‘Covid-19 – Strategic Recommendations for Pakistan’ (2nd Session)

Covid-19 clock ticking for Pakistan to learn from policy mistakes, take tough decisions: Experts

Pakistan still has a
narrow window of opportunity to quickly learn from the experiences as well as
errors of other countries in order to evolve innovative and comprehensive
policy options for the coronavirus pandemic. The pandemic is also an opportunity
for the nation to become self-reliant in pharmaceuticals, biomedical
engineering and public health management on war footings. This is not the time
for a popularity contest and so some tough decisions, which could be
politically costly, have to be taken to save lives and the economy, according
to experts addressing the second session of a webinar series, ‘Covid-19: Global
Challenge, National Response’ organized by Institute of Policy Studies (IPS) on
April 14, 2020.

Senior policy analyst
Syed Muhammad Ali was the main speaker who covered different aspects of the
pandemic challenges and presented viable policy recommendations. The event was
jointly chaired by Dr Waqar Masood Khan, former federal finance secretary and
member of IPS Academic Council, and Khalid Rahman, Executive President IPS.

Ali said the extent
of the pandemic, whether economic, political, cultural, social or health,
varies for different countries and their political systems are tackling this
challenge in different ways. But the longer critical decisions are delayed the
more a country’s resources come under stress and it faces economic, political
and social problems.

He was of the view
that various tactics need to be deployed in the war against Covid-19 including
close international economic collaboration, use of medical technology and
international diplomacy.

Regarding strategic
measures that the government should initiate, Ali said these can include a
national strategic medical supplies stockpile or database, national and
international collaboration in biomedical research, three levels of compulsory
14-day quarantine at international, inter-provincial and local levels, online
crisis management training courses for quarantine center staff, initiation of a
national crisis information management system, and monopoly of National
Disaster Management Authority on all related information.

He said in these
trying times it is critical that Pakistan should lobby with other developing
nations to ask the international financial institutions for a review of their
financial arrangements and assistance programs based on humanitarian concerns.

Ali said the
government has submitted a report with the Supreme Court that it expects 50,000
positive cases of coronavirus by April 25. So if the situation worsens then the
government should declare the food, healthcare, petroleum and banking sectors
as critical and manage them directly, he added.

He stressed that
ration distribution should be very effective in the areas that had been hit by
insurgency in the past so that the anti-state elements are not able to exploit
the crisis. Similarly, charity work and fund raising has to be legal,
transparent and recorded to avoid serious consequences for Pakistan at
Financial Action Task Force.

Ali said most of the
strategic public sector organizations have more technical capacity than the
private sector. As such the government has to decide which sectors can be used
for crisis management. The Chamber of Commerce and Industry could review which
goods can be produced locally by tailoring the production lines.

He was of the opinion
that the large chain stores should create an app-based delivery system and
collect payment through card swipe machines. The system could be extended to
meat, poultry, milk, bakery and medical deliveries.

Ali said the pandemic
is the greatest threat to human lives since the Second World War and as such it
is important to call an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council. The
situation should be declared a global human security challenge and a
coordinated and all-encompassing initiative launched for international
collaboration in all dimensions.

Speaking about the
strategies adopted by countries with low infection rates, he said none of the
Central Asian Republics – Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and
Uzbekistan – along with Azerbaijan have reported more than 1,000 cases but the
approach they have adopted is an example for the rest of the world. The lesson
we can learn from their experience is that dealing with loss is not the actual
problem, it is better implementation of precautionary measures that counts.

Khalid Rahman was of
the view that the mosque as an institution could play a very positive and vital
role in crisis management in the current situation. At present this institution
is in a state of disquiet but can attain a central position in the coronavirus
fight if handled intelligently and by getting it on board.

He suggested making
the beginning of Ramazan the terminal point ahead of which there could be
consultations and efforts to get people on the same page regarding this issue.

Dr Waqar said a
comprehensive policy should have been formulated through consultations between
the federation, provinces and armed forces to counter the pandemic and the
ensuing crisis. The federal government initiated a lock-down quite late on
March 25 and that too in a halfhearted manner; even now it is trying to pass
the buck where responsibility is concerned, he added.

He termed it a timely
move by the government to seek from the country’s international lenders a
rescheduling of the huge external public debt-related repayments till the
crisis ends.

He said a positive
outcome of the crisis was that it had provided the country a chance to become
self-reliant and overcome shortcomings. Now was the time to grab new
opportunities in various sectors, one of which is technology as this is the
field of the future, he concluded.