The Calibri Font, as we know about, has become part of an ongoing investigation. The Microsoft Calibri Font has become central to a political storm brewing for months here in Pakistan. The Joint Investigation Team probing the PM submitted evidence using Calibri Font as a point of reference.
What’s the Fuss About Calibri Font in Pakistan?
Things went South when the daughter of the Prime Minister Maryam Nawaz submitted a piece of evidence written in Calibri Font. The documents present the evidence from the year 2006. However, there is no public accessibility of the Typeface till 2007. The JIT in its report to Supreme Court stated that the existence of the evidence predates the existence of the Font used for it. Therefore, it concludes the documents are not real.
A Bit of History on Calibri Font
A cursory look at the birth of Calibri Font makes it clear that it did not exist before 2007. The first existences of the font came in Microsoft MS Office package back in 2007. But, one source on Microsoft’ website states that the font was available in version 1.0 back in 2005 as downloadable. Similarly, some sources suggest that the font was available as part of Windows pre-release as back as in 2004.
Twitterati of Pakistan has taken up the issue of Calibri Font very literally. The font has become one of the hottest and trending topics in the country.
The Founder’s Verdict on the Font’s Availability
One of the local newspapers in Pakistan did approach the designer of the font, Lucas de Groot. Lucas de Groot started working on the design of the font back in 2002. He sent the finalized version of the font in March 2004. Furthermore, the creator of Calibri Font said that he thinks the first public versions of the font were made available in beta back in 2006.
The creator of the Font in another email said that it was theoretically possible to use the Typeface before public release. He, however, argued that why would someone use a Typeface for an official document when it is still in beta.
Wikipedia Entry on Calibri Font
Wikipedia has locked editing anything on the Calibri Font page. However, one of the entries suggests the availability of the font back on June 6, 2006. The date of the release of the font is four months after the signing of the document by Maryam Nawaz. There is evidence of edits to the Calibri Font Wikipedia page. The wiki has put the editing on hold till further proceedings on the case starting on July 18th, 2017. The font was also given a TDC award in 2005 by Type Directors Club.
Calibri Gave Rise to New Search Terms
The font at the center of the political controversy and investigation has become a story in itself. Apart from the memes on it, it is always getting searched a lot in Pakistan. Keywords like “Fontgate” and “Calibri Font JIT” are commonly associated with the mention of the Typeface in the investigation. The notion that the PML (N) party’s future hangs with Calibri is an overstatement. However, it would come into consideration along with other evidence submitted by the JIT.
Social Media Reactions on Calibri
No controversial topic goes without the social media taking a note of it. This time it was no different with the social media users coming up with all types of jokes, memes, and controversy theories about the Typeface.
One user Saad Khan with the Twitter handle @realsaadkhan said that Calibri won over a political legacy extending to 35 years.
Salman Saeed, another Twitter user with the handle @Salman_153 added a new font “Shareef” into a supposedly upcoming Microsoft Office’s new version.
And another user of Twitter, Waqas with the Twitter handle @wickycruise said that he used Calibri when it was still cool.
Last but not the least, a tweet by Baji Please (Twitter handle @BajiPlease) had the tweet where Family asked Maryam Nawaz “What Happened?.” And Maryam Nawaz replied “#Calibri Font.”
