The rapid spread of the third and most dangerous wave of coronavirus, the steady increase in the number of patients and the trend of citizens not following the precautionary measures (SOPs), the government has announced more stringent measures in the interest of the people to control this global pandemic. Possible steps are being taken by the governmentin this regard, with the re-imposition of sanctions andfor the first time cases of violation of SOPs are being registered.The third wave of coronavirus is being described as more dangerous and is spreading rapidly, affecting a large number of children as well as adults. Earlier, children were considered safe from coronavirus, so not much attention has been paid to the development of vaccine for them, but now vaccine for children is in the process of preparation. Vaccine doses are not available in Pakistan according to the number of adults. Some countries have gifted vaccines to Pakistan which are in very limited quantities. The government will have to ensure the supply of vaccines as well as preparations.

When the Coronavirus catastrophe came to light last year, many countries were completely shut down, curfew-like sanctions were imposed, and we also had similar lockdown demands, which the Prime Minister continued to oppose. It was stated that the complete lockdown would force many people to go on hunger strike. The government was content with a partial lockdown and in the meanwhile a large amount of money was allocated for the welfare of the unemployed and distributed to the deserving people. Federal and Provincial Governments have made every effort to implement the SOPs issued by the NCOC. There have been complaints of cooperation and non-cooperation in this regard. However, as the situation in Pakistan being better than many other countries, many countries appreciated Pakistan’s initiatives and have achieved remarkable results by partially locked down in the same manner.But it is not requisite that only the steps taken in the past be effective in overcoming this third wave of Coronavirus, a new strategy will have to be devised using the previous steps.

Certainly, the government is doing everything possible to stop the spread of the coronavirus, but what is being done is ‘not necessary, there is no room for further action. The government has experts’ and besides them there are people who can make better suggestions and wherever good opinions come from, it should be used. The Pakistan Medical Association has termed the government’s measures and strategy to control corona virus as inadequate and ineffective. The PMA meeting in Lahore demanded the government to stop the spread of coronavirus, including Lahore, complete lockdown in major cities and implementation of Corona SOPs should be ensured.The government is strictly following SOPs, but is pursuing a policy of avoiding lockdowns, even though the President and the Prime Minister have been affected by the third wave of Coronavirus. Despite being affected, the Prime Minister says that we do not have the resources to close the country but when it comes to the survival of human lives then such tough decisions have to be made.

Both the government and the people seem to be in a state of turmoil. In view of the threat of a third wave of coronavirus, the people want to follow the SOPs, but the economic situation forces them to violate it.

 The government is also saying that we cannot afford severe lockdowns, but lockdowns are also being announced in areas with a positive case rate of more than 12%, so there is a need to get out of this dilemma with a clear and unequivocal policy to prevent and combat the third wave of coronavirus.The growing number of corona cases poses a serious threat that the available medical facilities will fail to cope with the large number of patients in large cities like Lahore where already life-saving equipment and facilities are running out, and delays in making quick and drastic decisions by the government could mean a major medical crisis. The government is right in its view that we cannot afford a lockdown, but at a time when the threat of a pandemic has become more alarming than expected, there is no choice but to take very serious and urgent measures. Only a strict lockdown for a few weeks with strict implementation of Coronavirus SOPs can stop the pandemic. The spread of COVID-19 pandemic is also demanding from the government, concerned agencies and the general public that everyone should play their role responsibly for the prevention of this coronavirus because a single failure in the prevention of Corona can be a prelude to great loss.

Wajeeha Bilal

In our history The Trojan War has somehow motivated the creativity of our writers and was celebrated in the Iliad and the Odyssey of Homer. It was a legendary warfare between the early Greeks and the people of Troy in the western Anatolia, around the 12^thor 13^th century.

In the conventional narrative, Paris, son of the Trojan king, ran off with Helen, wife of Menelaus of Sparta, whose brother Agamemnon then led an expedition against Troy. The war lasted 10 years, finally ending when the Greeks pretended to withdraw, leaving behind a large wooden horse with an attacking army concealed inside. When the Trojans brought the horse into their city, the hidden Greeks came out at night to destroy Troy and massacre its people.

It has been more than three millennia, and not much has changed, the accounts of the Trojan War continue to affectthe artists and writersas they maintain their relevance to the present situation of ongoing wars in the world.In many ways, Greek mythology is close to what the empowered have done for centuries. One appealing fact aboutthe crime against humanity is that if war is done over and again, then it must be done differently. Wars are never repeated the same way, but the enemy has a different way of constructing their Trojan horses every time. There is a deadly ignorance to the stories of war, a repetition of destruction and calamity with an endless suffering.

A Trojan Horse is some insipidchamber for hiding something within to get past defences or some other obstacle. Nowadays these are not mere wooden horses but backed up propagandas that help other countries invade war.

In March-April 2003, a joint military force from the United States and Great Britain invaded Iraq, quicklyovertakingthe Iraqi military and paramilitary forces. Overtime the United States reduced its charge in Iraq, leaving behind its TrojanHorse with a war zone from north to south, and east to west, as conflicting militant groups, political uprisings and foreign parties competedfor power at the cost ofthe Iraqis. The Trojan Horse effect led to a regional split that also consumed Europe with the refugee crisis andrecovered conventional biases in the West. The Middle East is more unstable and destroyed than it has ever been in the history. It is in a proxy war of a serious territorial involvement with no agreement in consideration. The Western Trojan claims to withdraw while Russia and China declare themselves on the global stage and assert open challenges. The entire world has suffered after a decade and a half of global violence and instability, but it remains a challenge as the Trojan horse propaganda poses daily threat for everyone.

The US also took its Trojan horse for the benefit of avenging its people, into Afghanistan in 2001, with a scanty knowledge of a land, often known as the ‘graveyard of empires’. Even in their prime the powerful might assume that they have not lost the war but all the three presidents since 2001 have not been able to keep up to the promised mission. The Trojan horse has postponed a May 2021 deadline, for its exit from Afghanistan, warning that an early withdrawal would let the terrorist groups to re-unite.

Considering the human rights violations and the treatment of minorities in India, especially Muslims, under the RSS-BJP regime, India is using every possible tool of oppression to build their Trojan horse. However, no amount of reprisal has been able to subjugate the Kashmiris. It has been a tale of agony and cruelty unleashed upon this beautiful land and its peoplewith security forces frequently conducting midnight raids and torturing unarmed citizens.

These violations have been comprehensively documented by the UN human rights machinery as well as international human rights and humanitarian organisations. India’s strategic relations with the United States have still not helped it to establish the trojan horse scenario because countries like Pakistan focus on highlighting human rights and the treatment of minorities especially in Kashmir.Mr Khan had also stated that the international pressure had revived his hope that India will be forced to resolve this issue peacefully and in accordance with the wishes of the Kashmiri people.

The U.S. in modern times has exhibited the most blatant display of double standard Trojan Horses. The U.S. on one hand hastens to sanction the China and other countries while at the same time pivots towards India completely ignoring the well-documented and internationally acknowledged ethnocide and human rights violations being perpetrated by the Indian Government in Kashmir. To further tilt the scales, the U.S. has included India in the Quad Group, aimed at containing China. It is further expected that India will be offered a major NATO partnership in the coming weeks, with major technological and defence cooperation implications. Without dissecting the human rights violations, it is safe to say that one rule applies to all. You can’t sanction one and cajole the other. If there ever was a modern-day example of Trojan Horse politics, the US – China policy in violation of human rights, would be one too stark to overlook.

Much of this turmoil could be prevented if the US, UK and other Western states pulled back their Trojan horse’s support for the ongoing wars and failed interventions. This accounts for an active participation for peace talks by the west and neighboring countries. Pakistan has religious and moral ties with the Muslim countries, and it has always provided moral and diplomatic support to the occupied states.

UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres recently said that he valued Pakistan’s part in the active functioning of the global body, naming the country a “fundamental partner of the United Nations”.

The situation may be depressing at the moment, but the world cannot give up hope, as people like us who stand against war and the construction of Trojan horses, continue to resist foreign tyranny. With our thoughts, words and actions we continue to provide moral support and appeal against the terrible hardships of war. Throughout history these wars and their effect seem inevitable and the only way we can avoid their repercussions is through an admittance that they began in error and are an ongoing propaganda.

(The writer has authored “The Conscious Ego” and “The Beautiful Present”.She runs “A Purposeful Life” blog)