Media soul-searching
July 22nd, 2012
Journalists in the dock, media houses hurling accusations at one another, public scepticism growing. It’s time for the mainstream media in Pakistan, particularly the freewheeling and hugely influential electronic media, to assess where it stands and how to rebuild public trust and faith in an institution that is quintessentially Pakistani in its nature — there are some good parts but there are far too many dark spots. While the accusations are manifold and the protagonists many, the crux of the scandal is that several media proprietors and journalists are alleged to have discarded the industry’s raison d’etre — informing the public and holding public officials to account. Instead, they stand accused of having fallen into cosy relationships with power brokers, politicians and sundry other vested interests, selling their viewpoints in return for financial gain to the media entities and individuals involved. With intra-industry regulation lax, state regulation viewed with hostility and a public with an insatiable appetite for all things political, perhaps it was inevitable that scandal would seep through Pakistani journalism.
What can be done? The attempt by some quarters to move the superior judiciary to investigate misdeeds in the media industry may seem noble to some but it is misguided. For one, unethical and unprincipled as bribery may be, it’s not clear if private sector employees or employers would attract criminal sanction even if it were to be proved. In addition, the superior judiciary itself is a frequent subject of media discourse, so the potential conflicts of interests are too obvious to ignore. In any case, what exactly can the court realistically do to determine whether someone has, say, received a house in a foreign country or a large sum of money in a foreign bank account?
A better course of action is also a more difficult one: the industry itself — proprietors, journalists, viewers and readers represented by civil society — will need to draw up guidelines for separating news from opinion, fact from fiction and paid content from independent thought. State oversight is definitely unwelcome given the nature of the Pakistani state but that does not mean the state cannot have a facilitating role in creating an independent oversight body that reflects the commercial imperative of the news business while at the same time safeguarding it as a special sector with the public interest at stake. Over time, then, perhaps some of the worst excesses would be curbed. Realistically, though, the Pakistani media is drawn from, operates within and caters to a deeply flawed Pakistani society. To expect it to exist as a beacon of righteousness amidst a sea of mediocrity and worse may be a stretch too far.
Khanewal stoning
July 22nd, 2012
Just when the shock at the last grotesque outrage begins to wear off, Pakistani society seems to throw up a new incident to recoil at. As reported in this paper, the Supreme Court on Friday came down hard on the Punjab administration over reports that a woman had been stoned to death in a village near Khanewal. Adding to the shocking — though, can it be termed as shock anymore? — Maryam Bibi, a 25-year-old mother, was lynched on the orders of a local panchayat. She had reportedly refused a landlord’s advances, which led to the man levelling questionable charges against her and to the woman’s eventual lynching in her own home. The incident reflects a frightening proclivity for violence on the flimsiest of contexts.
The negative role jirgas and panchayats have played in Pakistan, particularly where the abuse of women is concerned, is no great secret. Going on the available facts of this incident, this sort of twisted system of ‘justice’ punishes women even if they try and defend themselves from rape and assault. Passing laws and making commissions is great, but two major steps need to be taken to check incidents such as these. Firstly, the specific laws regarding human and women’s rights must be taken up in a methodical way. This includes punishing police and administration officials who look the other way or are complicit in the crime by protecting ‘influential’ suspects. For example, in this case the apex court has censured the police for not taking action despite knowing about the crime. Secondly, a social catharsis and rebirth of sorts is needed — difficult as it may be. It would be a slow process and would require civil society, politicians, community leaders and the clergy working together to end such crimes. The road towards eradicating violence in the name of tradition in Pakistan is long and bumpy. Yet the state and society cannot sit idle and must act to ensure incidents such as the one in Khanewal do not occur in this country, while those responsible for the woman’s murder must be punished.
Neglected artefacts
July 22nd, 2012
The place for archaeological relics is a museum. If they are not there, they could suffer neglect or be stolen. At a Karachi police station some Gandhara-era pieces became logical victims of neglect: they were damaged and stolen. An ‘honest’ thief broke the news to our reporter and said he had stolen a Buddha bust from the Awami Colony police station, where a large number of illegally excavated artefacts belonging to the 2,000-year-old Gandhara civilisation were lying uncared for. The priceless pieces had been recovered earlier in two stages: first, a lorry containing the objets d’art was seized by the police; second, on further investigation, the trail led to a house where more such curios had been stolen and hoarded. Since the police recovered these artefacts, it is they who became their temporary custodians, and that’s where it became evident how ill-trained they are in handling objects which are a valuable part of Pakistan’s cultural heritage. The recovered lot was loaded and unloaded in a way that damaged many of them, and as the conscientious lifter said the bust was part of a statue that broke during the grossly unprofessional handling.
While the recovery of the stolen material was obviously police responsibility, archaeological experts should have been quickly brought on board. It would be unrealistic to expect the policemen to even appreciate the value of what had fallen to their lot. In any case, this is not the end of the story. While the artefacts still lying with the police need to be handed over to their rightful keepers, all sides, especially the archaeological department, should work out a plan of action for dealing with a repeat incident — as there almost surely will be when it comes to Gandhara art.