IN times long past, kings and powerful men used messengers to communicate. Those of us brought up on Dastaan-i-Ameer Hamza and Tilism-i-Hoshruba imagined lone men on horseback rushing between cities and fiefdoms, carrying letters or messages to and fro. They were known as ailchis.

In this age of modern communications, when we can even chat the Jetsons way with a video call, one would have assumed we no longer need ailchis. But we still do. They are no longer needed for the mighty and powerful to communicate with each other as such — though the ‘stories’ about the various London plans suggest otherwise — but they are still used, town-crier style, to talk to the awaam, or masses, as we like to call them in English-language newspapers.

The more politically correct term would be ‘citizens’, but why bother to be PC when the awaam in Pakistan barely have any rights, which is perhaps what defines a citizen?

To return to the point, the powerful still need to pass on messages to those who are mere mortals. It can be a warning, a threat, a message or even a bid to test the waters. And this can be done via anonymous accounts on social media or through individuals known to enjoy the confidence of the powerful. In recent days, a few such well-connected people have been informing their listeners that those who have their ears are considering changing the voting age from 18 to 25. The reason being given is that........

© Dawn