News broke yesterday that TV heartthrob and loudmouth Hamza Ali Abbasi had been served with a legal notice by the Punjab Government. One expected this notice to be for the assault Mr. Abbasi is committing on Pakistanis with the nightmare that is ‘Mann Mayal‘. It was, in fact, for the number of children that were abducted, in a recent wave of child abductions, in Punjab. The government’s notice alleges that the number of abducted children that Hamza Ali Abbasi has stated is incorrect and it is in fact less than one third of the number Hamza had alleged in his social media post.

Hamza Ali Abbasi has reacted to the government’s notice by calling them out for ignoring the “well reputed media outlets” who were the source of the numbers he quoted.

The notice being served to Hamza is an abuse of power by the Punjab Government and this is why:

While, personally, I am not a fan of Mr. Abbasi, I believe when the government, or any other authority, for that matter, is abusing its powers, it is a duty of every citizen to recognize when things are wrong and call a spade, a spade.

In this context, by serving Mr. Abbasi with a legal notice for merely “exaggerating” the figures, the real numbers of which, are frankly, not clear, the government has violated Mr. Abbasi’s fundamental rights as enshrined in the Constitution of Pakistan. By penalizing him for “false” numbers, they are violating his freedom of speech and causing anyone else, who many in the future, criticize the government (which is a right for every citizen, as we are the ones who elect our governments), to shut up. Thus, allowing future governments to continue doing whatever they please without fear of any form of scrutiny.

Today, it’s a notice to a widely-loathed actor, tomorrow it will be laws that will enslave the citizens.

Sadly, that too is not an exaggeration, because the notorious Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act, is also a move toward curtailing free speech and violating the fundamental rights of citizens as enshrined in the Constitution.

.@ShahNafisa Thank you so much for speaking sense in the National Assembly against Cyber Crime bill. PPP should have stopped in Senate.

— Nighat Dad (@nighatdad) August 11, 2016

This is what people had to say about the notice sent to Hamza Ali Abbasi by the Punjab Government:

Notice issued to Hamza Ali Abbasi is violative of article 8. Law which abridges fundamental right is void. I condemn it

— Babar Awan (@BabarAwanPK) August 31, 2016

Rigging's a non-issue. Model Town was staged. Panama is a conspiracy. Hamza Ali Abbasi's FB posts are a threat to national security. #Geo

— A (@thefailedgen) September 1, 2016

Last words on Hamza Ali Abbasi Fiasco: Rana Sana claims the purpose of notice is to invoke sense of responsibility and not prosecution.+

— پکھی واس (@barooq) August 31, 2016

If governments focus more on helping protect citizens by providing them with stability, security and a sense of belonging, instead of preventing them from criticism, maybe, just maybe, Pakistan can become the society that everyone aspires for it to become.

What do you think about the notice served to Mr. Abbasi?

Cover Image via: pakistankakhudahafiz.com