Trying to scandalise media
It is the same with all political parties. When sitting on the opposition benches they are all out to expose, malign and ridicule the ruling party. The country has gone to dogs, the economy is in shambles and the state’s sovereignty jeopardised. They never think for a moment about the impact of their negative criticism on the common man or its consequences for the system. Once in power, they want everyone to ignore the flaws of the ruling party’s policy and the impact they are having on the life of the common man or its implications for the future of the country. They want everyone to believe that everything is honky dory and the country is flowing with milk and honey.
An orchestrated campaign seems to have been initiated by government circles to blame the media for playing a “negative role” and spreading despondency among the youth. Salvos were fired by Federal Minister Ahsan Iqbal followed by President Mamnoon Hussain. Both have used identical vocabulary accusing the media of playing a negative role and spreading despondency among the youth. Both want media to act as spokesperson of the government, singing its praises and highlighting positive things to inspire hope. The media must, by implication, hide the negative things like unemployment, poverty, rising disparities, over-reliance on debt, lack of foreign investment, failure to fully implement NAP, a highly faulted decision making policy et al. The government would very much like media to follow the North Korean model by publishing little beside the government handouts.
The media would be losing objectivity if it did not present reality as it is — moles and all. In fact the government should be grateful to media for pointing out the weaknesses, flaws and gaps that sycophants try to cover up and by doing so make the government vulnerable. A government which is unwilling to be informed of its shortcomings is bound to lose touch with reality. It would be taken by surprise when the chickens come home to roost.
