Weekly delusion

Express Tribune

2 days ago

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Feeling oppressed and nauseous while heading to work? Read the morning paper and you'll find yourself in a mixed state of agony and amusement. As baffling as it sounds, you'll come across news updates that will not only leave you questioning your sanity but will also have you asking yourself: "Do these people really know what they're talking about?"
Let me give you an example. The apex court will be hosting a symposium on judicial reforms where focus will be on encouraging the use of technology to modernise our judicial system and make it more efficient as a result.
Now, on the face of it, sounds like the need of the moment. I, sitting on my chrome horse, can engage in this revolutionary discussion all I want while sipping on my expensive cold coffee.
But you do realise that for modern technology to be utilised efficiently, you need tech literate court staff? Not only tech literate, you need court staff that knows basic English, and knows how to use a computer (which of-course utilises the English language). Also, court staff should be tech literate enough to navigate their way through daily tech troubles to ensure regular tasks don't require calling the IT guy all the time. Not only this, you also require uninterrupted access to high-speed internet which of course, in our country, is a myth.
At the slightest of convenience, the not-so-smart officials sitting in telecommunication offices will shut the internet down in the name of 'national security'. Good luck running the system with no internet. 'Sir, system down hai' is a haunting sentence we've all heard.
Loadshedding is another story. Don't even get me started on that.
Sir(s), you cannot engage in judicial reforms and talks about digitising the judiciary until you hire court staff and clerks who have knowledge of everything I've mentioned above. And all of us recognise the fact that no sane degree holder will work as court staff unless a) you pay them well and b) you don't keep blaming them for actions of the higher-ups (reported fact).
In other funny news, over 3,800 vehicles owned by senior bureaucrats and police officials were seen violating traffic laws in Lahore with impunity. Will these people ever be held accountable? Never. They own us. Laws don't apply to them; laws only apply to the slaves who pay taxes. Democratic republic? Not by a country mile. I am sure this is the case all over the country, not just Lahore.
A child is a reflection of their parents. Next time you see citizens violating traffic laws, don't be surprised, instead, call up your MPA and give him a schooling (assuming the looking-busy-doing-nothing official answers).
A spokesperson for a forum in Karachi which focuses on young parliamentarians stated that it is for the youth, and specifically the youth parliamentarians, to play their role in "modernising legislation" and "assisting the marginalised communities".
Are these the same marginalised communities you want to help which persistently get labelled as traitors and terrorists each time they voice their political dissent?
Also, respected spokesperson/to whom it may concern, what youth are you referring to? The wise and smart youth have already left the country and the rest are in the process of leaving. Brain drain is real and the sooner we accept the sooner we'll be able to retain skilled labour. About time we accepted the fact that the youth have lost hope in the system. The wise have left, the naïve have stayed.
The system has failed us and continues to fail us, every day. We all know how this works but because it has always been about the money and about power, we all continue to be willfully blind to this.
By the way, I did my job (that I get paid to do), where is my promotion? Where's my fancy title? Do I get to throw a party too?