TODAY'S PAPER | APRIL 08, 2020

Indefinite lockdown
Ravale Mohydin | April 08, 2020

The writer works at TRT World Research Centre in

Istanbul.

TORTURE is defined as: “the action or practice of inflicting severe pain on someone as
a punishment, or in order to force them to do or say something”. Amidst the challenges
faced by communities worldwide due to the coronavirus pandemic, the term takes on
new significance considering the condition of Kashmiris across the LoC holed up inside
their homes. Can an entire eight-million-strong population be tortured collectively?

As if solitude had taken away his sensitivity, the recently released pro-India Kashmiri
politician Omar Abdullah tweeted, as a ‘joke’, that multiple lockdowns have somehow
prepared Kashmiris better than anyone else for the 21-day lockdown in India. Even if the
joke was meant to be sardonic in nature, it dilutes the enormity of the injustice of it all.

Occupied Jammu & Kashmir has been under lockdown since Aug 5, 2019. The BJP revoked
Article 370 of the Indian constitution that allowed special rights for Jammu & Kashmir, such
as the ability to make its own laws when it came to permanent residency, property
ownership, and fundamental rights. It also barred non-Kashmiris from owning land or
settling there. A cruel lockdown and communications blackout followed immediately
afterwards. This mass confinement came as Kashmiris were expected to protest against
such blatant attempts to change the demographics of their region, which threatens to erase
their identity and right to their homeland.

The idea that this is somewhat easier for Kashmiris is torturous at worst and ill-informed at
best. The continuing communication blackout ie lack of access to 4G internet technology is
disgraceful. Despite international calls to provide it with this technology amidst the Covid-19
outbreak, the Narendra Modi-led BJP is bent on destroying not just the identity and
livelihoods of Kashmiris, but their very psyches, a fact reinforced by the introduction of the
new domicile law. Imagine being in a seemingly indefinite lockdown, without access to
internet, in a place many experts are deeming extremely vulnerable to the Covid-19
outbreak. If that is not mental torture, then what is?

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The lockdown is worse for Kashmiris in

IHK.

Besides the severe societal-level anxiety and depression Kashmiris are bound to experience
during this lonely time, there are multiple ways in which this lockdown is worse for
Kashmiris than for those in India (and the world) in practical terms.

According to Daniel Bastard of Reporters without Borders: “At a time when people under
lockdown all over the world are using the internet to work, communicate and get
information, 8m Kashmiris continue to be cut off from the absolutely vital information that
is needed to prevent the spread of the pandemic.” Many Kashmiris do not have access to
necessary information related to preventive or curative measures against the spread of
Covid-19. Already there is a stark disparity between Kashmir and India when it comes to
preparedness to manage Covid-19 with one doctor for 3,866 people in the former, and 2,000
people in the latter.

There are thousands of young Kashmiri boys and men who have been jailed and allegedly
tortured since August 2019. Although many countries are considering releasing prisoners
from overcrowded jails to reduce the risk of coronavirus transmission, no such initiative
has been made on behalf of the BJP when it comes to Kashmiris, despite calls to do so.

The lockdown is a continuation of disruption of life in Kashmir. Kashmiris had been out of
school since August 2019, and with the communication blackout, did not have access to
online education. This continues till today, as Kashmiri children stay home and stay
uneducated, while online education becomes available to all others. Kashmiris cannot ‘work
from home’, as many lost their jobs and businesses since the security lockdown and
clampdown on communication began. Kashmir’s economy has been devastated in the past
seven months, erasing entire industries.

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At this point, even if the same number of jobs remained, Kashmiris would not be able to
‘work from home’ like the rest of the world. There is no Skype or Zoom to call friends and
loved ones. While India counts down the 21 days, even as Modi himself plans a ‘staggered
exit’ from an obviously ill-thought-out national lockdown, Kashmiris know there is no end
in sight. If that is not torture, then what is?
By design, the lockdown in India-held Kashmir is meant to suppress. The BJP revoked Article
370 apparently to fulfil a campaign promise to integrate Kashmir with India. It is clear from
the Kashmir version of the #21daylockdown that Kashmir is not a part of India. And
potential consequences resulting from this atrocity can mean that it never will be either, no
matter how many are attempted to be browbeaten into submission.

The writer works at TRT World Research Centre in Istanbul.

Twitter: @Ravale_Mohydin

ARTICLE CONTINUES AFTER AD

Published in Dawn, April 8th, 2020

 TODAY'S PAPER | APRIL 08, 2020

Verse remedies
Mahir Ali | April 08, 2020

Mahir Ali

“THIS city now doth, like a garment, wear/ The beauty of the morning; silent, bare/
Ships, towers, domes, theatres, and temples lie/ Open unto the fields, and the sky;/ All
bright and glittering in the smokeless air. …” Perhaps something similar could have
been said about the view from Westminster Bridge just yesterday.

As industry and most other forms of human industry have ground to a halt across much of
the world in recent weeks, reports from around the globe reflect on remarkably blue skies
and speak of wildlife returning to reclaim spaces taken over long ago by an invasive species
that has suddenly retreated, where possible, to its domestic sanctuaries.

This isn’t necessarily a cause for celebration, of course. The near-cessation of economic
activity poses an existential threat to many of Earth’s denizens. Yet the consequences of the
shutdowns and lockdowns prompted by an invisible foe are also a reminder of who is
primarily responsible for the degradation of the natural world and the relentless abuse of
its resources.
No one can authoritatively say what William Wordsworth — the poet quoted at the outset —
would have made of humanity’s present predicament. Or, for that matter, of the fact that
commemorations of his 250th birth anniversary, which fell yesterday, have presumably had
to be cancelled or postponed as the novel coronavirus takes its toll and Britain’s prime
minister is in intensive care.

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Wordsworth’s best verse will no doubt

endure.

He would probably have been surprised, though, to realise what he perceived from
Westminster Bridge in the early hours of Sept 3, 1802, resembles the new normal. And, not
for the first time, there is cause, too, to recall another Wordsworth sonnet — the one that
begins “The world is too much with us; late and soon,/ Getting and spending, we lay waste
our powers; —/ Little we see in Nature that is ours; …”

Encountering him both at home and in the high school curriculum, I was fairly charmed by
Wordsworth in my early teens. The curriculum included a delightful excerpt from his
autobiographical poem The Prelude — which, periodically revised, remained unpublished
until the poet’s death in 1850, but was subsequently recognised as one of his foremost
achievements.

I can’t say I have frequently returned to Wordsworth since those days. Other Romantics —
notably Keats and Shelley — have cast a more lasting spell. Wordsworth may have been
innovative in his diction, but all too many of his longer poems come across as avenues to
tedium. Verses from some of the shorter ones, however, are firmly impressed upon the
memory.

They include his declaration that his heart leaps up whenever he beholds a rainbow in the
sky: “So was it when my life began;/ So is it now I am a man;/ So be it when I shall grow old,/
Or let me die!/ The Child is the father of the Man; …” as well as the dancing golden daffodils
he saw dancing in the breeze: “For oft, when on my couch I lie/ In vacant or in pensive
mood,/ They flash upon that inward eye/ Which is the bliss of solitude; …”

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Solitude is held out as a necessity these days, but it isn’t always a pathway to bliss. Reports
from all too many parts of the world, for instance, refer to a surge in domestic violence
when abusive partners or parents are corralled by necessity with their usual victims. There
is even anecdotal evidence of related homicides.

It’s hard to say the extent to which that would have perturbed Wordsworth, who drifted
from his universal empathy with the downtrodden — proclaiming “Bliss it was in that dawn
to be alive,/ But to be young was very heaven! — Oh! times, …” in relation to the French
Revolution. A trip to France right after the revolution had brought out the inner Jacobin in
Wordsworth, and his revolutionary zeal prompted him to defend regicide in A Letter to the
Bishop of Llandaff.

But if the 18th-century Wordsworth came across as a proto-revolutionary, he evolved into a

feudalist Tory as the 19th century progressed, and eventually was deemed sufficiently pro-
establishment to be named as poet laureate. By the time that happened in 1843, he rarely
wrote any new poetry, and died in 1850.
Long before that, however, he left an indelible mark on English literature. His political
trajectory was typical not only of his age but of the period since then — although there are
many honourable exceptions. And although I remain immune to many of Wordsworth’s
longer excursions, his best verse will no doubt endure.

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And it’s interesting to wonder what he might have made of the proposed green deals in
several countries that seemed significant even before the pandemic but have acquired
greater potency since the unexpected assault by a previously unknown virus sparked a
sudden outbreak of socialist tendencies in the most devotedly capitalist parts of the world.
Perhaps a contemporary poet, like the unfortunately ailing Michael Rosen, might offer
better answers.

mahir.dawn@gmail.com

Published in Dawn, April 8th, 2020

 TODAY'S PAPER | APRIL 08, 2020

Stranded in UAE
Editorial | April 08, 2020

WITH Covid-19 turning the global order upside down, governments worldwide have
been taking unprecedented measures to halt the spread of the contagion. The foremost
of these is internal lockdowns, coupled with the temporary closure of borders. In the
midst of such difficult circumstances arises the question of repatriating citizens
wanting to return from foreign shores. As reported in this paper on Tuesday, around
20,000 Pakistanis stranded in the UAE are seeking to return home. Expectedly, these
individuals are facing a tough time in the Emirates; some have lost their jobs or have
not been paid by their firms, while the visas of others have expired. As per media
reports, ‘‘hundreds’’ of Pakistanis gathered outside the consulate in Dubai on Sunday
demanding to return home.

The plight of citizens stranded abroad is indeed a dire one, especially when jobs have been
lost. However, the question arises: can the health system in this country screen, quarantine
and treat such a large number of people were they to be brought back immediately? The
best possible response to this difficult situation would be for the state to work in close
coordination with the UAE authorities to ensure Pakistanis stranded in the Emirates have
access to quality healthcare, housing and food until the coronavirus crisis dissipates. The
UAE government should extend the visas of those whose documents have expired, while
Pakistani missions in the Emirates must keep in constant touch with stranded citizens to
assure them that the state stands by them in these trying times, and that they will be able to
return as soon as it is feasible. By no means should citizens feel that they have been left in
the lurch by their government at a time of a global crisis. It is a fact that every citizen has
the right to return home at any time of their choosing. However, those Pakistanis stranded
abroad should be encouraged to return at a more opportune time, when the danger that an
easily transmissible infection poses to public health has reduced considerably.

Published in Dawn, April 8th, 2020

 TODAY'S PAPER | APRIL 08, 2020

Uzair Baloch reappears

Editorial | April 08, 2020

AS mysteriously as he had been spirited away by the security forces in 2017 — after an
equally intriguing arrest the year before — Uzair Jan Baloch, chief of the banned
Pakistan Aman Committee, has resurfaced. On Monday, the once feared kingpin of the
Lyari gang war in Karachi was produced in an anti-terrorism court in Karachi by jail
authorities after the army’s V Corps, headquartered in the city, handed him over to
them. Uzair Baloch, according to the police, is the prime suspect in a rival gang
leader’s murder, an operation carried out in a particularly gruesome manner. The
victim, Arshad Pappu, his brother and another companion were allegedly abducted
from a social gathering in Karachi’s Defence Housing Society, taken back to Lyari, and
slaughtered, with their bodies defiled for good measure. The case could not be
prosecuted after the military took Uzair Baloch into custody on suspicion of espionage
and “leak of sensitive security information to foreign intelligence agencies”.

Indeed, much still remains unknown about Uzair Baloch, who fled Pakistan in 2013 in the
wake of the Rangers-led operation against organised crime in the city. There are wheels
within wheels in his ‘career’, a mix of extremely unsavoury activities facilitated by (often
contradictory) allegiances with the power elite. However, while Uzair Baloch as leader of
the most prominent gang in Lyari — not to mention a one-time PPP ally later turned sworn
enemy — occupied a unique place, other gangs were also willing pawns in a deadly political
game, one far bigger than appearances would suggest. The consequences of that tussle
extended to the rest of the city and its cynically exploited ethnic fault lines. Those who
suffered the most though from the immediate fallout were the hapless citizens of Lyari. For
years, they knew not a moment’s peace as armed gangs ran amok in the streets, battling it
out over the proceeds of various rackets, and enticing the area’s youth into a life of crime. In
February 2017, a confessional statement by Uzair Baloch was submitted to a Sindh High
Court bench. In it were startling revelations about a purported nexus between the PAC, the
PPP’s Sindh leadership and top police officials in land grabbing, extortion, gunrunning and
various other criminal activities. While these accusations must be transparently
investigated, it must also be said that extended detentions, without plausible explanation, of
individuals suspected of grave crimes against Pakistani citizens sully the state’s reputation.

Published in Dawn, April 8th, 2020

 TODAY'S PAPER | APRIL 08, 2020

On the front line

Editorial | April 08, 2020

IN the midst of the coronavirus pandemic, with over 4,000 confirmed cases in Pakistan,
doctors and medical staff in Quetta clashed with the police, leading to the arrest of
dozens of them. The reason: the non-availability of personal protective equipment and
medical kits for healthcare workers in the province, which has resulted in several of
them contracting the coronavirus. The president of the Young Doctors Association has
warned that most services will not be provided until they are given the necessary
equipment and tools to tackle the sudden upsurge in cases over the past few weeks.
Meanwhile, the DG ISPR informed the media that essential supplies had been
dispatched to Quetta.

In fact, the battle is a larger one. Healthcare workers across the country — indeed, the world
— have been affected. Even in the UK, there are doctors and nurses who have threatened to
quit due to the shortage of PPEs, reflecting the tremendous strain on them as they work long
hours with limited resources to protect their infected patients, while exposing themselves to
the infection. As evidence suggests, even asymptomatic patients can pass on the virus to
others. As early as February, when the first coronavirus case was detected in Karachi, there
were warnings about shortages of essential items in public and private hospitals across the
country. In one report in this paper, a healthcare expert lamented that only 1,200
respirators were available at the National Institute of Health in Islamabad, when the
country required a total of 110,000 respirator masks, and 300,000 gloves were needed
against the 100,000 available. While help has been pouring in from governments and
private donors, and China has donated medical supplies including masks to Pakistan, it is
not clear if these have reached the people who need them most. In KP, one doctor covered
his head and hands with plastic bags to register his protest. The government launched an
inquiry against him, only to withdraw it after the KP health minister intervened. Most
tragically, doctors, too, have died after being infected with the virus: Dr Osama Riaz from
Gilgit-Baltistan, and Dr Abdul Qadir Soomro from Sindh. In his last video message, the
bedridden Dr Riaz joined his palms together and pleaded that the virus be taken seriously.
He struggled to speak throughout the recording.

The coronavirus pandemic has exposed many flaws in governance around the world, but
perhaps nowhere is this most drastically felt than in the neglect of essential healthcare
services. A mentally and physically exhausted workforce that is severely underequipped is
simply going to lead to more situations like Quetta, and more tragic deaths, which can
threaten to undermine whatever infrastructure is in place. After all, doctors are only
human. It is impossible to win this war against the coronavirus without these brave front-
line defenders showing up at work each day. We cannot afford to lose them.

Published in Dawn, April 8th, 2020

ARTICLE CONTINUES AFTER AD

 TODAY'S PAPER | APRIL 08, 2020

A divisive move
Zahid Hussain | April 08, 2020

The writer is an author and journalist.

SAVE lives or save livelihoods? The debate rages on as the world fights the deadly
Covid-19 infection. Countries are struggling to strike the right balance as they confront
the coronavirus outbreak. While the rising number of cases has increased pressure on
public health systems across the world, the economic costs of shutdowns have also
been colossal.

Indeed, the worsening unemployment situation presents the biggest challenge for
governments everywhere. The problem is much more serious in poorer nations such as
Pakistan. But still the choice between the economy and public health should be clear: saving
lives takes precedence over anything else. Shutdowns and other restrictions on movement
may have had serious economic implications, but that is the only way to end the pandemic.

Allowing the infection to spread in order to save the economy would wreak a far greater
disaster that would be hard to deal with. The government’s decision to relax restrictions and
allow some industries, including construction projects, to operate raises questions about the
implications for public health.

While it may help reduce unemployment and revive the economy, there is also a huge
danger of workers being exposed to the infection. It is much more risky as there is no sign of
the curve flattening anytime soon. The number of confirmed coronavirus cases has risen
exponentially over the past few days. And according to the government’s own estimate, the
count could go up to 50,000 in the next two weeks — more than a tenfold increase in the
number of infected persons.

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The decision to remove restrictions and

reopen certain industries is not a wise one
in these times.

In this situation, the decision to relax the restrictions and reopen some industries could
defeat the efforts made so far to contain the disease. One can understand the massive
pressure on the government to address the growing problem of unemployment. But the
premature move could also exacerbate the crisis and increase the pressure on healthcare
resources. The cost of the uncontrollable spread of the deadly virus would be much higher.
Is the government prepared to deal with a catastrophe on this scale?

After its initial state of denial, the federal government seems to have shown greater resolve
in fighting the infection in recent days. There has certainly been better coordination
between the centre and the provincial administrations. The setting up of a command and
control centre to tackle the coronavirus has given some coherence to the campaign. The
country now seems much better prepared to meet the coronavirus challenge. Yet, there are
still some shortcomings, given our capacity and resources.

For example, there has been some serious problems regarding the full implementation of
lockdown orders. One of the main reasons for the lapses in this area has been attributed to
the confused statements from Prime Minister Imran Khan himself. He had initially
dismissed the threat by equating the infection with the ‘ordinary flu’ saying that only the
elderly and those with prior medical complications were at risk from its effects.

Although his tenor now seems to have changed, apparently after being briefed by experts
about the gravity of the situation, his views are still not clear. It seems that it is very hard for
the top leadership to accept the seriousness of the situation, as it is not fully convinced
about the tough measures required to deal with one of the most serious crises the country
has ever faced. The prime minister still sees it as more of an economic issue than one of
public health. The government’s latest decision to reopen some industries is a case in point.

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However, one must appreciate the federal government’s financial aid plan for the poorest
sections of society through the Ehsaas programme. That will benefit some 12 million people
who desperately need support to survive in these hard times. Some other measures
announced by the government may also help lessen the hardship faced by the poor. Given
the limited resources available, the subsidies given by the government are quite significant.

A major challenge for the government, as has been repeatedly pointed by the prime
minister, is to supply ration to the people, particularly daily-wage workers, who have been
worst affected by the lockdown. Most of them, now unemployed, would not even be able to
receive money through the Ehsaas programme. There is certainly a need to develop some
kind of mechanism to reach them.

But the prime minister’s move to organise a ‘Corona Relief Tiger Force’ has raised questions.
The ‘force’ comprising young volunteers is supposed to help identify those needing help and
supply them with ration. The volunteers are also supposed to develop awareness among the
people about the infection and safety measures.

Some half a million youth have reportedly applied for registration — a massive response
indeed. It all sounds earnest. But it is not as simple as it appears to be. Surely volunteers are
needed to help the administration and other government organisations involved in the
campaign. It happens all over the world. In the past, we have seen how men and women
came out to help in times of calamity whether it was the 2005 Kashmir earthquake or the
devastating floods in the following years.

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Yet there had not been any effort from past governments to formally organise them as a
‘force’. The whole purpose of volunteer work is defeated when an attempt is made to turn
such an effort into a political tool. The very fact that a ‘Tiger Force’ is said to be working
under the Prime Minister’s Office belies the claim of it being a politically nonpartisan
welfare movement.

Such an officially controlled ‘volunteer force’ is likely to add to the confusion. There is fear
of it becoming a parallel setup creating problems for local administrations. So what will
happen if, emulating the prime minister’s initiative, the Sindh government decided to
organise its own ‘People’s Force’?
Imran Khan’s idea to turn volunteers into a government-sponsored force is quite alarming.
It is a politically divisive move that the nation does not need in these testing times. Let the
volunteers do their work independently of the government as we have seen in the past.

The writer is an author and journalist.

zhussain100@yahoo.com

Twitter: @hidhussain

Published in Dawn, April 8th, 2020

 TODAY'S PAPER | APRIL 08, 2020

Anxious days
Rafia Zakaria | April 08, 2020

The writer is an attorney teaching constitutional law and

political philosophy.

THE mood of the moment is anxious. As the world continues to stay in a state of
lockdown, routines are disrupted, businesses shuttered and people thrown together
for extended periods of time, often in small spaces.

The news is all terrible, even from places which are not usually the locations for tragedy. In
London, Prime Minister Boris Johnson has been placed in intensive care while in New York
City officials are considering digging mass graves for burying the city’s dead (numbering in
the thousands) 10 at a time. New evidence from China reveals that even if one does survive,
there can be a terrible impact not only on the lungs but also the heart. All of it suggests that
the stock-taking of survivors when all this is over will be grim and miserable.

How does one survive in such a world while retaining some semblance of sanity? In
conditions of such extreme uncertainty where we remain unsure as to who will fall prey to
the virus, and when, anxiety reigns.
Students worry about their futures, about semesters cancelled, about exams postponed,
about what the world they are poised to enter will be like. Parents worry about their
children’s schooling, their own inability to work from home owing to childcare
responsibilities, about keeping their family safe and everyone happy. It is a tall order all
this, and sadly, worrying about it only exacerbates the anxiety that already dominates the
flavour of every moment of this lockdown.

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How does one survive in such a world while

retaining some semblance of sanity?

There are outward symbols. Extreme anxiety often results in sharp mood swings taking
place over the course of the day or even an hour. The anxious can be happy and ebullient
one moment, making cheerful conversation, and erupt into sudden and unprovoked anger
the next. Anything — a child’s annoying questions, a messy house or an overlooked task —
can trigger a wild and ravaging bout of anger at anyone or anything that happens to be
around. Those who are there, expectedly and understandably suffer their own resulting
anxiety, the chain reaction that ensures that everyone is on edge, waiting, dreading,
worrying endlessly and constantly.

If one recognises the symptoms of anxiety, they can be led to manage it. The challenge is that
the unprecedented nature of our current crisis has suddenly ushered those who do not
consider themselves prone to anxiety into its ranks. The newly anxious are the most
destructively anxious. Those who do not pause to consider the source of their feelings, trace
the reasons behind their anger or their excitability are the ones who can cause the most
harm. Their children, their family members are all suddenly captives, at the mercy of their
moods. Because they do not recognise their own anxiety or admit it, they cannot seek help
or an antidote for their condition.

Anxiety can happen to anyone. Even if one is not sick oneself, the financial pandemic
awaiting in the sidelines of the coronavirus pandemic means that all men and women who
are in charge of family finances are particularly prone to being anxious. If you recognise the
signs of anxiety — elevated heart rates, sudden mood swings, inability to sleep or focus — in
your own behaviour there are things that can be done to abate it.

Since anxiety centres on feelings of helplessness and lack of control, seizing control of the
day is one way to fight against it. Since one’s usual schedule is no longer possible, a
quarantine routine, which involves waking up at the same time each day and adhering to a
set regimen for doing tasks and exercising gives us that elusive sense of control that we are
in search of at this moment.

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Then there is the task of managing expectations: it is important (as a popular meme on the
internet says) to remember that we are in the midst of a crisis and trying to work rather
than working despite a crisis. Small, reachable goals means it is easier to feel a sense of
accomplishment at the end of the day. This sense of accomplishment and achievement can
be one of the best antidotes for the anxiety and dread of the world beyond one’s home.

The extended period of time we have with family members can also provide the opportunity
to improve relationships that languish as we run to do this and that during our usual
hurried lives. Connecting with old friends and family via various virtual applications can lift
spirits and provide an escape from the otherwise endless day. It can also permit people to
realise what they are missing in their day-to-day lives.

In a strange and unexpected way, the coronavirus pandemic has exposed the singular
nature of life and the ultimate aloneness of all human existence. A confrontation with this
truth can be freeing and can lead one to have a closer relationship with oneself as well as
realise and analyse the quirks and contortions that can cause conflict or irritation during
interactions.

As Ramazan approaches and Pakistanis begin an inward and spiritual journey, it is crucial
to remember that banishing dread and anxiety from one’s life is just as valuable as giving
charity or any of the many kindnesses and virtues we associate with this moment.

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No one who is alive today will likely (hopefully) ever see a time like this again. The
unprecedented and rapid numbers of those infected and then dead is almost too large for
the human imagination. The constant threat of the contagion and the fact that everyone or
anyone can be an enemy carrying the deadly virus is similarly too surreal a concept for the
human brain.

Realising the extraordinary nature of the moment also means being a little kinder to
oneself, and to one’s limited, faulty human capabilities. What our human faculties can do is
to recognise the dread in our own hearts, a first and crucial step in alleviating the dread in
the hearts of those around us.

The writer is an attorney teaching constitutional law and political philosophy.

rafia.zakaria@gmail.com
Published in Dawn, April 8th, 2020
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