Daily Times

There is a contentious debate raging through certain tiers of the society regarding the menace of rampant perversion which has taken a hold, leaving indelible marks on almost all that transpires here. It is as if everything is coloured in the hues of this mortal ailment.

Of a vast variety of perversions displayed in the artfully decked-up windows, the intellectual version, by far, is the most sordid. All other forms and manifestations of the scourge emanate from this seedbed which is laid bare to infect all who are driven by the ravenous lust.

It was John Locke who said that the one “who lies for you will lie against you”. This is a truism and its unquestioned acceptance or otherwise would determine the kind of person you may want to be, or you may not want to be. Expecting that one will only lie for you and not against you is a contagious fallacy which has contributed, in no small measure, to the evolving of a culture of deceit and plunder.

And these persons who offer their services for this degenerate undertaking, and are taken for lying only for their master and not against him, are the cancerous carriers of this perversion. They are not only there of their own volition, but, at times, are assiduously designed and fabricated to serve the vile cause of the manipulators.

There is another quality which is deeply ingrained in these perverts: they feign ignorance of their undertaking, or acknowledging that they are performing an abominable task to the utter detriment of a whole society. On the contrary, they would argue endlessly to make you believe that they are committed only to the noble and the chaste.

It was John Locke who said that the one “who lies for you will lie against you”. This is a truism and its unquestioned acceptance or otherwise would determine the kind of person you may want to be, or you may not want to be. Expecting that one will only lie for you and not against you is a contagious fallacy which has contributed, in no small measure, to the evolving of a culture of deceit and plunder

In the political context, there are many carriers of this plague, tip-toeing their way up the power ladder, by employing the expertise they have perfected over time. The culture of leaving one political party for another to advance the prospect of securing their objectives is one horrible manifestation of this perversion. They do it with such consummate skill that one would actually fault to take them for the very paragons of virtue.

The ones who transit from one political concoction to another, and the ones who accept them in their fold in spite of their past misdemeanours to advance some possible political gains they may aim to accrue, jointly share the blame for a crass decline in the prevalent ethical standards.

In this age of naming and shaming, let me narrate the career trail of an intellectual pretender. Starting his journey many moons ago with Muslim League (N), he rose quickly in ranks to become a confidante and an advisor of the head-honcho. He was elected to the senate and was also made a federal minister spreading disinformation.

With the consequent decline in the fortunes of that particular party, he was quick to sit at the feet of the dictator who had assumed charge, and then moved to becoming a member of the fabrication that was chiselled away from his former party to serve the political interests of the new boss. It was by assuring the front-men of his unwavering commitment that he won another stint in the senate for six years.

Now that the political fortunes of this party appeared bleak in the context of the forthcoming elections, he deserted it pronto and went back to lick the feet of his original boss to get a nod for passage to the senate and aim for other measly morsels.

He was also notorious for going the extra mile for a quick rise, be it providing the provocation to shun the legal and the pragmatic course in pursuing politics, or allegedly facilitating the publication of a series of ‘rogue army’ advertisements internationally to win endearment.

So, from one political party to the military dictator to a political concoction and then back to the first love — his has been a journey of sickening compromise tailored to serve his petty political interests. Such is the stock of the charlatans pretending to be this country’s intellectual leaders. What could be more disastrous and demeaning for the political party that such a lowly one would be a member of or the country that he would feign to be serving?

There are innumerable other such-like manifestations of this mindset whose only claim to fame is the extent of degenerative steps they can tread. Their focus is their personal selves, and they are capable of doing whatever may be required in that pursuit. In the words of one of my friends, this is the ‘folklore of corruption’ in a country which is lost for any rationale for surviving and moving on towards emancipation, egalitarianism and progress.

Just look at the train of lawmakers currently transiting from a supposedly sinking ship to the one they deem to be the next moon in the sky. This is the double-edged weapon that I often talk about. These so-called ‘electables’ are without a cause or commitment to be doing what they are doing except serving their immediate interests: getting elected to the legislatures. For the party that is accepting them, they would be a load of shame to carry. They would be part of a rickety pillar of brick of mortar which is bound to crumble when subjected to pressure.

The fact that Imran Khan has taken a courageous and commendable step to clean up the stables by naming the twenty lawmakers of his own party who sold their souls in the Senate elections does not fit in with the mass acceptance of these migratory flocks which will, in due course of time, become the rot that he’ll have to shed.

Agreed that ideological politics has been dead and buried for a number of years in this country, there are still people who have a value system, and they carry that to whatever they do in life, even politics. If at all, he should be targeting such people to get into his fold rather than a bunch of self-serving individuals who change parties to coincide with their fluid interests, or herald causes just days before the next elections are due.

The self-proclaimed intellectual pretenders and the grassroots imposters together make the putrid mess that Pakistan is caught up in today. The new wave, if it takes shape at all, should be to the elimination of this morbid lot rather than their continued espousal along the new trail. Their presence in the fold will only perpetuate the decay that we are enveloped in today.

The writer is a political and security strategist, and heads the Regional Peace Institute — an Islamabad-based think tank. Email: raoofhasan@hotmail.com. Twitter: @RaoofHasan

Published in Daily Times, April 24^th 2018.