What might have been
The Sindh government has received deserved kudos for its proactive handling of the Corvid-19 health emergency. The credit for this must go the Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah and his team. In a matter such as this, where politics has been set aside, and the CM allowed free reign, Mr Shah has shown what a difference an educated and professional approach can make.
Lest we forget, Mr Shah is a distinguished alumnus of Stanford University, California, where he did an MSc in structural engineering. He subsequently did a second Masters from the same university in Economic Systems Management, both degrees on an international scholarship.
While a student in the US, he made friends with a fellow engineer, contemporary and compatriot, Shahid Khaqan Abbasi who did his Bachelors in Electrical Engineering from the University of California, Los Angeles, and then a Masters in Electrical Engineering from George Washington University. The two have been pals ever since and have been in touch through the years, especially with matters relating to government policy, and lately we hear Mr Shah has also sought advice from Mr Abbasi on Corvid-19 management.
An important member of Mr Shah’s team is Health Minister Dr Azra Fazal Pechuho, an MBBS doctor from Dow Medical College, Karachi, and incidentally former President Asif Zardari’s sister. She is the architect of the health management side of this initiative, supported by Murtaza Wahab, advisor to the CM on Information. Had this dynamic team had the support of an educated, tried and tested Premier like Shahid Khaqan Abbasi, we can only imagine how well the rest of Pakistan might have dealt with this emergency.