Daily Times

A proverb advices, “Where ignorance is bliss, it is folly to be wise.” It means that enlightened, well-intentioned and visionary souls have no place where ignorance is regarded as perfect happiness and it is a big mistake on their part if they try to remove it. Nevertheless, ignorance is universally recognised as a curse afflicting any individual, a group of people or a society as a whole and it hurts. However, it becomes even more painful when the people proffering themselves as intellectuals aggravate the darkness of ignorance through an induced penchant for intellectual dishonesty.

Sadly, there is no dearth of the so-called intellectuals in Pakistan who are guilty of precipitating ignorance and are trying to influence public minds by supporting false narratives and propaganda of a politician afflicted with delusional hubris whose entire politics has revolved around orchestrating false narratives; hurling unsubstantiated allegations on his political opponents and state institutions; flouting laws of the land and the constitution. Like the man they are supporting, they also do not realise that their actions were putting at peril the future of democracy and rule of law in this country through their perverted mindset that refuses to look beyond their noses.

One such pseudo-intellectual, who has also served as Special Assistant to the former Prime Minister Imran Khan, since the latter’s exit from power, has been spewing venom against the PDM government.

In a democratic dispensation, the ruling party and opposition are two sides of the same coin.

Along with painting the PDM government and its leadership in dismal colours and holding them responsible for the permeating economic and political crisis, he has been projecting Imran Khan as the most conscientious political leader in Pakistan, a true democrat, a reformer and a proponent of rule of law.

Perhaps, first of all, it would be pertinent to look at the authenticity or otherwise of the flak that he has been hurling at the PDM leaders. It is unethical to call somebody criminal and corrupt unless it is proven after due course of law. As far as the economic meltdown is concerned, there is no doubt about the fact that the country is surely at the edge of a precipice. However, the incumbent government is not solely responsible for it. When it assumed power, the economy was already in the doldrums as a result of the downturn of the global economy, unimaginative policies of the PTI government and the unprecedented loans that it mustered putting the economy under great success.

The agreement with IMF was signed by the PTI government and at the fag-end of its rule it took a somersault on the commitments made with the world body. The result is that the PDM government had to bear the brunt of the wrongs done by the PTI government and was left with no choice but to accept the tough conditions of the IMF to initiate a process of revival of the economy, which would require considerable time in achieving its objectives.

The permeating political crisis was also orchestrated by none other than Imran Khan who tried to sabotage the no-confidence motion against him through its unconstitutional rejection by Deputy Speaker National Assembly under Article 5, the dissolution of the National Assembly and the announcement of General elections by the President.

Instead of sitting on the opposition benches in the National Assembly, he opted to pressurize the government to hold general elections through en-mass resignations by PTI members of the parliament. No wonder then that Justice Athar Minallah, during the hearing on suo moto notice concerning the election date in both the provinces, ordered that before considering the date issue, it was imperative to look at whether the assemblies were dissolved in conformity with the constitution. These are harsh ground realities, which no conscientious mind can deny and refute except for the intellectuals who have sold their souls to the devil.

In a democratic dispensation, the ruling party and opposition are two sides of the same coin and it is incumbent upon them to have working relations with each other to promote national interests and strengthen the state. But instead of adopting democratic ways and orchestrating national unity and integration, Imran created an environment of irreversible polarization. His democratic credentials are also soiled by the fact that in spite of orders of the apex court, he did not hold local body elections in Punjab. Can you expect this from any true democrat? As far as morality is concerned the leaked audio and video tapes amply reflect on his moral character besides exposing his indulgence in horse trading during the no-confidence motion.

In view of the foregoing realities, I think it is imperative for the people indulging in intellectual dishonesty to scratch their conscience and stop projecting Imran Khan as an admirable Crichton though he is a leader in his own right for all the wrong reasons.

The writer is a former diplomat and freelance columnist.