By Shazia Anwer Cheema
The incident that occurred in Courtroom Number 1 on Friday at the Supreme Court when a female lawyer affiliated with Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf (PTI) tried to interrupt the Chief Justice when he was dictating a court order triggered a debate in social media as well as in mainstream media about how a student of law and a practicing lawyer could show such unprofessional and unethical conduct at the highest court of the country.
The debate is about ethics that a law student must have learned before entering the practice phase. Is it representing the quality of education our law institutions transfer to students or is it the training of her party to challenge and disrespect everybody whosoever he/she is?
We understand that when PTI got its makeover as a political party rather than masking the only true political party, its frame of work was intertwined with a few experiments primarily to make it different from the existing political face of Pakistan. Therefore, being different, being unique, and contesting the writ of the laid down rules and traditions were called the “qualities” of its followers. The uplift facilitators of PTI coined the rhetoric of “New” Pakistan as the mainframe to construct a new narrative for Pakistanis that eventually discards all old norms and practices. “New” indicates that the existing is obsolete, redundant, and must be challenged or refused.
As happens with every experiment, the outcome and results cannot be controlled so the idea of co-relating everything existing is bad, leading to mass repulsion from already practiced morality, norms, traditions, and even rules.
The PTI media cell then comprising internal and external entities, provided PTI with an open space to discard, ridicule, and disrespect existing traditions and normativity. The fundamental of PTI was to create a new Pakistan; hence, to, create something new, the old equivalent either needs to be abandoned or destroyed, and that was the point, in my opinion, that was overlooked by the facilitators of PTI.
The fundamentally flawed frame of new Pakistan narrative has transcended Pakistani society into a bizarre and lewd social space where sane mind has found refuge in hibernation
The masses were swayed to be trapped in the rhetoric of the new Pakistan, ultimately entangled in questioning everything that was being practiced. They crossed all boundaries from social norms to media ethics, even being unable to stop questioning the constitution and legal system. The idea that was embedded particularly in youth transformed into a holistic social chaos, where slurring and name-calling were considered objective reasoning, disobeying law and order was portrayed as logical reasoning, and being anti-state was seen as critical thinking.
The fundamentally flawed frame of the new Pakistan narrative has transcended Pakistani society into a bizarre and lewd social space where a sane mind has found refuge in hibernation. Pakistani society is showing a massive display of conduct disorder. This conduct disorder is a direct outcome of the narrative that flooded into society in the frame of “Newness”.
PTI cult followers feel pride in exhibiting conduct disorder without the realization that it is destroying them, their society, and their country
PTI followers consider this disorder an achievement and cherish it by politicizing unknowingly that they are suffering from a disorder that is not only lethal but also contagious. Every existing practice in society cannot be logically wrong, and destroying a system can never be an objective solution. I pity the PTI cult followers who in the hybrid idea of gaining fortune and riches are destroying everything in hand. PTI cult followers feel pride in exhibiting conduct disorder without the realization that it is destroying them, their society, and their country if they still think it is theirs. Conduct disorder is marked by a range of disruptive behaviors, including aggression, deceitfulness, and violation of rules. All individuals exhibiting conduct disorder are inclined to display a lack of empathy, remorse, and an inability to conform to social norms. The PTI as an only solution mantra demands cult formation because blind submission and bandwagoning to the higher cause (destroying Pakistan) require emotionally vulnerable individuals with low self-esteem and high hopes. These traits lay the foundation for understanding how conduct disorder might contribute to the susceptibility of individuals to cult involvement.
The PTI cult is purging everything related to the old, name it politics, family norms, legal system, and media. they simply want to slay anything that contradicts their version of prosperity, which is the new Pakistan
Cults often manipulate vulnerable individuals by, exploiting their emotional and psychological weaknesses. Individuals with conduct disorder may be particularly susceptible to the tactics employed by cults because of their difficulty in conforming to societal norms and establishing healthy relationships. Cults commonly employ coercive persuasion techniques, isolation from the outside world, and mind-control methods, to foster an environment where antisocial behaviors can thrive. The debate that the PTI cult took advantage of the fragile social fabric, or its manipulation created a fragile society left to explore some other day. The issue at hand is that in the pursuit of a “new” Pakistan people have become the victims of conduct disorder. Individuals are struggling with social relationships and feel alienated from mainstream society. Even considering society as their enemy at a certain level and thus discarding social and societal ethics of manners and speech. Virtual socialization is showing the actual apartheid where the PTI cult is purging everything related to the old, name it politics, family norms, legal system, and media. They simply want to slay anything that contradicts their version of prosperity, which is the new Pakistan.
I am observing a persistent pattern of defiance against authority figures. PTI Cult, with their authoritarian leaders, even demand that individuals legitimize their rebellious tendencies and emphasize that their conduct disorder must be channeled in a seemingly purposeful direction. The PTI Cult leader is so deceptive that in a recent statement, he disowned all those who are asking for a new Pakistan, propagating it, and even suffering from conduct disorder due to it. But he is missing the point that the idea of being destructive was programmed so meticulously and that reverting is not that simple. The PTI Cult is on the path of destruction and follows the principle commonly found in different mythologies. According to this idea to create something new and good a destructive force must into penetrate energy with massive force. Shiv Lingh is the physical manifestation of this idea, and even Hindu mythology suggests that the universe was also created on the same notion. Lord Brahma created Vishnu and Shiv. Vishnu created the universe and put order in it, although Shiv did not agree and wanted the chaos and darkness of the metaverse.
Why do I get upset sometimes when I have the clear knowledge that people like me were considered chaos and darkness of antiquity and that PTI was manufactured to create order?
The PTI cult considers their conduct disorder their weapon to achieve ultimate victory, which is ultimate destruction and creation of something new by force.
Considering this philosophy, destruction is not only good but also eminent, and the Pakistani existing system is a dark matter and chaos that needs to be enlightened. How on earth can we expect the PTI Cult to be less destructive and antagonizing toward Pakistan? The metaphor of old and new Pakistan is an analogy of darkness vs. light and chaos vs. order.
PTI Cult followers have internalized this concept to the core and want to destroy everything that already exists, and rightfully so, because tremendous effort in terms of expertise and funding has been spent on them to think that destruction is good, and their traditionally described conduct is insufficient to achieve that goal. That is the reason they do not respect society, have no regard for nationhood, and deliberately disobey the law.
The PTI cult considers their conduct disorder their weapon to achieve ultimate victory, which is ultimate destruction and creation of something new by force.
Shazia Anwer Cheema is an author, and analyst and writes articles for national and international media outlets. She did her M.Phil in Cognitive Semiotics from Aarhus University Denmark and is completing her Ph.D. in Semiotics and Philosophy of Communication at Charles University Prague.
Disclaimer:
The views and opinions expressed in this article/Opinion/Comment are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the DND Thought Center and Dispatch News Desk (DND). Assumptions made within the analysis are not reflective of the position of the DND Thought Center and Dispatch News Desk News
