So much for subtlety. The very next day after noted columnist Ayaz Amir made an fiery speech at a local event in Islamabad, in which he targeted the establishment, he was attacked by unidentified assailants when he was coming out from the office of a private television channel. The columnist-politician’s speech hadn’t even yet eased out of the news cycle by the time he was attacked. The online social commentariat put two and two together. Some defenders of the concerned quarters said that there isn’t any proof to the effect. As if there ever is.
But this time, they alleged that the Chakwal politician also made fun of former prime minister Imran Khan in the same speech, with the latter in attendance. They alleged that the culprits could, in fact, be some of the famously spirited supporters of the PTI. An unlikely explanation, but still one that is being peddled by some.
The former legislator, in his speech, made some very good points regarding a number of key issues, including the role of institutions, a ceding of space by the civil government to unelected institutions and, also the issue of extensions in the tenure of key positions. We have reached a point in time where these views are not controversial anymore, across the political divide. Between the League’s GT Road districts and the PTI’s educated urban middle-class, the establishment’s core constituencies actually do believe in what the man said. It was one of those rare instances where the supporters of the PTI seemed to enjoy what was essentially a dressing down of their leader.
The concerned quarters really should read the room, as it were. They’re going to require a whole lot of manpower now, if they wish to rough up everyone who will espouse these talking points. But that isn’t a principled stance. The principle of the matter, of course, is that no one should be attacked for their political views, even if they aren’t popular views.
