The North Nazimabad area of Karachi recently got a new assistant commissioner who is a competent officer in his own right in addition to being a poet who also happens to be a singer. People on social media have often criticised him for his appearance and attire. He is judged not on the basis of performance but because of his appearance even though he also has a marketing and fashion design degree from the United Kingdom. Making fun of the personal lifestyle of a multi-talented officer is clearly in bad taste.
People in our society perceive themselves differently from people in Western cultures. In our culture, bureaucrats are seen as people dressed in a suit and a tie, with security guards around them, behaving rudely with their staff, and showing arrogance to the general public. The official concerned is attracting criticism because he has none of these traits.
He has composed numerous songs for some of the famous vocalists around the world, including Jessie J, Future, Ciara, Juelz, T-Pain, Jason Derulo and Nicki Minaj. In November 2019, he released his own album, Haram, which was well received globally, and was among the top-ranking albums in Hungry, Egypt, India and South Korea.
Other than the fact that social media trolling and abusive expressions are nothing but grave indications of how insensitive our society has become, it will be a pity if this constant character assassination and criticism on social media force the man to change tracks and become a typical bureaucrat. Will it serve any purpose or benefit anyone?
AYAZ ALI BHATTI
THARI MIRWAH
