The good, bad and bizarre of 2021

The writer is a freelance journalist.

The advent of a new year is the best time to record the highs and lows of the outgoing year, and attempt – mostly in vain – to learn lessons from our mistakes and wish for a better future.

How will we remember 2021? It’s hard to pinpoint a single ‘good’ or ‘bad’ incident to define the year; it was a mixed bag which brought to the fore the very best we have to offer as well as our darkest side.

First, we should continue to thank our stars that Pakistan remains spared from the kind of devastation the coronavirus pandemic caused in other nations. Besides the mysterious ‘hidden hand’ that has protected us so far, the work of the NCOC and our healthcare professionals deserves special praise – despite several managerial and technical hiccups, the vaccination drive is underway at a satisfactory pace, especially keeping in mind our peculiar ground realities. The government’s rejection of the Covid-19 audit report which highlighted serious irregularities is, of course, a different matter altogether.

Similarly, the country’s success in the battle against polio has gone a tad unnoticed under the corona cloud but the fact that only a single case was recorded this year marks what could perhaps be the beginning of the end of the crippling disease here. However, what is not abating are the deadly attacks on security officials guarding polio teams and the near-certainty of perpetrators remaining unpunished.

The year 2021 will also be remembered as the year our sportspersons made us proud, from their stellar performances at the Olympics to their on-and-off-pitch conduct during the T20I World Cup – the fact that we managed to beat India is obviously the cherry on top.

Another positive development were the citizens-led demonstrations against climate change in Lahore and Karachi – may they serve as a harbinger of greater collective action to protect the environment. But perhaps the most uplifting has been the recent indigenous rights’ protest in Gwadar, described by many as a watershed moment for the country’s future.

Even though there were many more instances to rejoice and remember, it’s more pertinent to review our failures and shortcomings of which there were unfortunately plenty.

As the multi-faceted assault on journalism continued, most notably in the guise of the government’s proposed media ‘development’ (read regulatory) authority, the profession also lost some of its veterans – I A Rehman, M Ziauddin, Arif Nizami and Rahimullah Yusufzai. May they continue to guide us in our struggles for press freedom.

The year also saw PM Imran Khan earning the title of a ‘predator’ of press freedom by Reporters Without Borders, owing to the many physical and virtual attacks against journalists on his watch, as well as due to the continuing instances of direct and indirect censorship by various state actors.

While the government’s forced, reluctant holding of local bodies polls in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa bode well for democracy, the toxic discourse among politicians and literal brawls in the National Assembly all year round only harmed the democratic cause, as did the PTI government’s relentless tirade against the Election Commission. Similarly, the discovery of hidden cameras during the Senate elections further eroded the people’s faith in democracy.

The year also saw a significant uptick in terrorist attacks against security forces, with almost weekly attacks in Balochistan and the tribal districts in which scores of our security personnel were killed. With a reinvigorated TTP following the Afghan Taliban’s takeover of Kabul, as well as the state’s mysterious ceasefire agreement with the terrorist group, 2022 is set to present severe challenges for our security organisations.

Our relations with China had already been shaky vis-a-vis the slowdown in CPEC but were seriously tested after the suicide attack on Chinese engineers in Kohistan, the botched media handling of which should become a crisis management case study (of what not to do).

Unfortunately, abhorring acts of violence against women –in both public and private spaces – continued all-year-round, with the gruesome murder of Noor Mukaddam in the heart of the capital shocking us all to the bone.

Perhaps the most worrisome development of 2021 was the further mainstreaming of religious extremism and violence, which culminated in the horrific Sialkot lynching that reverberated far and wide. Though the state was quick to act against the alleged perpetrators, it’s not hard to guess what the reactions would have been had the victim been a local and not a foreigner.

On another note, some important incidents and quotes deserve a special mention lest they disappear from memory.

The year’s most bizarre news development would be the Punjab Police’s arrest of staff at a fast-food joint in Lahore for reportedly refusing to provide free burgers.

The quote of the year award should go to National Security Adviser Mooed Yusuf, who did his best to explain the PM’s reversal on commencing trade with India: “He may be the same person but he wears two different hats in this case [supporting trade as the commerce minister and opposing it as head of the cabinet].”

Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi’s ‘deep pockets’ gaffe on CNN should serve as a reminder for public officials on how not to articulate an argument in front of an international audience.

Also, a big shoutout to PML-Q leader and federal minister Tariq Bashir Cheema who reminded us that there are two parallel systems in Pakistan when he got himself and his family/friends vaccinated against Covid-19 out-of-turn at home. The icing on the cake: they even posted congratulatory videos on social media!

And while an entire column or more can be dedicated just to PM Imran Khan’s controversial comments throughout the year, his blaming women’s ‘indecent clothing’ and men’s failure to resist that ‘temptation’ (we aren’t robots, right?) for the rise in sexual assault cases is by far the most mind-numbing.

Lastly, New Year aspirations: let’s hope that inflation can be curtailed; the likes of TTP and TLP are not mainstreamed and are instead dealt with appropriately; we start to take climate change and smog seriously; dengue does not make a comeback; suspended/off-aired journalists can return to our screens; the Single National Curriculum is revised instead of being thoughtlessly thrusted onto classrooms; the likes of Mufti Azizur Rehman and Usman Mirza are punished for their crimes; important legislation such as that against domestic violence and rape, and for journalists’ safety is passed and implemented; NAP’s long-overdue ‘revival’ and ‘implementation’ is finally carried out.

And: Junaid Hafeez’s blasphemy conviction appeal sees the light of day; we have learnt lessons and can reduce train and road accidents; the ‘peace offer’ to Baloch insurgents doesn’t end up as another half-hearted attempt at peace-building; speculation around the change of army command in November doesn’t crash the stock market; Aurat March can go on without fear of FIRs and virtual/physical attacks; we get a female justice in the Supreme Court (and settle the issue of seniority vs calibre); we try to hate Malala less; TikTok remains un-banned; and, finally, become a country where those who want can have Merry Christmas inscribed on their cakes without being discriminated against.

Pakistan Zindabad!

Twitter: @abbasbilal