The year of living anxiously.

Byline: Maleeha Lodhi

2020 was a devastating year for Pakistan as for the rest of the world. The year of the pandemic disrupted lives everywhere and tested people's endurance and resilience. As elsewhere, Pakistan too plunged into unmapped territory.

The government faced the biggest test of its tenure as its handling of Covid-19 was consequential to the evolving crisis. Initial management laid bare a vacillating approach as the government struggled to choose between prioritising lives or livelihoods. Of course, leaders across the world sought to find a balance between the two. But as many agreed, this was a false choice, because saving lives was necessary to save livelihoods.

In Pakistan the government's early messaging and actions left its policy approach unclear and incoherent. Mixed signals from the leadership did not initially convey the urgency or severity of the unfolding threat. Procrastination over social distancing measures and getting mired in a prolonged public debate about lockdown vs no lockdown, also conveyed indecisiveness.

The prime minister's tone changed when the number of cases rose. Yet weeks into the crisis centre-province coordination was found wanting. The prime minister's reluctance to reach out to provincial leaderships, especially of Sindh, prevented a unified policy from emerging. This continued until a National Command and Operation Centre was established. It was only after the NCOC took charge, with the army's help, that crisis management became more coherent. Even then premature self-congratulation by the government encouraged complacency when the virus was to wreak more havoc in its second wave - which continues. The opposition, for its part, showed little responsibility during the second surge, persisting with mass rallies despite the danger of contagion.

The government's performance on the domestic front will determine its political fortunes in 2021.

The government's stimulus packages and the enhanced Ehsaas programme were important steps to mitigate the pandemic's economic fallout. Protecting the vulnerable by Ehsaas emergency cash handouts of Rs159 billion, which benefited 15 million families, was widely appreciated. Overall economic management sought to soften the blows delivered by the pandemic. Official estimates put economic losses at Rs3 trillion. The macroeconomic situation improved in the second half of 2020 but major challenges remained unaddressed especially with debt and liabilities building up...