The Charismatic Jibran Nasir

When anyone brings up the name of Jibran Nasir the first thing that comes to mind is the controversy surrounding this young man.

He seems to court slander somehow…

Jibran caught my attention sometime back on two counts.

The first happened when I overheard my daughter and her group of friends talk about him and his politics. Frankly I was a little startled. These kids when asked could not tell me the name of the present President of Pakistan. But they were talking about how they had voted for him and will keep voting for him and how his ideas seemed just about right to them.

The second time was when his video content was brought to my attention and I was taken in by the clarity of his thought process and how articulately he put his point across.

And so on a lazy Sunday I found myself in conversation with Jibran Nasir who is a Lawyer, Activist and Political Influence. What strikes you immediately about Jibran is his Charisma. It hits you like a wave and forces you to pay attention to what he is saying. And this guy has a lot to say! He has a passion for justice and social equality with a deep seated sense of responsibility to do his part in this world. He doesn’t say these things out loud. On the contrary he talks about how he would like to do a lot more than he already is doing and he talks about his own challenges. But every word he utters is a testimonial to his passion for doing what he thinks is right.

For a 32 year old to have the insight and deep intellect that I found in Jibran was humbling. And to feel humbled in the presence of one who himself is modest and self-critical to almost a fault was a lesson in itself.

The thing is that it’s not about Jibran’s beliefs and it is certainly not about his politics. It’s about raising a voice amongst the deafening chaos of Pakistan that makes him so special. I wish that more of us would understand (myself included first and foremost) on how we are obliged to give back to the soil that has seeded us.