On September 29, the Balochistan government in Pakistan issued an order directing the senior officials and heads of various departments to set their mobile phone ringback tone to “Pakistan Zindabad”, according to a Dawn report.
A copy of the order was available on the internet that said the decision was made under the Chairmanship of the Chief Secretary for the setting up of mobile ringback tone of administrative secretaries, additional secretaries and others to “Pakistan Zindabad”. Ringback tone or caller tune refers to the sound that telephone callers hear when the phone they are calling is ringing. Telecom operators allow customers to set custom tones to replace the default tone.
Government #Officers in #Balochistan have been asked to set Ring Back tone #Pakistan_Zindabad pic.twitter.com/l9qXefKdVd
— Ibrar Ahmed (@PhilanthropistI) September 29, 2021
The order stated, “The Government of Balochistan, Science and Information Technology Department has conveyed that in pursuance to the decision made in the meeting held under the Chairmanship of worthy Chief Secretary, for setting of mobile Ring-Back Tone “Pakistan Zindabad” by Administrative Secretaries, Additional Secretaries and Deputy Secretaries and head of attached Departments on their cell/contact numbers.”
The order also requested strict compliance from all the concerned officers mentioned. According to reports, the additional secretaries of S&GAD were to ensure their subordinates also apply the same ringback tones on their mobile phone numbers.
The move by the Balochistan government to fix the ringback tones of senior officers triggered some strong reactions on Twitter.
A Human Rights Activist named Abdulla Abbas Baluch quoted Martin Luther King Jr. saying, “Nothing in the world is more dangerous than sincere ignorance and conscientious stupidity.”
“Nothing in the world is more dangerous than sincere ignorance and conscientious stupidity.” ~Martin Luther King Jr. https://t.co/pCCzTgg2vr
— Abdulla Abbas Baluch (@AbdulahAbbass) September 30, 2021
Another user mentioned in her tweet that “Patriotism and religion is the last refuge of scoundrels.”
Patriotism and religion is the last refuge of scoundrels. https://t.co/zGXaF4rsFX
— Faheem Marwat (@Olasyaar007) September 30, 2021
A user named Raja Ali Saleem questioned the motive behind the order and asked if the order would increase love for Pakistan or reveal traitors.
What are they trying to achieve?
— Raja Ali Saleem (@RajaSaleem14) September 30, 2021
Will ring tones increase love for Pakistan 🇵🇰 or reveal traitors?
This will only piss off Baloch #bureaucratic_nonsense https://t.co/xrcW4ng8c7
Saleem also claimed that the order would only antagonize the Balochs.
The order comes after a statue of Mohammad Ali Jinnah exploded in a blast in the port city of Gwadar last Sunday. According to reports, the statue, which was installed in June earlier this year at Marine Drive was blown up by placing an explosive device beneath it. The Baloch Liberation Front had reportedly claimed that they were behind the explosion.
Balochistan’s former home minister and current Senator Sarfraz Bugti had said, “The demolition of Quaid-e-Azam’s statue in #Gwadar is an attack on Ideology of Pakistan. I request authorities to punish the perpetrators in the same way as we did with those behind the attack on Quaid-e-Azam residency in Ziarat.”
But on the other hand, Baloch people celebrated on social media and stated that they do not identify Jinnah as their leader.
#Gwadar: A statue of #Muhammad_Ali_Jinnah on Marine Drive was destroyed by planting explosives by our Sarmachars.
— Beebagr Baloch (@BeebagrBaloch3) September 26, 2021
Muhammad Ali Jinnah seen with hatred in #Balochistan. His statue and ideology have no place in Balochistan. pic.twitter.com/wWDiJXSNyl
