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VIEW: See no evil âAbid Shah
Zipping these irritating, annoying, loudmouth channels, however briefly, will consolidate Pakistan as a beacon of moderation; the positive mood will encourage international investment, the economy will boom, and rule of law will be the law
Unplugging television channels like Geo and Aaj is such a smart move. It shows Pakistanâs rulers are confident, enlightened and moderate. Across the globe people are applauding heavily, as expected. International news organisations like the BBC, CNN etc etc have their scoops and they are already singing, âGod save Pakistanâ. It is a veritable chorus.
Zipping these irritating, annoying, loudmouth channels, however briefly, will consolidate Pakistan as a beacon of moderation; the positive mood will encourage international investment, the economy will boom, and rule of law will be the law. Multinationals love to work in countries which have press restrictions. We will even draw investment away from India â surely the country yesterday moved a peg up in Microsoftâs esteem; Google will want to open an office here. Will we have new corporate campuses in DHA Lahore or DHA Karachi? In both?
This follows the script of the governmentâs investment strategy: Pakistan is a safe place. Nothing happens in the news here!
Even if we donât draw any multinationals that will export from Pakistan, maybe a Starbucks will finally open on MM Alam Road. I, for one, want Krispy Kreme doughnuts â yummy, decadent, and heavy.
And even if Microsoft, Google and Starbucks dither, at least we will have the offices of another one of these NGOs which promote journalistsâ rights â they are pesky, but hey, NGO work is sexy! Maybe BBC will open another office.
Muffling the media will only disprove the trashy theories of career-obsessed academics like Dr Ayesha Siddiqa, who must have studied War Studies at Kingâs College only to diss the army. Her argument â milbus: that a military business complex has the merry run of Pakistan â will not stand. There is absolutely, certainly, surely, very likely, most probably no junta that wants to control the state of Pakistan and so further its own economic interests, and consolidate land and power.
No. No. No.
The other day I was sitting in a coffee shop when two men sat next to me. One started moaning, âMy Uncle was in the Air Force and he only got 20 acres when he retired. After all those years of service!â
I felt for the poor manâs uncle. He received after years of service a piddly 20 acres, probably in some barren nook of the country, surrounded only in a lurid, sensationalising mind by 50 starving and displaced peasants. No, Dr Siddiqa is wrong. Give her a pension from the Army Welfare Trust.
It is remarkable how well institutions work in this country â how responsible they are. Know, reader, that technically, the Cable Operators of Pakistan initially shut down Geo and Aaj â not the government. President Musharrafâs âamendment to the ordinanceâ came later. At the Karachi Press Club, Khalid Sheikh, the chairman of the Cable Operators, announced that he would not be a party to a campaign against the state, the judiciary, and the armed forces.
The Information Minister will still appreciate the move on aesthetic grounds. It shows, after all, that democracy is working. Khalid Sheikh clarified in his press conference that cable operators were facing severe public criticism for showing sordid programmes and were receiving requests from subscribers to stop these TV channels.
Mr Sheikh, then, is only responding to the demands of the public. This is real democracy! Our people are so sensible! So well behaved! Sensitive, even. They do not want misinformation, even at the expense of information!
The other day Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz said his government believes in the freedom of the press but that the media should exercise freedom with responsibility and have a sense of duty and observe the code of ethics, rules and regulations. The subscribers of the channels were in complete agreement with him. The government is in touch with the people, who are in touch with the government. Everybody knows that the broadcast of sullying news items is bad for investment, and for the economy. It is bad for Pakistanâs public image. It is even bad for Pakistan.
I have never directly appealed to anybody to shut a channel, but from time to time I have wished that these odious Hindi language soaps should be shut down. All those soaps are frying my brain, and they have turned many of my acquaintances into zombies. It would be a public service if the government were to act quickly.
However, I anticipate a howl of protest from many people, not least from the channels themselves, should the soaps be closed. But I believe the protesters will be a misguided minority.
Here, for example, is Geo News on its website: âThe citizens, social and political circles have condemned the ban on transmission of Geo News and they have demanded of the government to immediately lift ban on the transmission of the Geo News and give complete freedom to media in the country.â
Please, stop whining â you are delusional! The government is acting in your best interest. Spare the rod and spoil the child, as they say.
In the meantime, I am off to watch the only reliable news source on this planet: Fox News.
http://dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2007\06\07\story_7-6-2007_pg3_4
Zipping these irritating, annoying, loudmouth channels, however briefly, will consolidate Pakistan as a beacon of moderation; the positive mood will encourage international investment, the economy will boom, and rule of law will be the law
Unplugging television channels like Geo and Aaj is such a smart move. It shows Pakistanâs rulers are confident, enlightened and moderate. Across the globe people are applauding heavily, as expected. International news organisations like the BBC, CNN etc etc have their scoops and they are already singing, âGod save Pakistanâ. It is a veritable chorus.
Zipping these irritating, annoying, loudmouth channels, however briefly, will consolidate Pakistan as a beacon of moderation; the positive mood will encourage international investment, the economy will boom, and rule of law will be the law. Multinationals love to work in countries which have press restrictions. We will even draw investment away from India â surely the country yesterday moved a peg up in Microsoftâs esteem; Google will want to open an office here. Will we have new corporate campuses in DHA Lahore or DHA Karachi? In both?
This follows the script of the governmentâs investment strategy: Pakistan is a safe place. Nothing happens in the news here!
Even if we donât draw any multinationals that will export from Pakistan, maybe a Starbucks will finally open on MM Alam Road. I, for one, want Krispy Kreme doughnuts â yummy, decadent, and heavy.
And even if Microsoft, Google and Starbucks dither, at least we will have the offices of another one of these NGOs which promote journalistsâ rights â they are pesky, but hey, NGO work is sexy! Maybe BBC will open another office.
Muffling the media will only disprove the trashy theories of career-obsessed academics like Dr Ayesha Siddiqa, who must have studied War Studies at Kingâs College only to diss the army. Her argument â milbus: that a military business complex has the merry run of Pakistan â will not stand. There is absolutely, certainly, surely, very likely, most probably no junta that wants to control the state of Pakistan and so further its own economic interests, and consolidate land and power.
No. No. No.
The other day I was sitting in a coffee shop when two men sat next to me. One started moaning, âMy Uncle was in the Air Force and he only got 20 acres when he retired. After all those years of service!â
I felt for the poor manâs uncle. He received after years of service a piddly 20 acres, probably in some barren nook of the country, surrounded only in a lurid, sensationalising mind by 50 starving and displaced peasants. No, Dr Siddiqa is wrong. Give her a pension from the Army Welfare Trust.
It is remarkable how well institutions work in this country â how responsible they are. Know, reader, that technically, the Cable Operators of Pakistan initially shut down Geo and Aaj â not the government. President Musharrafâs âamendment to the ordinanceâ came later. At the Karachi Press Club, Khalid Sheikh, the chairman of the Cable Operators, announced that he would not be a party to a campaign against the state, the judiciary, and the armed forces.
The Information Minister will still appreciate the move on aesthetic grounds. It shows, after all, that democracy is working. Khalid Sheikh clarified in his press conference that cable operators were facing severe public criticism for showing sordid programmes and were receiving requests from subscribers to stop these TV channels.
Mr Sheikh, then, is only responding to the demands of the public. This is real democracy! Our people are so sensible! So well behaved! Sensitive, even. They do not want misinformation, even at the expense of information!
The other day Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz said his government believes in the freedom of the press but that the media should exercise freedom with responsibility and have a sense of duty and observe the code of ethics, rules and regulations. The subscribers of the channels were in complete agreement with him. The government is in touch with the people, who are in touch with the government. Everybody knows that the broadcast of sullying news items is bad for investment, and for the economy. It is bad for Pakistanâs public image. It is even bad for Pakistan.
I have never directly appealed to anybody to shut a channel, but from time to time I have wished that these odious Hindi language soaps should be shut down. All those soaps are frying my brain, and they have turned many of my acquaintances into zombies. It would be a public service if the government were to act quickly.
However, I anticipate a howl of protest from many people, not least from the channels themselves, should the soaps be closed. But I believe the protesters will be a misguided minority.
Here, for example, is Geo News on its website: âThe citizens, social and political circles have condemned the ban on transmission of Geo News and they have demanded of the government to immediately lift ban on the transmission of the Geo News and give complete freedom to media in the country.â
Please, stop whining â you are delusional! The government is acting in your best interest. Spare the rod and spoil the child, as they say.
In the meantime, I am off to watch the only reliable news source on this planet: Fox News.
http://dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2007\06\07\story_7-6-2007_pg3_4
