THIS refers to your editorial ‘SC order’ (May 20). Decades ago, my group of friends met a young man who proudly proclaimed during the conversation that anything that anyone else can do, he could do it better.

And then, seeking approval, he looked around, but instead found a queer look on our faces, and was terribly disappointed. Although we were youngsters then, we knew that claiming expertise in just about everything is the height of conceit and worse.

It is shocking for me to learn six decades later that the virus which had infected that youngster is still alive and well in our beloved land. What is worse is that it has managed to permeate all strata of our society, not sparing even the highest of our state institutions which are supposed, indeed expected, to know better.

Also, I had always thought that authority and responsibility go together and you can’t have one without the other. However, we seem to have ‘evolved’ to an extent where some of us have succeeded in separating the two, with some institutions having elated themselves to a position where they solely exercise authority, while successfully pushing the responsibility onto the shoulders of others.

I must say it is a matter of great concern for me.

S. Hashmi
Karachi

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NOW that the Supreme Court of Pakistan has come out categorically in favour of lifting the lockdown, the uncertainty about it seems to be disappearing.

From a strict lockdown to a smart lockdown, the nation has been reeling from the shocks inflicted by Covid-19 and the fumbling done by the federal and provincial governments.

Yes, thousands die daily from ‘normal’ causes — flu, dengue, heart and pulmonary diseases, kidney failures, cancer, and accidents, but these deaths do not mean we should ignore a given epidemic. A pandemic is a pandemic, and it has own unavoidable demands. Let more people die simply because thousands of others die from other causes daily?

President Donald Trump too referred to thousands dying every month from flu and was made fun of. He then had no choice but to impose a lockdown on his people, but the lockdown is being lifted. The same is the case with some of the European countries like Italy and Spain, which have suffered most from coronavirus.

But, it should be noted, the lockdown there was imposed successfully by the state machinery and the people — responsible, conscious of their duties as citizens and adhering to the law of the land — cooperated with the government fully.

In Pakistan, even if the federal and provincial governments were sincere in implementing the lockdown, the people were anything but cooperative. Even religious lobbies refused to cooperate because they had their own reasons. One may not agree with them, but lots of people listened to them. Thus the ban on congregational prayers was only partially successful.

The choice for Pakistan is difficult. The economy, which was in the doldrums even before the virus, has taken a massive hit and is unlikely to recover soon because of the closure of businesses and industry.

But you cannot have an indefinite lockdown because those who earn their wages daily have suffered a great deal. Those who earn their wages daily are not necessarily coolies and uneducated workers who dig, sweep and clean; this category includes taxi and rickshaw drivers, owners of ride-hailing vehicles, petty shopkeepers and such semiskilled workers as welders, cobblers, vendors, locksmiths, launderers, barbers, pushcart operators, masons and clay pot makers.

They depend on money earned daily from people who need their services. Their condition is pitiable. Therefore, lifting the lockdown for their benefit has merits, but at what cost? More deaths from the virus?

The truth is this: no conclusive evidence has emerged about coronavirus. Research institutions in China, Japan and the Western world are busy doing their job, but the epidemic is only half-a-year old and this doesn’t provide the researchers with enough timespan and enough number of cases to come to an internationally accepted cause, effect and remedy.

Theories about children differ; some research say they are the most vulnerable; some say they have a built-in defensive mechanism, etc. Lifting the ban on trains and intercity transport is a very controversial decision.

Briefly we have taken a decision whose utility or otherwise, will be judged in a couple of months.

Jamil Amir Mirza
Hyderabad

Published in Dawn, May 28th, 2020