The Caliph Syndrome

Source: Pakistan Today

Cheif Justice Saqib Nisar is determined to make an important contribution to world history. He knows he will not get this chance ever again.

When he was appointed as the Chief Justice of Pakistan, by none other than the very Prime Minister whose demise has been caused by the infamous Panama Papers verdict, he knew that he had to leave a mark on the world. But more than that, he was motivated by a philosophy of governance deeply ingrained by the traditional Islamic upbringing. I call it the Caliph Syndrome in the case of Pakistan but actually it is nothing more than Messiah Complex. This mindset, if not megalomania and delusional narcissism, has led to judicial activism the likes of which were not even reached during the term of Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhary, the first one to go into this territory, euphoric after his restoration after a dismissal by dictator President Pervez Musharraf.

This Messiah Complex is further fed by the notion of expecting a savior, which has been In Islamic tradition, there is a ridiculously puritanical and idealistically exaggerated concept of governance in the pattern of Caliph Umer II. Some people attribute that style of governance to Umer I which holds that the Caliph or the emperor is supposed to be answerable for the death of even a lamb in a remote corner of the domain. While this sounds all good, the person who is supposed to be infatuated with this idea is the governor of the land, not the ombudsman who is supposed to ensure that law and order are kept. However, what if this zealotry actually leads to the ombudsman violating the lines set by the law and general ethics?

The Chief Justice has not only been consistently interfering in the operations of the administrative branch but has been on a rampage in terms of making ridiculous statements. This does not mean that his intentions are not good even though politically speaking he is being dubbed as the stooge of the military and bureaucratic establishment. To push this theory even further, you would find the media taking all opportunities to highlight his heroics on national TV and encouraging him to indulge further in judicial activism, with the exception of a few responsible journalists. This Chief Justice, like Iftikhar Chaudhary, has particularly been concerned with the way he is portrayed in the media.

It is perhaps the Caliph Syndrome, which so easily persuades otherwise responsible civil servants to take up the role of the Messiah, and it is perhaps the same factor that makes people so attracted to such figures. There is no surprise that the Messiah Chief Justice is the hero of many who cannot help but admire his visits to the local hospitals to inspect their operation. Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif doing that was so 2010s.

He talks about a lot of things that the people want to hear, such as the delivery of speedy trials, public servants making the most of their time for official duties, and respecting the law and the constitution. However, his good words are undermined by the fact that he is a loudmouth with a broken filter and even that is understating the chaos that his words are causing. A person who loves to hear his own voice and who loves flaunting his old school literary chauvinism, he attracted flak with the use of his sexist analogies.

Sometimes, the lack of filter on his speech can even take darker turns, which show a glimpse of bigotry in this custodian of the Constitution and the Rights of the People. His hate for the Hindu community is evident from his Urdu language comment cited in the following clip from a Pakistani talk show.

However, there is a reason you see no other judge around the world inspecting school and hospitals.

The very fact that he lectures and his role of fatherly advice that is a problem in terms of law and order. His use of the bully pulpit is precisely what is wrong with his understanding of his role. And going out of his way for skirmishes with the leaders of a certain political party make his apolitical role controversial and partisan.

What makes the entire “Baba Rehmatey” phenomenon so ironical and hilarious is that fact that the preacher himself is violating the principles he is preaching others to follow. The most responsible person in the society is performing his job, as hardworking and sincere he may be, with utter irresponsibility.

But if Saqib Nisar thinks he is unique in this contribution, he is not the first person who considers himself Caliph Umer I in Pakistani society and he most certainly will not be the last.

 

Stepping Up for Your Rivals

Source: Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority/pakedu.net

Recently, due to the complaints received by PEMRA, the Islamabad High Court ordered the controversial ARY anchor Mubasher Lucman to stop appearing on TV. The court also prevented any channels from inviting him on shows.

This might seem to be a great victory for all the progressives and liberals petitioning for PEMRA to take action against him. However, it is yet another sad day for free speech in Pakistan.

Sadly, for me, I cannot see any difference in standing for supporting GEO TV Network, Laal facebook page or Mubasher Lucman’s show. I don’t care what they are saying as long as there is an equal opportunity of defense for the people they are criticizing.

No one is stepping up  for their rivals and everybody is the victim.

While I recognize the harm principle, I would still not support the idea that somebody should be shut down because their speech falls someone’s criterion of hate speech.

Especially, when no such complaints can possibly be made pertaining to hate speech in religious texts.

I believe that PEMRA regulations are just another excuse to justify censorship. And folks on both left and right are using them to shut people up who do not match their views.

Actually, there is sort of a censorship competition going on in Pakistan. The State and the military want certain TV networks to get banned for a certain time period. Other folks are calling for bans indefinitely.

The people on the religious right want people to be charged with blasphemy, while the people on the liberal left, themselves facing state censorship, want news anchors to be penalized and banned.

Everybody talks about the responsibility which comes with liberty. You require liberty for that sense of responsibility to present itself in the first place.

We require an equal standard to protect speech out of this political chaos and ambiguity.

What Pakistan needs is protection from the penalties of the State when it comes to speech. And unless we guarantee that right and security, democracy and freedom will remain elusive dreams.

Unless there is no security from the penalties for speech and from violations of human rights, the people of Pakistan will remain contemptuous of the Constitution.

And their commitment to free speech will remain saddening.