Afraid of the vox populi

Have you ever heard of a country where democracy is throttled in a military coup and a military general rules over the country against people’s wishes? Egypt and Pakistan come to mind. Have you ever heard of a country where democracy is throttled and a regime is installed against the wishes of the people of that country, however, that regime is not a military one? That country is Pakistan in 2022. It has already come to theaters near you and is hitting you quite hard in the head, gut and wallet. Welcome to Purana Pakistan. People are nostalgic about the Pakistan of the past but not the Purana one. Who had any clue what the word nostalgia would stand for in Pakistan?

Ever since this selected regime has been in place, their entire mindset and actions are driven by fear. Usually it is the fear of the unknown that is much stronger but in this case, it is the fear of the quite very well-known that is taking away their sleep at night. And by calling it selected, I am merely referring to the parliamentary process that brought them to power. There was no voting by the people of Pakistan, just to be clear. What is known is the massively overwhelming support that Imran Khan is receiving from the Pakistani people across Pakistan as well as abroad. What is known is that if elections are held tomorrow, there would be a massive defeat for the selected regime. It would be a defeat they have never experienced before because for the people of Pakistan right now, this is not about change or tabdeeli only, but rather a struggle and a revolution for the dignity and freedom of their beloved homeland. This is truly a point of no return for them. And this new thing is not leaving people’s minds.

Imran Khan believes in attaining political power through power, which is the people’s power. The selected regime believes in attaining power through force, which may involve violence but not respect. Someone must have made a mistake somewhere in teaching them the difference between power and force. There is a fine line. As I mentioned above, fear has always driven them. Fear made Maryam Nawaz remove the mic of a private TV channel from her liesfilled press conference. She does not want to deal with the voice of the masses that this channel airs. Just like her father who always wanted to install cricket umpires of his choice, she only wants to hear the noise of those who are on her active payroll. Apparently, there is plastic surgery for every unwanted and undesired truth, including journalism.

The fear that has engulfed Islamabad right now is the unstoppable Azadi March of Imran Khan. The selected regime has installed roadblocks, threatened bus services with dire consequences if they dared serve any passengers trying to travel to Islamabad. They arrested various leaders of the PTI and harassed several journalists who prefer to call a spade a spade. All these abhorrent actions are toward one goal only: stopping the arrival of the roaring march. However, at the time of this writing the latest updates are that the crowd is tearing through the containers and other roadblocks to reach Islamabad to be with their revered leader Imran Khan.

Those are the truths of this case ladies and gentlemen. However, you and I know very well that unfortunately we are not the members of the jury and neither do we have the power to change things. However, we also know that our little efforts can create a change somewhere down the road if not today. If we struggle to live and fight another day and fight the urge of neutrality, there is a hope and belief that we will emerge victorious on the other end. Remember it is always darkest before dawn. I would like to end with a prayer that never fails to bring tears in my eyes: nasrum minallah e wa fathun qareeb.