor gatherings which exceed a certain size.
The government may have political reasons to oppose the rallies—yet the opposition at this point cannot deny the disastrous impact that its campaigning through open rallies will have on the country, the hospitals and indeed, their own followers who will be put most at risk. Like Bhutto contracted the virus, hundreds of thousands of people who gather at the rally will also be put at risk. Experts and doctors have warned that intensive care units at major hospitals in the country are running out of beds. The daily toll has exceeded 3000 in the last two days.
The opposition can no longer pretend that the contentions against their current approach towards campaigning are only political, and the government needs to take responsibility in negotiating with the opposition to tone down the rallies. If the country means to control the pandemic without a strict economic lockdown, it desperately requires unity of all factions.
https://nation.com.pk/27-Nov-2020/the-opposition-s-neglect
Published in Pak Media comment and Pakistan