"The appeals by the doctors were ignored, warning from the experts were brushed aside and the voices of the concerned were dismissed," said former ambassador to the United Nations Maleeha Lodhi as she criticised the government for its indecision in containing the Corona virus.
In an opinion piece published with Dawn, Lodhi termed the government responsible for a spike in the infections once the lock-down was eased on on May 9. She pointed out the lock-down was lifted despite warnings from the experts against the same. In the next five weeks, she added, the cases skyrocketed by over 500 percent in the next five weeks. "From 27,474 cases on May 9, they soared to 154, 760 by June 17", the former envoy said, adding the cases continue to surge by record daily.
Lodhi also took the government to task over its non-serious handling of the issue. She termed federal minister Asad Umar's remarks during his June 14 presser, wherein he predicted "1.2 million infections by the end of July", as one of the most casually made public announcements on such a serious issue.
The former envoy said widespread infections could have been avoided had there not been a muddled and confused approach by the government to deal with the issue. She further said that once the selective lock-down no ruling leader came forward to take the ownership of the issue. This approach "pushed Pakistan to the top ten nations recording the highest number of new cases every day," she maintained.
Then, Lodhi asserted, the government went on to blame the people for its own inefficiency. She noted that the non-serious policy continues to rule within the official ranks. Concluding, she said, "the problem with this attitude is that it obviates any review by the government of its policy and precludes a course correction."
In an opinion piece published with Dawn, Lodhi termed the government responsible for a spike in the infections once the lock-down was eased on on May 9. She pointed out the lock-down was lifted despite warnings from the experts against the same. In the next five weeks, she added, the cases skyrocketed by over 500 percent in the next five weeks. "From 27,474 cases on May 9, they soared to 154, 760 by June 17", the former envoy said, adding the cases continue to surge by record daily.
Lodhi also took the government to task over its non-serious handling of the issue. She termed federal minister Asad Umar's remarks during his June 14 presser, wherein he predicted "1.2 million infections by the end of July", as one of the most casually made public announcements on such a serious issue.
The former envoy said widespread infections could have been avoided had there not been a muddled and confused approach by the government to deal with the issue. She further said that once the selective lock-down no ruling leader came forward to take the ownership of the issue. This approach "pushed Pakistan to the top ten nations recording the highest number of new cases every day," she maintained.
Then, Lodhi asserted, the government went on to blame the people for its own inefficiency. She noted that the non-serious policy continues to rule within the official ranks. Concluding, she said, "the problem with this attitude is that it obviates any review by the government of its policy and precludes a course correction."