After the election, Dr Masood was all over the place, yelling "rigging, rigging” without explaining where and how exactly and without offering proof. He provided no material proof beyond popular headlines seen by all. Seems like after showing us animated versions of Apocalypse, Dr Masood is trying hard to bring them to reality
Dr Shahid Masood is known for his Apocalypse series and for shifting channels. He was chair of PTV and has apparently internalized the establishment line of PTV. He no longer has his own show but thrives as a guest on news shows on several channels. Dr Masood hosted TV shows for a decade. His claim to fame is a series called the End of Time. This series, which is several hours long and contained shots from National Geographic and the Discovery channel, was based on the assumption that people do not believe in the day of judgment. This sounds superfluous, because most people do fantasize about life after death.
Another assumption was that scientists have proved that the end is coming. Scientists have not actually proved this theory, only that creation and destruction seem to order the Universe. Dr. Masood then quoted many Ahadis (sayings of the Holy Prophet P.B.U.H) and scholars like Dr. Israr. Many religious figures dealt with these themes in detail in books, lectures and shows... However, Dr. Mason surpassed all previous efforts with his sensational music and graphics.
In the weeks leading to the general elections, Dr Masood played a precarious role. He discredited democracy as well everyone involved in the elections on every given process. First, he agitated against holders of “fake degrees” and dual nationality holders. He wanted them to be "caught by the ear and given a chitraul” or shoe beating. He was unwilling to wait for a trial and ignored the fact that a Bachelors degree is no longer a pre-requisite for contesting the elections. He urged that they be instantly disqualified, even before proven guilty by the court, which is a constitutional requirement. "The universities have said it... the MNAs have themselves apologized. Why would you wait for 20 years for the trial to finish?" While he targeted corruption, certainly a valid endeavour, he wanted them out despite the fact they had not been convicted. However, he did not have a modus operandi to resolve this problem. Indeed Pakistan is plagued by corruption and our politicians are guilty, but calling for their dismissal without a trial or conviction amounts to breaking the law to prevent others from breaking the law. This is neither the rule of law nor justice. Dr Masood constantly added to the narrative of "bloody inept and immoral civilians, working in a dysfunctional system." Asma Jahangir was forced to intervene to stop him from persistently referring to politicians as "Tatoo and Pithu." (Honestly, don't know what it means in English, perhaps boot-licker) Additionally he walked around saying this caretaker cabinet is "du number" (fraud) and "koi sir pair nahi" (he does not know where it came from). It is worth noting that he doesn't know who Arif Nizami, Ahmer Bilal Soofi, Dr Sania Nishtar and Dr Mushtaq Khan actually are and that they are all highly revered in their respective fields. The caretaker cabinet was not based on popular elected representatives. It was a small cabinet, constitutionally selected to keep things afloat until the next government took over. They do not have to be popular and all of them were reasonably well known. He dismissed ministers in every forum and did not mind that this might add more uncertainty to the election process. Dr Masood was angry with the Election Commission and called it the "Selection Commission" for giving a ticket to already tested, corrupt politicians. He suggested that like the Election Commission is like a fake McDonalds selling cheap and dirty burgers on carts and that the the corrupt Election Commission thrives under the clean name tag of Justice Fakhruddin. Needless to say, other than a few constituencies, the election went fairly well. Elections were called again and the PTI, which was active in rigging claims, lost their seats again. Many corrupt politicians and former ministers were forced to face the music, not by the kind of "witch-hunting" which Dr Masood prescribed but by the public's own verdict. After the election, Dr Masood was all over the place, yelling "rigging, rigging” without explaining where and how exactly and without offering proof. He provided no material proof beyond popular headlines seen by all. He failed to appreciate that this was the most free and fair election in terror-struck Pakistan's history. |
Ammara Ahmad is one of the editors of Viewpoint, she tweets at @AmmaraTiger |
