The power of pen

Every tragedy comes with a lesson. Liaquat Ali Chattha, the then Commissioner of Rawalpindi division, held a press conference to unload his guilt in manipulating the recently held electoral contest. He offered himself for punishment. He was promptly picked up the law enforcement apparatus and remains under their custody.

A few days later, appearing before a probe Committee set-up by the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) he decided to withdraw his earlier statement stating several reasons for the sudden U-turn. The facts will now remain a mystery like many others before this incident.

Another Assistant Commissioner (AC) decided to release a written statement regarding his role in the purported manipulation of the election results while he was on a flight out of the country. Both officers of the same system decided to unload their guilt in different manners, which is quite interesting.

The AC’s written statement will hold the ground while he will remain in safety abroad away from the grip of the state that he once served. The power of the written word will prevail over the verbal outburst of the Commissioner, which he had to recant later.

Dr Andy Grove, the founder President of Intel Corporation, the leading Integrated Circuit (IC) manufacturer of the world, once remarked; “The first test of an innovation is to put it on paper”. In other words, pen it down and then read.

Very few such innovative ideas pass this test of reproducing a thought on a piece of paper. My father Nazir Ahmed Malik, a worker of the Pakistan Movement, had similar thoughts. He would often say ‘be very careful when you write as the written word constitutes history which cannot be erased’.

He was a man of few words but a lot of action. Though not a writer but relied heavily on paperwork and documentation, in the end the paper prevailed were his words. Talk less was his approach to life, which did not sit well with me or my mother. I learnt the use of pen from him and word from the person who rocked my cradle as a child often reciting poetry in Urdu and Persian.

Despite being a part of the cohesive state apparatus, both the officers grossly underestimated the might of the empire. Many outsiders fall into this trap but those inside should have known better. Emotional outbursts carry no weight amongst the cold hearted Baboos but when it comes to writing, the meltdown starts.

The battle ground of the bureaucracy is file and paperwork where they operate and hide. The Commissioner erred in his judgement, a written Notarized statement could have been more effective and safer for him, and his family as written word cannot be retrieved or reversed.

In her first speech the new Chief Minister (CM) of the largest province of the country committed herself for introducing the much-needed reforms not realising the state of collapse of most civilian institutions where nothing moves without wheels. Very soon to cover lack of performance on the job several verbal excuses will be coined by the very people who are required to deliver. Nothing comes in writing; it’s all verbal and carries no weight.

I remember in the days when Manzur Wattoo was running the province as chief minister, one of his advisers complained that he was not being provided residence in the protected and prestigious GOR l (Government Officers Residence). To resolve the issue, I suggested a simple solution. A written request was forwarded to the CM to seek report of all allotments carried out in the last six months.

The report never came but he was able to move into the place of his choice. The Raj introduced a ‘Diary System’ for all incoming and outgoing correspondence in government departments. Even this age-old system is no longer functional. Letters are no longer acknowledged or responded as there is no record or traceability. Verbal promises are made by the authorities which are never kept.

Before PTI (Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf) was hijacked by the so-called electables, as coordinator of the think tank I met several claimants of innovative ideas. After hearing of their path to glory, I requested them to send a written abstract of their ideas. In 95% of the cases that write-up never came, which is statistically significant. In other words, very few ideas passed the test of pen.

In the USA, an innovative approach was adopted for effective delivery, it was termed AVO (Avoid Verbal Order). In case repeated verbal requests were not catered to, an AVO was sent (A designated hand filled note with date and receipt) to drive across seriousness. In most cases there was compliance. It worked very well in between verbal orders and show-cause notice seeking explanation. As Chairman Pakistan Science Foundation, I relied on AVOs to get the job done.

It is widely believed that tongue is sharper than the sword, but pen is everlasting. There is no escape from the written word. Before using the pen, one must reflect and review, which is usually overlooked while speaking. Oratory is an art which very few people acquire but writing skills can be developed. Occasionally I do recall the words of my mother, but I revere the immaculate write-ups and paperwork of my father who kept fighting for real freedom till his last breadth.

His penned down dos and don’ts continue to guide me. With pride we donated his pen, Jinnah cap and weapon Howser to the Freedom Movement Museum in Islamabad as he used all of them as a soldier of the Quaid. Freedom can be won and preserved with the effective use of pen it is the lesson of history that must be understood and remembered.

(The writer is ex-Chairman Pakistan Science Foundation. email: [email protected])

Copyright Business Recorder, 2024