- Uncertainty leading to self-censorship
Leaders from five political parties spoke at a national seminar on the sanctity of ballot. The TV networks shunned to broadcast the speeches including that of Nawaz Sharif who has been the country’s prime minister thrice and whose party still rules the country. This happened despite the earlier clarification that the Lahore High Court had not banned airing of Nawaz Sharif’s speeches. The reason is simple. The media is under pressure from multiple quarters and is afraid of broadcasting anything that can be interpreted, rightly or wrongly, as being defamatory. While we have expressed strong reservations over some of Sharif’s views on several occasions in these columns, allowing one side a free hand over media and debarring the other is likely to be interpreted as manufacturing of public opinion at a time when the elections are in sight.
Notwithstanding the fact that Nawaz Sharif conspired against and got the duly elected Benazir Bhutto prematurely removed and that he willingly acted as the establishment’s pawn against the government of Yousuf Raza Gilani, and demanded that the PPP’s prime minister resign instantly before completing his mandated tenure, Sharif has a right to express his concerns as long as he does not disturb peace and the seminar held at the auditorium of National Library Islamabad was a sober function. There is a need on the part of the courts and the establishment to realise that freedom of expression acts as a safety valve in a society rife with anger, resentment and frustration. Putting curbs on expression in this milieu amounts to putting a sealed pressure cooker on the burner.
It is better to pursue the ongoing enquiries quietly, file cases and get judgments passed without conducting media trials. Claims that can be challenged and proved false are likely to create a perception of vindictiveness and turn those presented as criminals into political martyrs. Aftab Sherpao has refuted the NAB chairman’s allegation that 4,000 Pakistanis were handed over to other countries for money under his charge as interior minister. The reputation of the NAB chairman would be sullied if he fails to prove the allegation.
