Meeting in quarantine: The wrong message
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It was unexpected and shocking when Prime Minister Imran Khan, four days into quarantine after testing positive for coronavirus infection, chose to chair a meeting of his media team at his Bani Gala residence. Pictures of the meeting were released by his aides and in no time went viral on both social and mainstream media.
Although all participants, including the PM, were seen wearing masks and the PM sat at a distance from the rest of participants, a meeting with a quarantined coronavirus patient is a clear violation of health guidelines issued by the PM’s very government. As if the news of the meeting was not enough, some of those who participated in it later disclosed to the media that the prime minister had been holding other meetings too while in quarantine.
Imran Khan was not the first head of state to attend to government affairs in quarantine, but others did it either via telephone or video conferencing, not in person.
How pressing was the prime minister’s engagement? According to Information Minister, Shibli Faraz, the PM discussed a planned rally of opposition leader Maryam Nawaz which she was going to lead in Lahore before a questioning session related to a corruption case against her. Another subject, according to the PM’s former aide Yusuf Baig Mirza, was the subsidy his government was offering to keep the spiraling prices of essential commodities under control during the approaching fasting month of Ramadan. Interestingly and ironically, the prime minister reportedly also discussed at the meetings the implementation of COVID-19 guidelines during Ramadan.
Each of these issues may be important but it is very difficult to imagine that they were so urgent that the meetings had to be attended by the PM in person.
It was probably not the urgency of the situation or unavailability of technology which made the PM hold the meeting in person, but his personal attitude of not taking COVID-19 seriously. Despite appealing to the public at times to respect COVID-19 guidelines — likely under the moral pressure of his aides and international agencies — he has displayed a general disregard for precautions in the wake of the outbreak of the deadly disease.
Ahmed Bilal Mehboob
If it was an issue of national security or if an emergency situation was arising in the country, one would understand the extraordinary step to attend to them despite his medical condition, but subjects like Maryam Nawaz’s rally or Ramadan subsidies could easily wait or a trusted aide could handle them under PM’s guidelines communicated over the phone or even WhatsApp.
It was probably not the urgency of the situation or unavailability of technology which made the PM hold the meeting in person, but his personal attitude of not taking COVID-19 seriously. Despite appealing to the public at times to respect COVID-19 guidelines — likely under the moral pressure of his aides and international agencies — he has displayed a general disregard for precautions in the wake of the outbreak of the deadly disease.
Even during his hectic public engagements in Islamabad, Lahore and various locations in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa immediately before he was diagnosed with the coronavirus, the PM was seldom seen wearing a face mask while standing in the middle of a large group of people inaugurating a project here and delivering a speech there.
A picture is etched in memory where he is walking without a mask while the chiefs of the military and intelligence are next to him with their faces duly covered during a visit to the Inter-Services Intelligence headquarters in Islamabad when the first wave of COVID-19 hit the country.
Many of Imran Khan’s admirers consider these instances as acts of courage and proof of his valor, but others see this attitude as outright irresponsible of a popular leader whose example is followed by millions of followers.
The government is spending considerable resources on raising awareness of the threat of COVID-19, mobilizing celebrities to communicate the messages and putting in place standard operating procedures to prevent the virus spread.
It is not even allowed to enter public places without a face mask or adhering to social distancing rules, let alone when one has tested positive for COVID-19 and puts at risk the lives of others by exposing them to the highly contagious disease.
In the backdrop of strict government directives and rising numbers of people affected by the coronavirus, the PM who for many is a role model has set the wrong example by openly flouting the government’s health guidelines.
It is quite possible that Imran Khan did not intend to convey the wrong message which has now been widely disseminated through the pictures of his meeting. But irrespective of the intention, the damage now should be repaired by him repeatedly appealing to the public for health and safety protocols to be observed.
*Ahmed Bilal Mehboob is the president of Pakistan-based think tank, PILDAT.
Twitter: @ABMPildat
