DAWN EDITORIALS Saturday 16 May, 2020 By M.

Usman

Violating SOPs (Standard Operating Procedures/Guidelines)

A VIRUS which has wreaked havoc in far more developed countries is gaining
ground in Pakistan, yet the public largely appears to have thrown caution to the
wind and is resuming commercial activities as if it is somehow immune to the
coronavirus. Even as daily new cases rise, the relaxations in the lockdown
continue and the public seems to be in no mood to comply with SOPs. A record
jump in Covid-19 cases was reported only days after the reopening of markets,
with total cases crossing the 35,000 mark and deaths at 820. Even as these
figures climb, scenes in commercial hubs are reminiscent of pre-Covid-19
activity at shopping centres in the days ahead of Eid. People are cramming into
shops — many of them without face coverings — and blatantly flouting the
government’s orders on limiting the possibility of transmission. As a result,
provincial governments have been forced to take action by shutting down
shopping centres for violating SOPs despite repeated warnings by the
authorities.

This lax attitude of traders and shoppers towards their self-protection raises
several questions. Why is it that so many people are unaware of the risks of
contracting the potentially fatal virus and the circumstances in which it spreads?
The answer lies in the government’s messaging. Despite the fact that it has been
more than two months since the first Covid-19 case was detected in the country,
the authorities have failed to convince the public of its danger. This attitude is
alarming and will come with very high costs; it can partly be attributed to the
popularity of conspiracy theories which historically find many takers — such as
the notion that Covid-19 will not affect people in countries with warm
temperatures or that the BCG vaccine protects against it. Ironically, some public
figures, including the governor of Sindh, also perpetuated the mistaken belief
that the coronavirus is not much worse than the seasonal flu.

The government must act responsibly and ensure that its message is unequivocal
and lays out the facts: that the virus can be fatal, that there is no way to protect
oneself other than by limiting contact, and that there is no guarantee that
Pakistan’s numbers will remain lower than in the West. Since it has made the
decision to reopen the country and is relying so heavily on individual
responsibility, the government must fulfil its duty to educate and protect the
public. In order to communicate effectively and send a clear message that is
ingrained in the psyche of the nation, the federal and provincial governments
must work together. Sadly, the coronavirus pandemic has shown the same, if not
worse, political discord among political parties. The government must move
towards a working consensus with the opposition parties as disharmony will
further dilute the message trickling down to the average citizen. Bickering and
unending blame games will not yield results.

Vocb

Wreaked havoc: caused destruction. Comply: submit, obey

Reminiscent: remind memory of past. Flouting: dismissing, rejecting
Lax attitude: careless and loose Attitude. Unequivocal: clear-cut, exact
Ingrained: imprinted, deeply rooted. Dilute: make weaken
Trickling down: to flow in a slow manner Bickering: arguing, fighting
Let Kashmir breathe

PAKISTAN has once again called on the world to take urgent notice of the
unending asphyxia that the Kashmiris have been subjected to and demanded that
the held valley be at least allowed the supply of medicine and food. Giving a
policy statement in the Senate on Thursday, Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood
Qureshi lambasted the Indian government, holding it responsible for the
situation in occupied Kashmir in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic. The
communal mindset of the Narendra Modi set-up has been fully reflected in how
the rulers in New Delhi have inspired through their actions a witch-hunt in
which zealots have painted Muslims as ‘willing’, indeed ‘sponsored’ carriers of
the coronavirus. The minister’s words captured some of the anger with which
these preposterous insinuations against a large religious group in a country that
calls itself a democracy have been greeted. Mr Qureshi linked the escalation in
cross-LoC violations by the Indian army to New Delhi’s desire to deny the
world a clear, unblocked view of what it is like to live under an occupying
force. There have been more than 900 instances of such violations since
January. When one looks at the steep increase in these violations since the new
order under which India forcibly snatched the occupied region’s special
autonomous status was enforced last year, an increasingly grim picture emerges.

A lot has been in turmoil since the annexation of a thinking, breathing people
whose aspirations for freedom have been well-documented over decades.
Countries across the world are experiencing the feeling of isolation during the
Covid-19 pandemic. People and governments, scholars, politicians and
lawmakers of all stripes have suffered from a sudden denial of essential
freedoms as the number of infected individuals rises. They had taken their
liberties for granted and it can be safely assumed that they at least wished others
to lead their lives with the same degree of freedom they enjoyed. They must
have seen the virus as a confirmation of what the deprivation of freedom can do
and how it can be overcome. Experts hopefully talk about a new world
emerging from this horrifying bout with the virus, shrugging off all that scarred
the previous one. A humane approach, culminating in freedom, towards
subjugated peoples everywhere must be one of the main themes around which
this new world is to be created.

Vocab

1. Asphyxia: lack of oxygen, suffocating

2. Lambasted: beat mercilessly, strongly articulated
3. witch-hunt: searching out or harassing targeted people
4. zealots: extremely fanatical and radical in political or religious cause
5. preposterous: ridiculous, illogical
6. insinuation: practice of gaining favour through indirect means
7. escalation: increase, intensification
8. turmoil: a State of great disturbance
9. bout: a short period of intense activity or event
10. culminating: reach a climax or highest position
Postponed cricket

THE recent postponement of the Pakistan cricket team’s tour to Ireland in July
due to the coronavirus pandemic is a setback to the respective cricket boards as
well as to the game itself. Cricket, like all other sports, has been severely hit,
compelling the ICC and affiliated boards to desperately look for alternatives and
reschedule tours. Pakistan, too, is beginning to feel the heat. Following the
unfinished fifth edition of the PSL in February, back-to-back postponement of
tours to the Netherlands and Ireland have come as an additional jolt to Pakistan
that was looking forward to an unusually busy international calendar. Quite
often in the past, the PCB has been blamed for failing to negotiate a busy
cricketing season. With home assignments next to nil in the aftermath of the
terrorist attack on the Sri Lankan team in Lahore in 2009, the players looked to
the PCB to rope in overseas assignments to keep them motivated and earn a
substantial sum. It is, therefore, to the PCB’s credit that not only was home
cricket revived, but a busy, lucrative season had also been planned.

The pandemic, though, is threatening to spoil all that. While the Netherlands
and Ireland tours include a few T20 games each, the PCB is really worried
about the fate of the England tour in late July, which comprises a three-Test
series and as many T20 Internationals. The tour is equally, if not more,
important for the England and Wales Cricket Board which is also grappling with
the impact of the pandemic. Both Pakistan and England appear willing to play
behind closed doors if their respective governments, medical advice and time
frames allow. What must be admired, however, is that despite the postponed
tours, the PCB has not resorted to desperate measures. The board’s CEO Wasim
Khan, though expressing his disappointment at the postponement of the Ireland
tour, said it was absolutely the right thing to do as human lives were far more
important than a cricket match or event.
DAWN OPINIONS

Some take science seriously

Parvez hoodby

The writer teaches physics in Lahore and Islamabad.

WHEN the coronavirus suddenly emerged in Wuhan province, panicked

Chinese authorities botched it badly and were sharply criticised internationally.
Yet rapid self-correction led to a systematic, comprehensive and coordinated
response. Soon China ‘flattened the curve’ drawing praise from everywhere
(except the US). Now, by sending thousands of ventilators and millions of
masks overseas, China is re-imaging itself as a world leader battling the
pandemic.
China succeeded because it takes science seriously — very seriously. When its
epidemiologists saw Titanic speeding towards an iceberg, they demanded
drastic action. Raised in a culture of science, the Chinese political establishment
concurred and soon engineered the largest mass mobilisation in recent world
history. Imposing country-wide quarantines, building a score of temporary
hospitals, and meticulously locating all who might have encountered the virus,
China showed what a disciplined, rational and collective response could do.
The United States, undoubtedly the world’s most scientifically advanced
country, could have done still better. Approximately 18 American citizens have
died for every Chinese one and so the urgency is greater. But a quirk of history
has put at America’s head an extreme right-wing, science-bashing president
who just rebuked his country’s senior-most epidemiologist, cut off funds to the
World Health Organisation, and ordered America to end its lockdown.
The state’s scorn for science and surrender to religious forces has put
Pakistan’s millions in danger.
Trump’s approval rating still hovers around 50 per cent — a sad thing for a
nation that the world once admired but now mocks. Nevertheless, its suffering
could have been still worse. Fortunately, Americans had the good sense not to
buy into the crazy prescription of a lunatic — even if he’s their president — and
self-inject Lysol/Dettol as protection against the virus. The mask remains
mandatory and social-distancing has lessened but slightly.
Ordinary Americans are partially overcoming Trumpism because they, like
ordinary Chinese, were raised inside a cocoon of rationality. Evangelists aside,
all others accept that disease comes from viruses and bacteria, not God’s wrath.
All who went to high school learned at least a few things there. Proper
education pays.
What of Pakistan, both leadership and people? An image coming to mind is that
of Prime Minister Imran Khan reverentially listening to Maulana Tariq Jamil at
a fundraiser where the latter piteously bleated to the heavens for forgiveness and
blamed scantily clad women for bringing down divine punishment. Another
image: though in dotage, Khan follows Trump in refusing to wear a mask lest
his appeal be diminished. His unfazed followers say no evil virus can defeat a
brave man under God’s protection.
But all bravery evaporates when up against religious forces. Suspecting that the
government was planning to close mosques and shrines, in a rare display of
unity both Sunni and Shia ulema sent a stern warning. In response, President
Arif Alvi declared mosques could remain open subject to 20 conditions agreed
upon by the government and ulema. Like everyone else, he knew it was a farce.
Indeed, the ink was still wet when flagrant violations were reported in about 80
per cent of the country’s mosques.
Thereafter the floodgates crashed down. After a brief hiatus, public places are
now teeming with unmasked and ungloved people who have recklessly
abandoned all to fate and chance. Food, footwear, and clothing markets are
packed. Even as Covid deaths spiral up, life is normalising everywhere except
where priorities are low — such as education. Although younger people are
statistically at lower risk all schools, colleges, and universities in Punjab will
remain closed until July 15.
What makes ordinary Pakistanis so much more religiously charged and difficult
to handle than Muslims elsewhere? Saudi Arabia plans to enforce a countrywide
five-day-long 24-hour curfew over the forthcoming Eidul Fitr, while Iran’s
interior minister says the government is still debating whether to impose a full
lockdown on that day.
But to ban congregational prayers, and follow the steps taken by other Muslim
countries, is impossible for Pakistan. Even if the government was to so decide,
ordinary policemen and foot soldiers would likely disobey received orders. The
bitter experiences of moving against the Taliban in the aftermath of 9/11 have
yet to fade from the minds of the military establishment.
President Alvi therefore had no choice other than seek face-saving. Whether
half-civilian, mostly-military, or full military, every government must mollify
the likes of Maulana Abdul Aziz of Lal Masjid because mullahs control the
masses. The state tried choosing co-optation over confrontation, but this was
sensed — correctly — as a sign of weakness.
Might more education fix the problem? Very often one hears that expanding
education will induce a more rational outlook and bring Pakistan closer to more
enlightened and more governable Muslim countries like Turkey, Malaysia, or
Morocco. But if education means the stuff which presently goes under that
name, then this cannot happen.
The core impediment to greater rationality is that particular interpretation of our
national slogan Faith-Unity-Discipline (and permutations thereof) which gained
currency during the Ziaul Haq era. It has since remained dominant. In seeking to
create national unity through faith alone, the price paid was a demotion of
reason and a demotion of trust in temporal institutions. This reduced
governability. Whatever laws the state now makes are regarded by the public as
man-made and distinctly secondary to orders received from a much higher
authority.
This mindset permeates every aspect of life. Reforming education and creating a
critical mindset becomes extraordinarily difficult in these circumstances.
Science — impossible without scientific thinking — remains stuck despite large
injections of money. Pakistanis do not question science’s utility for making
bombs, machines, and medicines. But any step-by-step process that demands
carefully weighing empirical evidence is culturally alien. Few encounter it in
school, even while studying science subjects.
No one knows what price Covid-19 will extract for our disrespect of science and
reason. Epidemiology and virology lack the exactness of physics so even our
best experts can provide only guesstimates and advise on setting strategies. But
since science is little understood or valued, their recommendations fall on deaf
ears. If lucky, Pakistan’s final death toll will be limited to a few thousands.
What’s certain, however, is that this ship’s crew and captain are powerless to
steer it away from the iceberg ahead.
Blindly to oblivion (going towards a state of complete forgetfulness)

EVER since I started reading the newspapers, the phrase ‘Pakistan at the
crossroads’ has entered my consciousness and my vocabulary.

Except this time, it’s where the whole world finds itself. And it’s not just the
Covid-19 pandemic I’m talking about. We are at the intersection of multiple
crises that threaten our planet as we know it. And the fact that they are of our
own making should make us reflect.

Consider: apart from the dreaded Covid-19 virus that is currently raging across
the world, other dangers are threatening us in ways that are as deadly as they are
widespread. Firstly, there is the earth’s environment that is being poisoned at an
unprecedented rate. Our oceans are rising rapidly as icebergs melt, and
thousands of miles of coastal land are at risk of submersion.

As agricultural soil is pumped full of chemicals, our bodies are forced to absorb
lethal quantities of toxins. Many rivers, streams and lakes are no longer capable
of sustaining life. Entire species of animals, birds, fish and insects have been
wiped out. According to CNN’s Fareed Zakaria, some 80 billion animals are
killed every year to satisfy the hunger of an increasingly affluent mankind that
craves meat.

Self-created flashpoints threaten to devastate society.

By forcing chickens and other unfortunate beasts to live in dark, confined

spaces and feeding them hormones and antibiotics, we not only end up ingesting
harmful chemicals, but also force the pathogens they are carrying to jump to
other species, and ultimately create viruses like Covid-19.

Another self-created flashpoint that threatens to devastate society is a global

economic system that is unjust and cruel. As the poor and the vulnerable suffer
most from Covid-19 — as they do from other diseases — we can see why the
deprived are becoming increasingly resentful of a system that keeps them poor
while a tiny minority rakes it in.
An example of this obscenely unfair distribution lies in the fact that 0.1pc of the
top earn 196 times as much as the bottom 90pc. The Guardian informed us
recently that in the UK, 21.4 males in low-paid jobs out of 100,000 have died of
Covid-19 as against 5.6 with white-collar jobs.

Meanwhile, water scarcity is increasing at an alarming rate. According to the

World Wildlife Fund, 1.1bn people lack access to fresh water, and two million,
mostly children, die every year from diarrhoeal diseases. Many go blind due to
bacteria in polluted water.

I could go on, but the point here is that for the most part, the perils we face are
self-created. We certainly can’t ascribe them to fate, foreign plots or divine
punishment.

As Karl Marx had observed so presciently in the 19th century, there is an inbuilt
contradiction at the heart of capitalism. As nations fight with growing intensity
over resources and markets, and the rich get richer at the expense of the working
class, conflict is inevitable.

We can see this happening now as China and America squabble over sea routes.
Thus far, the US has dominated the East China Sea, but a rising China is now
challenging this hegemony. In the Eastern Mediterranean, Turkey is at
loggerheads with France, Egypt and the UAE over its attempts to drill for
offshore oil in the Cypriot economic zone. Libya is another flashpoint. The
collapse in oil prices will probably cause exporters to struggle to capture
shrinking markets.

So what do we do to halt this reckless slide towards global suicide? Since all the
problems I have mentioned are man-made, the solutions ought not to be beyond
our grasp. But easier said than done. Thus far, mankind’s motto has been:
‘Everybody for himself, and the devil take the hindmost.’

History shows us that cooperation between nations has been a rare and passing
thing. We have to be pushed to the brink before we even think of working with
our neighbours. For instance, India and Pakistan should be cooperating to
overcome the growing problems of water scarcity and polluted air both
countries face. Instead, they keep picking at a 70-year old scab.

China and the US should be using their sophisticated research facilities to

develop a vaccine against Covid-19. Instead, they are trading insults.

The European Union, the most successful example of post-war cooperation, is

under threat after the UK’s decision to pull out of the grouping.

Aggressive marketing and overconsumption have driven much of the

environmental degradation we are witnessing. Families want two cars after
acquiring one; every few months our mobile phones are deemed obsolete and
need to be replaced. The era of planned obsolescence has produced mountains
of junk and rising aspirations.

So what’s to be done? If we are to solve a problem, we need to explain to people

that it really exists, and its ramifications for the planet and the individual. We
must control the population and our appetite for new products, and develop an
economic system based on greater equality.

If Covid-19 won’t do it, nothing will.

New financial order
Hussain Farooq

ALLIED forces had launched an offensive against the Germans in France, and
the Soviets were busy fighting the Germans on the Eastern Front. Paris was yet
to be liberated when delegates from the Allied countries in July 1944 started
gathering in Bretton Woods at the Mount Washington Hotel — a hotel that was
closed in 1942, and was bought by a Boston syndicate in 1944 — for a
monetary conference that would later reshape the international financial system,
resulting in the hegemony of the US and creation of institutions like the IMF.
Front-line soldiers in the British VIII Corps were busy threatening the Germans,
while leaders of the Allied nations were penning down a new financial world
order.

By the time the Bretton Woods conference was called, Britain was already
emerging as a debt-ridden nation, and the stage was set for the US — with its
huge gold reserves and a gold-backed currency — to take the role of a global
leader.

Some 75 years later, the world is facing a pandemic that is nothing less than a
financial apocalypse. The coronavirus pandemic may appear to be a pivotal
matter for many policymakers — but that, for sure, is not the only crisis
looming. US politicians as well as the intelligence dossier from the Five Eyes
network are blaming China for negligence or a cover-up of Covid-19 to the
“endangerment of other countries”, while Chinese state-run media is asking the
US to explain, inter alia, the reasons behind the sudden closure of its Maryland
bio-weapons lab. What’s troubling is that while some US politicians are
pointing to the Wuhan Institute of Virology as the possible point of origin of
SARS-cov-2, the National Institute of Health in the US is now being
investigated for previously providing funding to the same Wuhan institute in
excess of $3 million.

Amid this exchange of accusations, the situation in the South China Sea is also
getting serious as Beijing is flexing its muscles on the one hand, while the US
and Australian navies have been conducting joint military exercises on the
other.

It’s time to rethink the global economy.

The age-old question, ‘Quis custodiet ipsos custodes’ (who will govern the
governors) could not be more befitting.

The peace situation in the Middle East, North Africa and South Asia region is
also far from ideal. The uprising of Libya’s ‘Don Quixote’, Haftar, against the
UN-recognised government; escalation of tensions in Syria; and Israel’s rush to
annex the West Bank are doing little to contribute to global peace in these
sensitive times. In South Asia, friction between the arch rivals — India and
Pakistan — is growing.

These separate events, if viewed concurrently, do have the potential of turning

into major conflicts — or even a war in the medium term — which may result in
increased oil prices and could take a devastating toll on human population and
economies.

Major armed conflicts, coupled with such a pandemic, may also result in
shifting the balance of power.
The US economy is estimated to contract by some -6 per cent this year, while
that of China is projected to grow around 1pc, according to the IMF.
Unemployment in the US has hit record levels, and the Committee for a
Responsible Federal Budget is projecting the US budget deficit to exceed $3.8
trillion this year. China, in an effort to circumvent the dollar as a payment
system, is moving to roll out its sovereign digital currency, according to China
Daily. China may also let the yuan appreciate against the dollar at the ‘right’
time as the yuan is widely believed to be undervalued, something that gives
Chinese exports a competitive advantage.

Whether some digital or asset-backed version of Renminbi, or some other

digital currency, will emerge as a transcontinental payment-settlement method
remains to be seen, but the global confidence in the dollar as the reserve
currency is on the decline. As Joseph Stiglitz, a Nobel Laureate and former
chief economist at the World Bank, put it in his UN speech in 2009: “The
system in which the dollar is the reserve currency is a system that has long been
recognised to be unsustainable in the longer run.”

History tells us that Rome was not built in a day; nor was the sterling dethroned
as global currency in one day. According to an IMF estimate, in the early years
post-World War II, the official sterling reserves were four times the value of
official USD reserves. By the 1960s, as Prof Catherine R. Schenk argues, the
US dollar was not a strong rival to the pound, but rather the lesser of two evils.

Amid this pandemonium, there lies an opportunity for the global leaders to
reconvene and contemplate redesigning an inclusive and sustainable monetary
system — a system that does not favour a particular country — because only an
equal world can be an enabled world.
Vaccine for success
Fahad Hussain

The writer is Dawn’s resident in Islamabad.

IN the fight against Covid-19, some countries have registered certified

successes while many others have been spectacular failures. On this spectrum,
where is Pakistan located?

In order to make this assessment, it may be prudent to first lay out some caveats.
First, since the global struggle against the virus is nowhere near an end, success
and failure are relative in terms of time and scale. Second, the first round of this
war — which is currently under way — is probably the hardest. With each
passing day, the odds will shift in favour of the world because countries will
learn lessons, build immunity and get closer to a vaccine. Third, the measure of
a country’s performance will be judged not just on the fatality rate but also on
the way its leadership processed the challenge, crafted a comprehensive strategy
and executed it with clarity and conviction.

Caveats aside, how do we measure success? Given the complexity of data and
the fluidity of the situation, there could be a number of metrics that could be
used to compare and contrast countries that have done well with those that have
floundered. Some may want to use fatality rate as a rough measure while others
may prefer the ‘R0’ factor (pronounced as R-Nought). This number describes
the number of people one patient can infect. If the R0 of a country falls below
1.0, it means the infection is waning because technically one patient on an
average is not infecting another person. Countries that have succeeded in
bringing down their R0 under 1.0 can be considered models of success. And yet,
there are also some issues with the accuracy of R0 and many experts tend to
doubt its value as an indicator of performance.

Today, we have righted some wrongs and wronged some rights.

Other experts and political leaders may expand the parameters of the success
quotient and include factors like the impact on the economy, effects on the
vulnerable segments of the population or even the capacity levels of healthcare
facilities in dealing with the pressure from Covid-19. However, the final
evaluation may encompass most if not all of these metrics in order to reach a
conclusion about who did well and who did not.

The period January – May 2020 tells a story that is slightly less complicated in
its evaluation of success and failure. In this story, some countries stand out for
their success in controlling the spread of Covid-19 before it could wreak havoc
in terms of infections and fatalities. Prominent among them are China, South
Korea, Germany and New Zealand. All have won Round One against the virus
and have learned valuable lessons for Round Two, whenever that erupts.

In this initial story, there are also some countries which can safely be considered
failures in their response to the challenge. The ones that stand out are the US,
pop UK Italy and possibly Iran. The failure of these countries is measured in the
thousands of lives lost. Some recognised their mistakes and moved swiftly to
correct them. The damage however had been done.

What was common between the countries that have won Round One?
One, their leaders were swift in recognising the threat. Two, they understood
very quickly that the only way to slow the spread of the virus was to lock down
without delay and start aggressive testing. Three, they understood lockdown
would not make the virus go away but would allow them time to beef up their
medical defences and provide space for other measures. Four, they figured out
that lockdown could not be sustained for long so they had to achieve the most
out of the limited time for lockdowns they had. So they ensured a complete and
strict lockdown, extracted the most out of this time, suppressed the spread of the
infection, and opened the lockdown. Their strategy was clear, efficient, strict,
tangible and comprehensive. They got the job done.

What was common between countries that have lost Round One?

One, they underplayed the threat from Covid-19 and took it casually. Two, they
dithered. And wavered. And waffled. Once done with these, they flip-flopped,
then hemmed and hawed. Three, they wasted precious time at the start, time that
should have been utilised in taking swift, bold steps. Four, they created false
binaries and confused their citizens, thereby diluting the impact of the lockdown
and other measures (some later relented). Five, their countries paid a terrible
price for their faulty decision-making.

Where does Pakistan stand? In terms of infection and fatality rate we are not yet
in the red zone where our health structure is on the brink of being overwhelmed.
We do not know why the spread of infection and mortality is lower than feared
(no one in the world knows). Thanking the Almighty Allah SWT is something
we must all do and pray that the infection does not spiral out of control. But at
the same time, no one should gloss over what we have done (or not done) since
January.

The January – May 2020 story tells us the following about Pakistan: one, we
dithered. Two, we took corona lightly. Three, we wasted at least February and
two weeks of March. Four, the federal government provided weak leadership.
Five, we could not do the lockdown that was needed at the time it was needed.
Six, we politicised a public health issue.

Today, we have righted some wrongs and wronged some rights. In the
meantime our leadership is attempting to weaponise hope through operational
successes. This may not be a bad idea but the reality is that the gains we are
making in terms of upping our health facilities, instituting Tracing, Testing and
Quarantine (TTQ) and distributing cash aid through the Ehsaas (BISP)
programme — all this amounts to bandaging the wounds we inflicted on
ourselves in the initial days emulating the countries that have lost Round One.

This is precisely why our leadership continues to miss the point when it cites US
and UK as examples of how even rich countries could not cope with the
challenge. Pakistan’s leaders should be learning lessons from the countries that
won Round One instead of comparing themselves with countries that have lost
badly due to a failure of their leadership to provide leadership when such
leadership was required the most.