Pakistan’s Animal Farm in 2024

For the first time, we are witnessing utter nonsense passing for deep philosophy and criminal behaviour being equated with liberation struggle. Louts are lords of the realm.

If he could observe Pakistan’s political chatter, monitor media messaging and listen to pretentious harangues coming out of the courts, George Orwell might seriously consider re-thinking Animal Farm and renaming 1984. Animal Farm is his seminal novella on power, class and control, whereas 1984 outlines the most sinister categories of monopoly—the monopoly of masses’ thought process.

In Animal Farm, Orwell would introduce the Weasels (alongside the pig) ]in totalitarian hold of those under their command, cheating listeners, deceiving followers, duping everyone with fanciful untruths, obliterating dissent. In 1984, he would quote legal experts, lawyers, vlogers, X-warriors of Pakistan to explain destruction of truth, historical revisionism, outrageous and widespread propaganda. He would not have to invent Syme to explain Newspeak, the language for mind control. He would simply cite Pakistani motormouths churning out trash daily, swamping logic, producing zombie-like behaviours, and ensuring total conformity to the ideology of the jailed Big Brother: “My war is your peace. My freedom is your sacrifice. My ignorance is your strength.”

The more you look at the industrial-scale deceit that is produced in Pakistan today, the more it becomes clear that a large part of this country has become “Oceania”—Orwell’s fictional land ruled by lusty lies and destructive deception. Don’t get me wrong. I am not suggesting that the older sources of disinformation such as the Establishment and (any) government have disappeared. They are very much there. But the new reality of Pakistan is that, for the first time, we are witnesses to tidal waves of sheer fraudulence produced by the “other side” dominating much of the national discourse. Now constitution, democracy, right to protest, freedom of speech, law, fundamental rights have become the preferred refuge of the known rogues. Legends are being created out of clowns and history is being written by charlatans. Seemingly perfect legal minds are banishing reason through hateful reasoning. For the first time, we are witnessing utter nonsense passing for deep philosophy and criminal behaviour being equated with liberation struggle. Louts are lords of the realm. Stinking abuse is the sweet smell of a new dawn. Tearing of reputations is a civilized way to build a great future.

In Pakistan’s Newspeak constitution now means what “politicians in robes” think it means. Clear constitutional commands are NOT what these are, but what an imperial bunch assumes these are. And what is not written clearly in the constitution? Well, that means everything that over-fed, under-read, ill-bred next generation of Zaman Park and their moms think it means. Total bullshit is complete justice. Hogwash is the halo.

Parliament is not the final sovereign; it must submit to the terror of constitutional interpretation. It can’t amend the constitution, can’t pass the law, can’t endorse an ordinance without bowing to this bench or that bench. Imran is Quaid-e-Azam, Bushra is salvation, Murad Saeed is Leon Trotsky, and revolution means protecting Gogi and the Gang. Faez is a one-eyed monster and Faiz, a Khizr pointing to the Promised Land. The general who made it to the top on merit is a product of the London Plan and the nincompoop who ‘Bajwad’ the whole country was a great leader till such time he took a U-turn to save his own skin and sank PTitanic. Laying the siege on the capital is “fundamental right”. Sbotaging international events is service to the nation. Goldsmiths (may they live forever) are pure gold and Pakistani critics (may they die now) are dirt. The Pakistani Newspeak far outweighs in scale, scope and impact what Orwell’s brilliant mind had imagined to be the reality of deadly totalitarian systems. He wrote about it. We are living it. His was fiction. Ours is fact. His was a warning to humanity. Millions here embrace it as their new religion.