“We must fight Corona being a Pakistani nation”
“We will make new story in new era being Indians”.
The popular words in Pakistan & viral song sung by Indian doctors fighting against corona, respectively appeared as symbol of ‘patriotism’ of the middle classes of neighboring but rival countries during pandemic.
Pakistani Prime Minister as usual expressed his commitment to fight against Corona in his 3 continual speeches to nation within fortnight differing with lock-down announced by provincial governments but begging funds for relief of which preparation is yet to be done. While Indian P.M Narindera Moodi announced countrywide lockdown claiming necessary to save India and every citizen of India.
Indian media broadcasted strict actions of police against violators but failed to broadcast the story of a poor man in Bengal beaten to death by police when came out to purchase milk. Despite no written order from the high command, the police is familiar with the state policy that it is better to kill poor than to render the middle & upper classes unsafe. In Pakistan the technocrats are worry of spreading corona through street children picking up papers etc from garbage ignoring the factual position on record spreading of corona virus through clean nobles, religious and liberal persons came from abroad specially from KSA,UAE, Iran & Europe.
The governments in both of the countries implemented no policy in respect of arrangement of transport, food & night stay for the workers who had to leave the locked down cities. In India within 24 hours of strict implementations at least two dozens of workers died, out of thousand others, on way to their native towns from Delhi on foot. The last words communicated by one of them namely Ranveer Singh to his family superseded all the other viral communications in respect of corona:
“Lene Aa sakte Ho to Aajao”
(If you can take me, Come”)
Similarly from Karachi poor people arranged their journeys to native towns through full packed last trains, in trucks & containers hiding themselves in luggage, patrol and cattle casting their lives in danger.
Such initial incidents overruled the arguments advanced by the liberals & liberals’ affected left renouncing any kind of criticism upon authorities but to fight against corona. Spreading hunger, empty pockets, closure of government hospitals and failure on behalf of the government in providing basic necessities of life to the downtrodden masses is sufficiently exposing the government policy to save the riches & middle class quiet different from the way they allegedly are ‘saving’ the poor citizens. Such discriminatory polices rendered the proofs of citizenships i.e. ration card, national identity card, passport or any other official documents insufficient to treat one as a citizen in all fields of any country likewise India or Pakistan. Holding immoveable and moveable properties are basic requirements of a practical citizenship. Safety of life is subject to possess something in addition to one’s power of labour. You should be in condition to watch Ramayan or Zakir Nayak on TV during lockdown. The homeless people are advised to remain in homes. Pertinent to mention an old Indian commercial wherein the telephone department conditioned the identity of any person subject to installation of landline phone: possible in case of holding an immoveable property. The working masses are recognizing well, due to Corona crisis, that they are not the part of decision making forces and also that the Lockdowns do not mean to save all countrymen but the privileged classes who are equal target of deadly virus therefore the working masses in whole of their lives never faced any lockdown in the so-called normal times when viruses of hunger, starvation & poverty had been killing large numbers of people for years. In Rajhistan state of India hundreds of peasants reportedly committed individually & group/family suicides due to failure in reimbursement of banks’ loan in view of strict polices of Transnational Corporate dealing with agricultural sector. No medical doctor sung any song for new India free from such suicides & miserable conditions of the poor people especially when examining the bodies of deceased persons. Similarly in Pakistan thousands have been dying since 2013 in Thar (a desert area) whereas only in 10 months of 2018 deaths of more than 500 children were officially reported, lest the other who died in far flung areas. The Pakistani Elite & Middle Classes never paid any attention towards mass killings of people of Thar rather they were happy with their (so-called) heroes who while investing billions of rupees in & starting project to generate electricity from Thar coal did never bother to install tube wells in drought affected areas of Thar. The religious clergies awarding titles of martyrdoms to the victims of corona remained silent in respect of thousands died due to starvation & drought in Thar. But neither the suicides were bound of borders nor does the hunger & starvation confine to Thar. In other areas of Pakistan dozens commit suicides due to hunger & unemployment every year whereas the last one was reported in Karachi on 29th March 2020 of a young man namely Sarfaraz leaving behind him 2 minor daughters (& a fetus in his wife’s womb) due to lack of amount to be spent upon his sickness along with apprehension of corona. In 2012 leading newspaper The Dawn reported suicide appearing as only solution of elimination of poverty in Pakistan. In Balochistan dozens mines workers die in accidents every month but no government ever tried to implement the mandatory safety laws in view of the gratifications of Millions of dollars every year from the contractors and mines’ owners. The working class of industrial Hub of Pakistan does not forget dual & hypocritical state stance especially of the Supreme Court of Pakistan of taking suo moto action upon murder of Shahzaib belonging to a wealthy middle class family but ignoring the killings of hundreds in Baldia Textile factory in Karachi wherein the owner & management of the factory locked the gates in order to save the production from alleged theft confining and leaving hundreds of burning workers including majority of the young girls at the mercy of flames. Similar steps also were taken by the factory owners in Bangladesh for years which prove the kinship of the capitalists based not upon blood or nationality but upon class interests. Despite lapse of eight years the responsible of closing the gates are free from clutches of law. The incidents of rape & outraging of modesty of female tenants in Pakistani rural areas are routine those (upon which even law enforcing agencies do not bother to take actions) but the unchecked rapid growth of sexual child abuse, especially in KPK & Punjab illustrates the priorities of the governments. Increasing deaths of the poor people in government hospitals even due to mild illnesses are evident of collapse of health sector. Wards of the hospitals are more rubbish than the toilet of any house. Most of the senior medical doctors who are receiving guards of honours nowadays, before corona outbreak forced the patients for treatment in their private hospitals & clinics instead of government those from where they draw their salaries. The offer of checkup & treatment in private clinics etc is not only for private fee but is result of offers by the TNCs of handsome commission subject to their prescriptions advising excess of medicines irrespective of side & after effects of irrelevant & unnecessary medicines upon stomach, liver & kidneys of the patient. In view of such social trends and traditions one must not be astonished finding traders, pharmaceutics & shopkeepers in black-marketing and undue increase in prices of life necessity items. While showing its helplessness, the government of Pakistan is completely silent to share the detail of expenditures of the redirected $ 40 Million (PKR 6.8 Billion) (obtained from World Bank) to be utilized against Corona. No one knows about the Hundreds of Billions of Rupees allegedly recovered from different politicians lying in the ostensible (benami) bank accounts. After donation in gift an amount of Rs. 50 Million to the private cyber team of ruling party from government exchequer the act of describing the miserable conditions of the poor masses by Pakistani PM is contemptuous one making fun of their poverty.
The worse circumstances and miserable conditions of poor masses of the Sub-continent, for whom virus may become deadly, remind us the declaiming of Karl Marx in 1848 that the workers have no country.
But the outbreak of Pandemic is going to disclose actual category of MC in the world of Transnational Corporate. Whereas the states affairs cannot contradict with the larger interests of these corporate hence the odds of contradictions between government authorities and MC consists of government employees, officers, private enterprises, technicians, medical officers, small businessmen cannot be ruled out. Pro-corporate policies of Pakistani PM, which accelerated corona outbreak and collapse of health sector, and criminal failure of screening at entry points at airport & border, have quarantined him politically. The announcement of so-called Tiger Force is considered as lack of trust upon the country’s security forces and army deployment of which already had been requested by the provincial governments.
The former Pakistani Federal Minister Atta-Ur-Rehman warned of higher infected rates than the figures announced by the federal government. Constant hesitation in declaring lockdown, which already had been announced through issuance of notifications in suspicious way, will sharpen the conflicts among privileged classes in Pakistan. The deaths of high profiles persons in Spain & Iran as well as suicide of German Finance Minister created panic in different rows of upper & middle classes. Those who spent large portions of their lives, devoted their educational qualifications, capabilities & carriers serving the interests of companies, corporate and of bureaucracy now are worry on the issue of numbers of ventilators in country. But tragedy is this that they have no history of resistance when always ignored & condemned every kind of resistance & voice against hunger, starvation, poverty & social injustice hence their agitation shall be confined to the social media. They are also afraid of each other such as in Pakistan they are still at odd with each on sectarian basis whereas in response of Sunni MC Censure against Shia visitors, the Shia MC reminds the former figures of carriers of infection returned from Umrah or Dubai: despite being knowing aware that neither any Ayatullah nor any Khadim Haram Sharif could send any medical or food aid to them. The Arab Sheikhs who in every winter hunted the innocent Siberian birds in Rahimyar Khan, Kharan and Killa Saifullah did not bother to inquire the conditions of their Pakistani hosts in corona crisis. It seems the foreign Masters are aware of the fate of many sections of Middle & upper classes in coming years.
Nevertheless the ruling elite and authorities may endure to do more for the class remained their crutch for decades by restraining the downtrodden masses from uprising against the former through exploiting the religions, national spirit, ethics, culture and traditions. But the rotten & decayed social and financial structure is unable to save the skins of the middle class from the severe attacks of corona. The so-called systems which remained fail to provide clean drinking water to the people in past seven decades can never face the sudden attacks of the pandemic. The banks are running empty of cash. There is complete shortage of life saving drugs & food in markets. The governments expressed their failure and incapability while begging for food and medical items when they never begged for purchasing of tanks & fighter jets. In the wake of coming downsizing of white collar employments the reimbursement issues of credit may lead to many of them in conditions worse than the daily wagers. Decline in the prices of immovable properties, which already halted before outbreak, will make the lives of survivors dreadful more than death. The advice of restoration of relations during lock-down would become futile in coming economic crisis in the wake of corona along with realization upon certain politicians that the TNCs were better aware of the status of tissue paper after being used.
Nusrat Khan Afghani
Coordinator Bolshevik Group of Studies
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