SINCE by choice I am not active on social media platforms, I was told by a friend that a few days ago, the nation was an audience to a highly debatable choice of words and expressions by some media persons against state institutions.

While we dream the sweetest of dreams in our cosy beds at an arm’s length of our loved ones, there are our fellow countrymen staying awake in the most inhumane and brutal physical discomfort away from their loved ones to defend the country even if it means sacrificing their lives. These wonderful men are our pride. Disparaging remarks against them never fail to surprise me. How can we be so ungrateful?

There is no denying that each of us has the right to express an opinion. However, it does not mean an unbridled licence to pit the nation against state institutions. It is improper to let our political preferences, free articulation and legal rights get ahead of our national spirit and integrity. In fact, there is no justification for bad-mouthing even former army chiefs because the office of the Chief of Army Staff (COAS) has association with the institution beyond the official tenure. While fair criticism is justified, they should not be disrespected.

Freedom of expression does not justify poor choice of words in public. Those who still have confusion about why reference to the soldiers should be with due dignity, should go and ask the countless mothers who have waited long for their sons at the doorstep, only to receive their bodies wrapped in the national flag. Ask the widows who wipe their tears with pride, and the children who will never have a father watching over them again. They will tell you how honour and respect is earned.

Sirajuddin Aziz

Karachi

Published in Dawn, June 2nd, 2021