Muhammad Mubasir Khan Akhrota
Time and again, Pakistan has witnessed inter departmental tensions and social media has come to worsen the matter like usual. In the wake of Bhawalnagar Incident, there came a lot of harsh criticism on two of the most distinguished departments of Government of Pakistan, namely Pakistan Army and the Punjab Police. It was just a matter of jurisdictional violation of the premises of someone’s home without arrest warrant which was committed by Punjab Police. Coincidentally, those whose abode was crossed belonged to the higher ranks of Pakistan Army. Resultantly, it created a tension between the two sides.This was all what was stretched from individual incident to draw analogies for the depiction of departmental roles by the unholy weapon of social media.The incident was provoked by individual responses taken by individual persons which were somehow inappropriate from both sides. But it was displayed on social media as a tussle between the two departments which was well celebrated by the masses. The incident marks not just the inadequacies and delays in resolving the interdepartmental issues on the part of government but also the nonserious attitude of masses towards their guardians. It highlights the gaps in the national fabric of country ,which, if not bridged, can threaten our survival as a nation.The nation needs to realize that no institution works on Platonic themes and accepting and conforming to this is what is makes us a responsible nation. The achievements of departments are celebrated everywhere.Even ,sometimes, the enemies come to appreciate the wholesome performance. But it is about being calm , patient and respectable towards the institutions in the hard times that is the real test of the unity of a nation.And we , as a nation, have shown our divisive tendencies. The incident has unveiled some bitter realities in front of us and some questions that are left for us to find answers. First, is the clash between our security forces really a matter of celebration for us a nation? Secondly, amid the deteriorating security situation at Taiwan border and surrounded by hostile neighbors, are we ready to cope with any serious crisis situation arising in future? Thirdly, when will Institutional overlapping give way to departmental professionalism? Apart from this, the incident has left some lessons for us as well . First, individual roles does not define departmental roles. All the departments of government have variety of individual characters but we can’t make a whole picture of something by just looking at individual parts. We can’t categorically say anything about the performance of a department by just looking at individual incident or its outcome. It can be judged by looking at performance reports ,which, we are least habitual of paying attention to and which are ,unfortunately, not discussed on news channel as they should be. So, to look deep into the matter we should consult the proper channels instead of being overwhelmed by the nasty propaganda. Secondly, there will always remain such fluid zones where the departmental demarcation of roles will not be so obvious. In case of conflict between different departments of government over such matters,it should be the duty of advisory boards to take immediate reflexive response measures to descalate the situation. Thirdly, the false propaganda should be contained through strict social media control. Especially, the meme culture should be made more respectable towards the state institutions by implementing strict regulatory measures by PEMRA.It is because ,now a days, the memes are what youth consumes the most and they have a huge role in shaping the public perception of anything they are targeting. Fourthly, there is a dire need to integrate the nation but not by the ways adopted earlier. Whenever we try to force something it ultimately breaks away ; be it the national fabric or anything you name it. Pakistan is a state having diverse nations which have separate and at some points contradicting ideologies. Forging them into a one and only identity without giving them their personal choices can not be fruitful.There was and there is a need to respect and accept the voices calling for autonomous identity within the state . A nation shows love for the state institutions when they think they belong to them. But when certain communities are calling it “Fascist State ” or when there is overly focus on one province and rest are being kept deprived, the sense of deprivation will create grievances that will hinder national unification. So,there is a need to create a sense of belonging of state to the people.Only then we can expect that people will respect the state institutions. Lastly, there is also a lesson for the departments as well. They need to adhere to the formal protocols in fulfilling their duties. Let’s hope that the things will change for the better.
