have been a backbencher from the beginning. I used to sit in the very back seat in the classroom. Even today, I am destined to have the same seat. It happened that during my student days, I came to know that I was incompetent, incompetent and ignorant. During that time, I once had a passion for leadership, but I lost my face in that passion and repented of leadership for the rest of my life. Despite spending 40 years in the field of journalism, I still seek the back seat, but my heart beats for freedom of the press, just like the front-seat leaders who fought for it. When Kocha entered journalism, General Zia-ul-Haq’s power was being trumpeted, censorship was in place, and the custom of writing against the government had almost disappeared. The late Ahmed Bashir used to write a column in a contemporary English newspaper under different names once or twice, and then stopped. This novice, ignorant journalist published a news item in which he listed the names of those who had got loans worth millions of rupees from a government bank waived off. The names of the Sharif and Chaudhry families were written down before it was published. However, due to a mistake, omission, or some other reason, Dr. Basharat Elahi’s name was not only published but also made headlines. Dr. Basharat Elahi was General Zia-ul-Haq’s half-brother and Ijaz-ul-Haq’s maternal uncle, he was also General Zia-ul-Haq’s favorite relative. My news item was not byline, that is, it was published not with my name, but with the reporter’s byline “Special Correspondent”. A complainant in our office immediately informed Dr. Basharat Elahi. That this sinner is responsible for this huge crime, then the sky fell, at that time I was teaching English at Government College Ravi Road, Chief Minister Nawaz Sharif transferred me to Taunsa Sharif under an emergency order, remember that at that time, three buses had to be changed to go from Lahore to Taunsa and that was the last station in Punjab. The bus was not stopped there, but my transfer order was forcibly received by the police at my house. Well, this is a long story, when General Zia-ul-Haq left this world and power, the founder of the Jang Group, Mir Khalil-ur-Rehman, himself got Chief Minister Nawaz Sharif to cancel my transfer order. This was the first introduction of this fool to the power of the state, then the government made a path, what government and what power, in every era they kept doing something or the other to stop the journey of freedom. The era of Pasha, Zaheerul Islam and Faiz is unforgettable, how backbenchers like me were made a training ground even though I was neither important nor an opponent or rebel of the state, I was never in favor of overthrowing governments, but I have always exercised the right to freedom of expression, including the right to criticize. Now the new era of Pika has broken. The chains are already many. There is PEMRA, there are government guards and above all, there are intelligence agencies that are on strict surveillance at all times. If there is any mistake or mistake, there is no concession despite good intentions. You have to open your mouth after thinking about it beforehand. Now Pika is equivalent to putting tape on your mouth. The fact is that on the one hand, there is no government restriction on abuse and insults as well as false accusations, and no existing law has caught up with them so far. Most of such people are living outside the country.It is not possible to enforce the law of the land on them, nor is there any way to stop them from this insult. In such a situation, the sword of the sword will only be used on those whose speech and writing have already passed through many doors and dark corridors and come out. A situation of killing and killing is being created.

Scientific research on human history has reached the conclusion through DNA that today’s current human race, called Homo sapiens, is different from all other animals because an additional gene was created in it. This gene is commonly called the smiling gene. Sometimes it is also called the social gene. According to the theory of evolution, monkeys and apes have a completely normal human brain, but they do not have the social or community gene of humans. This is why no animal, including apes, can talk to their own tribe except for the sounds of danger or a few signals. Man is the first animal to whom nature gave language. It was language and smiles that connected humans. Of all the animals before humans, none of the tribes was larger than 40. Bears, elephants and apes live in groups, but as soon as the number starts to exceed 40, the tribe and group break up. It was the social gene of man that allowed humans to live together in hundreds and thousands because they could communicate, gossip and listen to each other. It is as if man is not a human being without language. A society in which language is restricted can never progress. Whether we believe it or not, Western historians call and call the Islamic and Christian empires the Dark Ages because in their opinion, there was no social, religious and freedom of expression during the reign of the emperors. Bertrand Russell (1872-1970) is of the opinion that the reason for the lack of progress and science in Muslim and Christian states was restrictions on freedoms. It is true that restrictions may prolong the life of governments, but they hollow out states. Restrictions are the enemy of creation. In any country in the world where there are social and religious restrictions and freedom of expression, there can be no creation. It is as if the PECA is not only a law of restrictions on the media, but it is also a stone on the path of creation, the progress of science, and the development and mental maturity of man. My voice may be weak, I may be incompetent, ineffective, and ignorant, but restrictions on my freedom will strangle even a despicable and backbencher like me.

Martial law was imposed in this country, censorship restrictions were imposed, what did the agencies do or not do? What did the governments do to suppress it, journalists were flogged, even my kind teacher Khawar Naeem Hashmi was flogged, we had to endure the hardships of imprisonment. Even those in the back seats like us, were showered with wrath from the sky, yet this process of freedom of expression continued somehow or other, some brave person kept this ‘lamp’ lit. The punishment of Pika has come, it too will pass, but history will never forgive those who brought this law and those who supported it. The journey of pen, microphone, camera and brush has not stopped in the world till date and will not stop, it has to move forward. The social gene has to progress, those who stop it will themselves be trampled under the sway of time.

The secret to good governance in the world is not coercion, it is freedom. The era of Machiavelli is gone. Now, power and force are not the only things that work. Love and wisdom are the only things that work. We, the writers, anchors, cameramen and colorists, know how to find our way out of difficult situations. Like me, they follow this verse of Mian Muhammad Bakhsh’s words.

Named high, which rotted in the hearth

Niwan ho ke langh Muhammad, langh jawane ga oriya.