Federal Minister for Planning, Development and Special Initiatives Asad Umar said on Thursday the Azad Jammu and Kashmir general elections acted as a “super spreader event” for the coronavirus with the region’s positivity rate ranging between 25 and 30 per cent since then. The AJK elections were held on July 25 following which the PTI has formed a government there. According to the official results of the July 25 polls, the PTI clinched 26 general seats of the AJK Legislative Assembly, followed by 11 by the PPP, six by the PML-N and one each by state-based AJK Muslim Conference and Jammu Kashmir Peoples Party.
It is very clear, not just in Pakistan but practically the entire world, that if all people do not take the threat from the pandemic very seriously then everybody will end up suffering as a result. Whether we like it or not this problem is not going to go away until and unless everybody follows all safety protocols to the letter at least till the vaccination drive is completed; which is going to take a fairly long time. And now, with Moharram processions doing the rounds in all cities, there is even more chance of the virus spreading at very high speed.
In all fairness, though, Asad Umar is part of the government not some outside stakeholder; and since he could see the wring on the wall very clearly he should have approached the prime minister, who tasked him with heading NCOC, instead of just writing to the AJK election commissioner. Now, when the damage is done, it serves no purpose to shout and cry about it, not the least because opposition parties are planning more processions under the banner of the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM). The government should have been more circumspect before, not after, the super spreader AJK event.
That way it would have very solid feet to stand on when commenting about the opposition and its antics. Now, though, it is the people’s responsibility to take this as if their lives depended on it, which they do, because only when they go out of their way to keep themselves safe will they be able to keep others safe as well. The Delta wave is not one to be taken lightly, even with Pakistan’s impressive record of surviving the pandemic so far. So hopefully all Pakistanis will pull their socks up and give this situation the respect that it deserves.
Shafaqna Pakistan
pakistan.shafaqna.com
