Daily Times

In the evening, the news was circulating that federal minister Mr. Fawad Chaudhry has slapped the senior journalist Mubashir Luqman at a wedding ceremony. The news was really tragic but they point to an even major problem–the fault lines of our society. First the lawyers and then this uncivilized or even barbaric act by a federal minister. There are two major problems going on with our overall social structure: Neanderthaloid behaviour of the people who are at the top; and the weakness in the character of people who are entrusted with the sacred task of representing people.

First things first, barbarism by the people who are elected by the masses, is the result of ignorant choices of people. It reminds of the famous logic by the great Greek philosopher Socrates that people who are not educated on the topic of choosing the right person as their representative should not be allowed to vote. This basically goes against the soul of democracy which is: giving the power to vote to every single person without any discrimination. But it makes one realise the importance of educating the masses on what kind of person can represent the best at the national level.

Federal minister of information and broadcasting, Mr. Fawad Chaudhry, put the matter into his own hands by attacking senior Journalist Mubashir Luqman at a wedding in Lahore. Mubashir Luqman in his show exposed the federal minister with his connection to the infamous tiktok star Hareem Shah; and instead of responding to it in a sensible manner or giving any reasonable explanation on the matter,  later was found indulging into a fight and attacking the former. When people of ‘street caliber’ are put into the position of power, they start to think that they wield that power. It’s time media and the journalist body brought those people to their senses because no one is above the law and no one can attack another person in such a way that Mr. Fawad Chaudhry did.

Secondly, how can a tik tok star get so under the skin of a prominent member of the national assembly and a Federal minister that he has to find solace in violence? Whether or not the accusations on Mr. Fawad Chaudhry be true, sense must prevail that only the ones who are best in character should be chosen for the sacrosanct task of representing people. All the media attention must be reverted from giving too much screen time to a scandalous girl, and to the most important topic of mending our ways as a society.

A society that don’t really believe in the ‘rule of law’ and believe in the ‘rule by law’ will keep choosing the same genre of people as their representatives. Like the popular quote in the political world: “You elect clowns, you get a circus”. Its time to change this pattern. Prime minister Imran Khan must take notice of this incident so that a culture of dealing with violence with a swift hand can prevail.

The writer is an aspirant of CSS