Vote is not a license to crime, nor is it a defence against it. However, it is very convenient in a charged and emotional milieu to play the victim-cum-emotional card, especially in front of one’s ideological followers and state that “it will be the people who will decide in 2018, about who is qualified and who is disqualified”. By this logic, which has recently been reiterated by the ousted Prime Minister during the PML-N general council meeting to re-elect him as the President of the party, all the criminals ought to be given a chance to seek votes from people, culminating in their acquittal, in case they manage to procure a substantial number of votes. Kulbhushan Jadhav, by the same logic, represents a country with a population of over one billion; and ought to be released by Pakistan. We seem to have developed a two-faceted society, whereby false propaganda based on emotional appeals is rampant; whilst conversely the logic and reasoning is considered and entertained by the judicial forums. Ultimately, the ultimate victors are the victim mongers, however Pyrrhic the victory may be. After all, it is not the truth that matters, but what is constantly hammered in the minds of the people is all that prevails in the end — Joseph Goebbels, the head of the Nazi propaganda, would have been so proud. Take for example the untenable statements of the ex-PM Mr Nawaz Sharif, reinforced during the PML-N general council meeting, that he has been prosecuted for ‘Panama’ but has been disqualified because of the iqama. This statement may have a lot of emotional appeal, especially given the fact that no judgment in the corruption charges has been passed by the accountability courts, despite the commencement of the trial in this regard. A new trend has surfaced whereby certain party members of the ruling party have taken upon themselves to publicly cross all the limits of sycophancy to please their disqualified leadership However, one must remember that the ex-Prime Minister has indeed been disqualified by the Supreme Court on the basis of the non-declaration of his unwithdrawn salary from the business of his son, thus leading to the conclusion by the Court that he is not honest and trustworthy. Now, does it really matter whether one is disqualified on one count or other? Would it really matter if a person is convicted for homicide or theft — he would remain a convict, albeit one may argue that the gravity and punishment of one offence might be more than the other. However, the end result would be disqualification of Nawaz Sharif for life from holding public office, irrespective of the fact whether the disqualification originates from panama or iqama. Although Nawaz Sharif’s supporters acknowledge that he has been disqualified by the highest court, their unflinching love for them does not subside, on the logic that other politicians are not that clean as well. One would have been really indignant to see the voters of NA-120 clamouring in support of Kulsoom Nawaz, whilst lamenting the fact that PML-N has not even been able to provide the basic necessity of clean drinking water to them. In the same vein, a new trend has surfaced whereby certain party members of the ruling party have taken upon themselves to publicly cross all the limits of sycophancy in order to please their disqualified leadership. Much to their delight, they have ended up as Ministers. Nawaz Sharif, himself has been at the forefront of denigrating and insulting the judiciary, especially during the march on the GT road. It seems that our society has taken the following verse of the great philosopher and poet, Allama Iqbal, in the wrong spirit: Bay-khatar koodpara Aatish-e-Namrood main ishq Aqalhaimahwa-e-tamasha-e-lab-e-baamabhi (Love dives into the furnace of Nimrod without any hesitation; whilst Logic is still standing dumb-founded) Whilst this love for God may transcend all levels of reasoning and was definitely instrumental in obliging Hazrat Ibrahim (AS) to dive into the fire of Namrood, or motivate Huzrat Hussain (AS) to sacrifice his and his family’s lives; Iqbal would have never intended his verses to justify such a blind love for any political leader or party. Iqbal had anticipated this degeneration of the society as a whole when he said, alluding to a verse of the Holy Quran: Khuda nay aajtuk us qaum ke halatnahi badly Na ho jisko khayal apapni halat ke badalnay ka (God does not change the state of people, until they endeavour to bring about a change in themselves) It is said that the vote brings about change; but not in a society where people prefer to vote and support their clan, caste, or a political party, irrespective of the credentials, piety, honesty or sincerity of the candidate and notwithstanding the fact that the candidate may have been declared as dishonest and untrustworthy by the highest judicial forum of the country. Lack of education and awareness is the culprit in this regard; however, on the contrary, the voter nowadays is well aware, thanks to the electronic media; and it is the clan/caste/party loyalty and the concomitant slavish mindset coupled with the anticipation of undue favours from the candidate that compels the electorate to vote for a particular candidate. After that, they become engrossed in their continuing struggle for life and the basic necessities of life, until the next election. The slogan of ‘tabdeeli’ by PTI has also failed to mobilise the masses into action. Imran Khan’s fate in the matter of the money trail of Bani Gala property also hangs in the balance, whilst the party funding case is also proving to be a sword of Damocles hanging over PTI and Imran’s future. The administration in KP has much to be desired, given the mushroom spread of dengue; as well as accountability in the province. Where is the much-vaunted ‘tabdeeli’? — on top of that , the over-enthusiastic PTI supporters would troll anyone highlighting these issues. It is time that we, fend for own selves and start the much-needed change from within; the bottom-up approach rather than the proverbial top-down approach — such is the spirit of Iqbal, inspired by the Holy Quran. Rather than blindly following a clan, a personality or political party. Individuals, ought to take the bull by the horns; and rather than relying on our so-called leaders/political parties to change our individual and collective lives, we ought to play our roles towards our personal as well as the country’s growth and prosperity. The writer is an advocate of High Court. He can be reached at naumanqaiser@gmail.com and tweets @naumanqaiser Published in Daily Times, October 13th 2017.