The media frenzy

Should it remain unchecked?

The electronic media outlets of Pakistan, by and large, seem to have taken it upon themselves to spread despair and despondency among the people. It’s a cacophony of angry, loud exchanges between not just the participants but mostly also the hosts of the so-called talk shows that the people are treated to ceaselessly day and night.

As a matter of fact, going by the usually unbecoming and provocative conduct of the anchors, one gets the impression that they are under instructions by the producers not to pacify the discussants but to keep adding to the fury.

Particularly irresponsible and reprehensible is the manner in which they would go to town with incidents of excesses against females, especially young girls, for days on end. Is there no check on them? Does it not fall within the purview of Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (PEMRA) to take them to task on this account?

It is not as though Pakistan is the only country in the world where such heinous crimes are committed. But we certainly stand alone in not only sensationalising them but also, one would dare say, celebrated by TV channels. No other country would even think of allowing such a ghastly practice by the media.

All this, and yet the electronic media has some to acquire a bloated image of self-righteousness. They talk down to, make fun of and hurl wild accusations at whosoever they like. That gives rise to another question: is there a method to the madness?

To put it bluntly, are there any vested interests at work here that want to portray Pakistan as a nation of criminals and beasts and do not want the people to have any moment of mental peace and happiness?

I do not believe in conspiracy theories and do not intend to advance one in the present context. But, where all logic and reasoning fail, such questions are bound to crop up.

It is heart-rending to see all this for someone like me who started and ended his active journalistic career – working for a newspaper or a magazine, that is – while talented and selfless young men and woman turned to the profession, not taking it as an industry, not to get rich but with the motivation to carry forward the sacred mission of upholding, truth, equality, justice and fair play.

We paid a price for that but we were prepared and willing that. The younger generation of Pakistan may not know that during the tyrannical era of Gen Zia-ul-Haq, a number of journalists were publicly flogged in Lahore. Did such treatment make them run away from the field of journalism? Nothing of the sort.

Please give this poor nation a break. We are in a state of undeclared war. The enemy within is waging this brutal, nerve-wracking war on us. As it is, no person in Pakistan today feels safe anywhere in the country. My humble appeal to the high and mighty of the fourth estate is for them to be on the side of the nation in this hour of trial.

This is in no way to suggest that the patriotic journalists of our country are deliberately siding with the enemy. All they need do is to pause and consider what effect their mad race for ratings is having on the minds and souls of their compatriots.

Do please report each and every incident of crime, corruption, violence and injustice that comes your way. That is your job. But, let some sanity prevail in the reports and discussions. As the very term denotes, the function of the moderator is not to let the discussion get distasteful; and certainly not for them to add fuel to fire.

Also, for heaven’s sake, stop harping endlessly on incidents of excesses against the females. In civilized societies, as you would surely know, even the identity of the victim and her family are not made public so as not to add to the trauma they are already going through.

In our case, that is all the more imperative, as we all are well aware, such victims of the criminals stand disgraced for life in the public eye as though they themselves were somehow responsible. It becomes next to impossible for the parents of such females to find decent matches.

Finally, I wish to touch upon the question of opening a dialogue with those who have been martyring and injuring – perhaps still are – our valiant military officers the rangers, and soldiers, police personnel at both senior and junior positions, innocent men, women and children for so long.

That makes no sense to me. All I know is that an offer to talk always comes from the defeated side after it lays down its arms. Does this nation, this state stand vanquished? I don’t think so.

Beyond that, there is this plethora of aspects being reported, discussed and debated regarding who the interlocutors would be, what would be the modalities of these projected talks, where they would be held, blah, blah, blah.

But all that is secondary. The primary question has yet to be approached, much less answered by anyone: has Pakistan been defeated by these enemies within? Oh, the foreign hand! No foreign hand can harm us if it does not have local collaborators and facilitators. Was it some foreign hand that was firing rockets at the helicopters carrying army men and relief material to those who had suffered the recent devastating earthquake in Balochistan?

The writer is a senior journalist and analyst whose latest book on Iran’s nuclear programme, ‘Iran and the Bomb: Nuclear Club Busted’ has recently been published. He can be reached at [email protected]