India wanted Fawad Khan but it got Fawad Chaudhry, Pakistan science minister who trolled ISRO
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Opinion

India wanted Fawad Khan but it got Fawad Chaudhry, Pakistan science minister who trolled ISRO

Turncoat, clown, opportunist, rationalist, survivor, troll – Pakistan’s federal minister for science and technology juggles many names.

Samira Sood    
Pakistan science and technology minister Fawad Chaudhry | Twitter

Pakistan minister Fawad Chaudhry | Twitter

When the communication link between ISRO’s mission control and Chandrayaan-2 lander, Vikram, was lost, Indians took to social media to support the heartbroken ISRO team. Twitter, Instagram and Facebook were flooded with messages of solidarity with ISRO and pride in all it has achieved so far. Even as NASA lauded ISRO’s work.

But Pakistan’s federal minister for science and technology, Fawad Chaudhry, decided ‘failure’ must be called out as a failure, the truth must be spoken, no matter how bitter.

Also read: If Pakistan wants moon landing, it needs to chase Nehru-built culture of science

Turncoat who made losing look good

When Fawad Chaudhry says India has failed, we need to take it seriously. After all, who knows more about failing?

In 2002, Chaudhry, a lawyer by training, ran as an independent candidate and got only 161 votes, while his opponent got 38,626. That was the first in a string of electoral defeats for him, no matter which party he went to.

He has, in less than two decades, tried his luck with multiple parties – All Pakistan Muslim League (APML), Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), Pakistan Muslim League (PML-Q) – and almost never won an election. In the 2013 general election, in fact, he ran independently from one seat and won a grand total of 82 votes. In 2016, he joined Imran Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) and the first election he ever won was in 2018, when he secured both the National Assembly and the Punjab Assembly seats in his native district. The fact that he has been given a platform in every party and by every politician he has attacked in the past speaks less about him and more about the visionless leaders in Pakistan, say many Pakistanis.

Despite this belated electoral success, he has managed to hold on to power for almost two decades. He has been the APML’s general secretary. He was appointed as the special assistant for information and political affairs, with an MoS rank, to then PM Yousuf Raza Gilani of the PPP. He was also the special assistant on political affairs to PM Raja Pervaiz Ashraf.

Last year, he was made the PTI’s minister for information and broadcasting, a post he was evidently suited for, given his love for staying in the limelight and his feelings towards the fourth estate and its freedoms.

Soon, disagreements with Naeemul Haque, Imran Khan’s key aide, allegedly led to him being given the less prominent science and technology portfolio.

Then Chaudhry caused quite a stir when he slapped senior journalist Sami Ibrahim at a wedding ceremony.

Also read: Pakistan science minister, army PRO Asif Ghafoor troll India on Chandrayaan-2 setback

The rationalist with a twist

According to many in Pakistan, Fawad Chaudhry’s “anti-Mullah” stance comes as a breath of fresh air. Except that his idea of real scientific contribution is a moon-sighting website and app. Launched in May this year, it promises to do away with the confusion and controversy surrounding the sighting of the moon during religious festivals such as Eid.

So helpful, no? Way better than spending Rs 900 crores on a failed moon mission, I’d say.

But the clerics were unhappy with this interference in traditional, Islam-mandated moon-sighting methods.

So, when Fawad Chaudhry makes fun of India’s space programme and tells us we’ve failed, we need to stop getting our nationalist knickers in a twist and actually listen. This is coming, after all, from the guy who leads science and technology in a country that is really known for its strides in the space race.

Also read: Indian TV media’s Chandrayaan-2 coverage: Modi, Pakistan & Deepak Chaurasia’s tinfoil suit

The great unifier

But here’s a curious thing. Fawad Chaudhry unites India and Pakistan. The way he sacrifices his own self-respect for the greater cause of cross-border solidarity and friendship is pretty inspiring. Just look at some of the responses to his statements from people on the other side of Wagah.

Look at how he is able to denude himself of all ego and izzat as he claims that Imran Khan’s chopper commute costs less than 60 bucks a kilometre – a ‘fact’ that he knows because he… googled.

Or how he cares so much for the people of Kashmir that he is even willing to appear on Arnab Goswami’s show.

Above all, look at how he takes such pride in his country. This is a man who understands the value of patriotism and celebrating your nation and homeland. This is a man who knows how to be a true nationalist.

All India wanted was Fawad Khan, and all we got is Fawad Chaudhry.