In the name of freedom of expression, our media today is flying like an overspeeding vehicle on the highway of disaster. The positive role of creating unrest and panic in the masses by Geo and other independent channels is quite evident. The contribution of our media in declaring Pakistan as an unstable terrorist state in the eyes of the world will be remembered in the history in golden words.
Those who still believe in such kind of freedom should remove the spactacles of recklessness and ponder into the sensitivity of the issue with prudence and farsightedness, if someone possesses so.
Switch on your television sets and scan through the news channels. You will have to tell me that how many of you have found any positive thing about Pakistan between two news intervals, how many of you can proudly claim to present any good about Pakistan to the world, how many of you are happy with this kind of imaging of Pakistan to the rest of the world.
I still remember that when US election campaign was in full swing and NATO forces were deployed on the western borders of Pakistan along with their blazing statements of launching an offensive inside Pakistani terriroty, right at that time Geo news broadcasted the program in the honour of 9/11. Our worthy and talented anchor Mr Hamid Mir was shown taking interview of Osama bin Laden in some supposed cave of Afghansitan. The complete focus of the show was to declare Osama as a hero and US as a transgressor. It seemed that the Geo was aimed at reviving the dying memories of this historical event of 9/11 that changed the fate of the Muslim world. Those so called Mujahideen were also making their nexus with Pakistan, so indirectly Geo was making all its endavours to put a gloss on the otherwise shining image of Pakistan in the fields of terrorism and extremism and that too in that sensitive time frame when NATO commander was ablazing against Pakistan. We must salute such patriotic, enthusiastic media. I still wonder that when a simple soul like Hamid Mir can access Osama then whats wrong with American CIA, the world's number one, why have they still been unable to get that man. I think that CIA should request for the services of Geo tv to get a clue of that clueless person, Osama.
In recent earthquakes of Balochistan, Geo was the only channel which was reporting totally negative about the Government. Their main focus was on proving the incapability of the government in dealing with this disaster. It also remidns me of the earhtquake of Kashmir in 2005. The whole nation was on the toes to help out the Kashmiris in this difficult time. The government machinery reacted so efficiently that America could not do so quickly in the Tsunami catastrophe. But even at that time the Geo was mourning over the incapacity of the then Musharaf government. Sometimes it appears that Geo is working on the agenda of some hidden powers who want to destabilize Pakistan. May it be Musharraf of Zardari, this or that, they are truly focused on their goal.
Time and again I am referring to Geo tv, because they have maximum channels and thus have a major contribution in media warfare, otherwise some other news channels are also in this race and by virtue of this race every channel has adopted the policy of negative reporting against the government. This trend is really harmful for the image of Pakistan. You can see CNN and BBC and you will take months and months to get any negative impression about US or UK. On the other hand when you switch over to any Pakistani news channel, you get charged within 5 minutes against Pakistan and within next 5 minutes paste the label of irresponsible, extremist, terrorist and many other ists on the forehead of Pakistan. Its not what the world think about us, its what we are making them believe about us.
I am crying over the irresponsible and uncontrolled media of Pakistan. I will not call it a good faith of the media, I term it as a matter of being wise and unwise. Our media is like a person who is cutting the same branch on which he is sitting. Can someone tell me that what is the purpose of showing a complete program on a father raping his own daughter, what good faith lies in showing a religious teacher seducing and marrying an under age girl, what projection of Pakistani image is being displayed in the program showing a man killing his children due to poverty. Coincidently all these programs were shown by Geo tv. You go to any talk show on any channel, everybody is weeping, every soul is aggrieved, everywhere sighs and cries can be heard. What the hell is going on in Pakistan, it seems that the heavens has fallen on us. Our anchors, in good faith or in ill will, are doing the ehtesaab of our corrupt leaders but I am afraid that with this kind of projection of Pakistan to the rest of the world, some outside force will come for our ehtesaab as our media, interntionally or unintentionally, is trying to establish Pakistan as the most unreliable and irresponsible state of the world and that we are incapable to handle our internal affairs without outside interference.
May Allah give us wisdom and farsightedness and above all I pray for the grant good faith to every Pakistani for Pakistan.
Hafiz Faizan uddin Nizami
Department of Mass Communication
University Of Karachi
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