A United States-based (US) Magazine The Diplomat has praised Prime MinisterImran Khan for his efforts in curbing the spread of novel coronavirus inPakistan.
The magazine wrote; Pakistan’s Fight Against COVID-19 has made PakistanPrime Minister Imran Khan Stronger. It wrote that by bringing the militaryin as a stakeholder as well as advocating a smart lockdown, Imran Khan’sCOVID-19 response has consolidated his hold on power.
According to the magazine, there are three reasons why Pakistan’s fightagainst COVID-19 has ensconced Khan in a comfortable position vis-à-vis hisopponents.First,
*Pakistan’s COVID-19 response was channeled through a cooperative mechanismbetween the government and the military. Civil-military cooperation infighting the pandemic has been visible through the National CoordinationCommittee (NCC) and its operational arm, the National Command and OperationCentre (NCOC), which include both civilian ministers and military leaders.The NCC, headed by the prime minister, is the apex decision-making body onmatters related to COVID-19 and involves the military’s top brass in itsdeliberations on future courses of action. *
*The workings of the NCOC have likewise amplified how effectively bothcivil and military officials have worked together to synergize all effortsand implement the decisions made by the NCC. *
*The NCOC is headed by Federal Minister Asad Umar and comprises severalhigh-ranking civil and military officials. Furthermore, the NationalDisaster Management Authority (NDMA), headed by a serving three-stargeneral, has also been at the forefront of managing this gargantuan crisis.*Second,
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*Pakistan’s COVID-19 countermeasures were in line with Khan’s consistentpolicy of saving lives and livelihoods. Since the very beginning, Khan,citing Pakistan’s specific circumstances, vehemently opposed a full-scalelockdown. While Khan advocated for and enforced a targeted lockdown in abid to keep the economy afloat, the Pakistan Peoples Party-led Sindhprovincial government foisted a complete lockdown in that province.However, the results were not encouraging, to say the least. Ultimately,the Sindh government had to impose a smart lockdown along the lines Khanhad advocated. The smart lockdown approach showed its positive effects inthe provinces governed by Khan’s party. *
*Punjab is a perfect example. Once a veritable coronavirus hotspot, theprovince has been able to avert a major health crisis due to theimplementation of a set of smart lockdowns. With the intensity of thecrisis fading noticeably, Khan continues to highlight how determined he wasto stick to his smart-lockdown policy, despite constant denunciation andresistance.*Third,
*Khan’s government has been given some respite due to the encouragingstatistics on the state of the economy. Pakistan recently recorded acurrent account surplus, after running a mammoth deficit for years.Additionally, the country received record remittances in the month of July,giving the prime minister an opportunity to announce the good news onTwitter. With Pakistan expected to witness a GDP growth of 1 percent forthe current fiscal year, it could be argued that the economy as a whole hasnot been crippled as a result of the pandemic.*
* Economic recovery is being anticipated, as evidenced by bullish trends inPakistani stock markets and an increase in business confidence. The outlookmight not be ideal but is not bad enough for the opposition to berate thegovernment and for the latter to feel enfeebled. Moreover, Pakistan’sexports returned to its pre-COVID-19 level earlier this year. ThatPakistan’s government has managed to mitigate the deleterious effects ofCOVID-19 on the economy is a sigh of relief for its prime minister. Greateror more lasting damage to the economy would have offered an idealopportunity for the opposition to pin down Khan.*
