The past few days made me think about a fundamental problem with us Pakistanis. A few years ago, in a conversation with my friend @usamaazeem, he told me how he believes in following principles and not people. 1/n

That was the first time I had heard of this idea, simple yet revolutionary.
We as a nation do tend to idolise human beings to the extent where we refuse to accept that our idols can make mistakes. 2/n

Some go to the extent of supporting their idols even when they do something against their beliefs.
Off the top of my head, lets look at #MTJ or #ImranKhan. They are so revered and respected that its almost impossible for their followers to believe that they can be wrong. 3/n

They devote themselves to following individuals which is a dangerous path as these ‘idols’ are well aware of their reputation and are also likely to exploit it.
Lets go a step further and look at perhaps the greatest Statesman in the history of our country, #Jinnah. 4/n

I have nothing but respect for the man but the way that it has been ingrained in our minds that Jinnah was absolutely flawless and unlike other humans, could not make a mistake, sets a dangerous precedence. 5/n

For reference, this one time all our friends had a laugh about how we all as a kid used to think that Jinnah was God (Nauozobillah). Everyone picks an image of Jinnah that suits their idea of Pakistan and they believe that he was the model leader of that idea. 6/n

But that is to no fault of our own, our schools and institutions have built this narrative around various personalities.
This is not to say that I am only criticising the ‘right’ of the spectrum. The problem more or less persists with the left too. 7/n