Leadership matters.

Byline: Zahid Hussain

SO we are back to a 'smart lockdown' after a month of mayhem that has seen a relentless rise in the number of confirmed coronavirus cases in the country. There may be some signs of panic in the corridors of power with the latest projection crossing one million cases in the next few weeks, and yet there is no coherent strategy to deal with the crisis.

While the pandemic stares us in the face, the leadership continues to sow confusion with its flip-flops. There is still no sense of seriousness though the daily death toll is now over 100. Pakistan is now among the top 10 countries reporting the highest number of new daily cases of Covid-19. At this rate, the death toll could be in the thousands by the time the disease reaches its peak in mid-August.

With large numbers of medical staff down with the virus, the country's health system has already collapsed with hospitals turning away an ever-increasing number of patients. The federal government's reckless decision to reopen during the month of Ramazan, ignoring the warning by local and international health experts, has created a catastrophic situation.

While no section of society is safe from the rampaging virus, it is the poor and working classes that have been most affected by the infection. In a rare move, the World Health Organisation has urged Pakistan to return to lockdown. But the federal government has dismissed the warning saying the country could not afford a total shutdown. The prime minister continues to harp on his old anti-lockdown mantra.

Mixed messaging and downplaying the problem have confused the public.

Intriguingly, two days after he had rejected any move to reimpose the lockdown the National Coordination and Operation Centre (NCOC) ordered what it describes as a 'smart lockdown', sealing areas in 20 major cities and towns across the country. One wonders who made the decision.

It seems to be a repeat of the unilateral decisions taken by the provincial governments to shut down all business, ignoring the prime minister's advice against it in March. He has repeatedly denounced the move and even tried to undermine the efforts of the Sindh government to restrict movement and congregations. He was finally able to prevail and ordered the removal of all restrictions and reopened the economy prematurely. That wiped out success in mitigating the spread of the disease during the brief lockdown.

We are now in a much worse situation than we were a month ago as...