Misplaced patriotism

Many Pakistanis, it seems, suffer from a misplaced sense of patriotism, ever too ready take umbrage at perceived slights to national honour. The furore recently witnessed following Shahid Afridi’s comments about Pakistani players receiving more love from Indian crowds than from Pakistani ones as well as the anger directed towards singer Shafqat Amanat Ali for ostensibly forgetting parts of the national anthem during his rendition before the World Twenty20 match against India, are testament to the Pakistani public’s tendency to take offence where none is meant.

The Pakistan cricket team had travelled to India for the World Twenty20 after much brouhaha had been created over security issues. There had been several incidents in recent times of hostility against Pakistani celebrities in India. Afridi’s diplomatic statement was nothing more than an expression of goodwill in a tense environment, which media pundits on our side of the border conveniently misinterpreted. The context in which Afridi responded to a question posed by a journalist was completely ignored. The reaction of the Pakistani media and public was highly disappointing, with some going as far as to question the captain’s patriotism. Admittedly, Afridi has the unfortunate tendency to often give inappropriate statements, but this was not one of those times. In the case of Shafqat Amanat Ali, while an argument can be made that the talented singer could have given a more convincing performance, the reaction, on social media especially, was again over-the-top. Again, the singer’s patriotism and motives were questioned. The response to Afridi’s statement and Shafqat Amanat Ali’s singing has been unduly harsh, so much so that a legal notice has been served to the former for his comments. Pakistanis who find it all too easy to criticise people in the limelight and question their patriotism, which is a disturbing phenomenon and indicates that we have a long way to go before we mature as a nation. We seem to have little problem in littering our streets and not paying our taxes, which is perhaps a better indicator of our commitment to the country.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 23^rd,  2016.

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