There are more important things than Geo
Defence Minister Khwaja Asif never fails to remind just why some of his old speeches and promises come back to haunt him. He seems in the habit of being a little too vocal, sometimes, about his preferences. Take the some-year-old speech bashing the army, which he later said was about one general and not the forces, and continues to dismiss it as out of context. But it clearly ruffled some feathers on the other side of the divide. And, given the defence portfolio, hurt his credibility. Perhaps that is why he has been more vocal than usual about his support for everything military in the recent past. And the tiff with Geo, where he now wishes a heavier fine imposed, seems a clear extension of this reaction.
But if he is counting on winning any brownie points, the minister might be mistaken. The Geo incident was clearly an embarrassment for the channel, but an ugly war of words later blame was accepted and punishment decided. What is more, important lessons were learnt, and the unpleasantries were more or less water under the bridge. But Khwaja sb wants more, and when he could not get a longer suspension he wanted a stricter fine, as if a price tag could be set for “treason”.
Rather than blowing an already distasteful situation further out of proportion, the defence minister’s time, and attention, is better occupied concentrating on greater threats to the country’s security, especially when his government has been behind the curve regarding the insurgency for some time now. With the military operation underway, the defence ministry’s role will be crucial in coordinating between the government and the military. And so far, things have not gone as smoothly as Islamabad would have liked. A lot more needs to be done to clear public doubts about the government, so Khwaja Asif better get his priorities right.