The News, January 16, 2006
Whom the gods want to destroy, they first turn mad
Ansar Abbasi
Qeum deus vult perdere, prius dementat. To translate from the Latin, whom the gods want to destroy, they first turn mad.
Just have a look around for a start. Are we or are we not behaving like madmen? God may bless us but I wonder how long prayers will work. We must change now before it is too late. Remember that Allah Almighty also says that He helps those who help themselves.
Ironically the general perception is that nothing moves as it ought in this country. With every passing day the bizarre store of uniquely Pakistani stories keeps adding to its stock, leaving listeners and readers wondering whether they should laugh or cry. How should we respond to the tale of a judge whose car was fined, twice, on the motorway for speeding? Instead of upholding the rule of law and rewarding the policemen who imposed the fine, despite knowing that the car belonged to a judge, the lawman moved to fix the law enforcers. Should we laugh?
When penalised for speeding on the motorway, a federal minister used his authority and disconnected all telephone connections along the highway. These were revived only when the minister got wind that the story had made its way to members of the media. The motorway is an exception where the rule of law is seen to be practiced at least 95 per cent of the time. Request to the mighty and powerful: please let this exception stay intact, just for a change.
The situation is far worse outside of the motorway. A federal minister thundered at a former inspector general police in Islamabad, asking him to produce the superintendent of police who had dared direct a subordinate to remove the tinted sheets from his car windows. The minister wanted an unconditional apology which was finally rendered by a DSP on the department’s behalf. The positive part of the story was that the SP refused to bow before the minister.
Again in Islamabad, a car belonging to a much higher authority than a minister was stopped on account of its tinted glass. This happened at a time when the capital city was plumb in the middle of a police awareness campaign aimed at strict enforcement of traffic rules, with particular emphasis on violations like tinted windows and unauthorised registration plates. The traffic police sergeant, who had stopped the car on receiving a wireless message from the city traffic police chief, was informed by the driver that the vehicle belonged to so-and-so, a person with a constitutional office. The sergeant consulted his chief and let the car go. The next day the traffic police chief had to appear before a subordinate of the constitutional authority to clear his position. Upon his return, the traffic police chief transferred the sergeant to another road. The message was clear: don’t touch the mighty.
A federal minister was involved in physical assault, not once but twice, in a public place. The incidents were reported by the media but no one in the government was bothered. Rather, under odd circumstances, the victims were moved in favour of the minister to plead to the media not to report further on the incidents. Another member of the federal cabinet, who had delayed by a day the departure of a convoy carrying relief goods to the earthquake-affected areas to grab hold of a photo-op with the prime minister, was later elevated to a higher position. The cabinet member did all this despite being told that the relief goods included items that might rot. But the photo-op was clearly the priority.
A contentious poem that indirectly hailed American President Bush as a hero was included in the syllabus for intermediate students. It was later revealed that the poem was simply downloaded from the Internet. No heads rolled. Instead of putting his own house in order, the concerned minister was instead quoted as ridiculing cricketing giant and national hero Inzamamul Haq for not being well-versed in English. Just for the record, what has the English-speaking elite done for this country for the last over the 58 years?
This is just a sampling of the not-so-funny tales of Pakistan. If all such stories were to be compiled by a researcher, a thesis would result. The media does offer space to a small percentage of such stories but most remain unprinted, either because of the exceptional freedom of press enjoyed by Pakistani journalists or the fact that many such incidents simply do not make it to the right reporters. In some cases, journalists or their overseers use such reports to serve their own vested interests.
People in general, even though they lack precise knowledge of who is doing what to this country, appear convinced that nothing is moving in the right direction. At the same time they believe that anything is possible no matter how contrary it may be to the laws of the land and its constitution. Knowing well that there is no rule of law in this country, even ordinary people don’t shy away from using connections or money to get rules bent in their favour. Still, disappointment and despondency grows with every passing day.
There is no light at the end of the tunnel. Most institutions have already hit rock bottom while others are declining fast. Individuals are receiving precedence over institutions and those indulging in such unsavoury practices have no regrets. Why should they?
This is a situation where much needs to be done by individuals, personally and collectively, instead of depending on our rulers. Pakistan is our home.
In the present situation we have limited choices before us. We can either join those who are making a mockery of the system and the law or be known as the people who struggled, irrespective of success, to save the country from being ruined by powerful vested interests. Just don’t be a spectator.
The writer is bureau chief of The News, Islamabad
Email: ansar.abbasi@hotmail.com
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