Editorial from The News

The only way forward out of the current crisis emanating from the suspension of the Chief Justice of Pakistan is for the government to withdraw its reference. If it cannot bring itself to do that then it needs to engage in a dialogue with the opposition, and President Musharraf needs to choose either the army chief post or stand for re-election as a civilian candidate. The way forward is not by imposing censorship on the print and electronic media, which seems to be the new government’s tactic for now. Not only are the threats and warnings to the media that it must fall in line and keep the ‘national interest’ paramount going to not work in this day and age, they will be thoroughly counter-productive and only exacerbate an already tense situation. The reason for the clampdown on the print and electronic media clearly has to do with the thinking in the circles that matter in this country that the whole crisis has been blown out of proportion by the media and hence it will be deflated once the media, especially the TV channels, are brought under the censorship leash.

But the questions that need to be asked of the government are the following:

Who was it that made the Chief Justice of Pakistan non-functional?

What was the manner in which this action against him was taken and a presidential reference filed?

Even if the charge that he was fond of extra protocol or that he asked for favors for his son is true then isn’t that also the case with many senior state functionaries?

Furthermore, who carried out the attack on the office of Geo TV and this newspaper in Islamabad?

Who threatened a journalist of this newspaper on a Voice of America radio show and then proceeded to deny it, only to eat his words when a recording of the show’s transcript was aired on Geo TV?

What was the motive for the arrest and continued incarceration of former Mirpurkhas DIG, Saleemullah Khan, and for putting him in a prison where his life, as claimed by him, could have come under threat?

And if the affidavit of the chief justice is to be believed, who confronted him on March 9 at the president’s camp office and tried to impress on him to quit his post?

Who stood by and idly watched as over 40 people lost their lives in Karachi on May 12, did nothing as the offices of a TV channel came under attack by armed men for several hours on May 12 and then proceeded to hold a ‘National Unity’ rally the same evening in Islamabad, where PTV showed participants doing the bhangra and having a generally fun time?

Who prevented the chief justice from leaving the premises of Karachi’s airport?

Who made uncharitable remarks against judges of the Sindh High Court after the court took suo motu notice of the tragic events of May 12?

Who cancelled the book launch of Ayesha Siddiqa’s Military Inc, in the process ensuring that it becomes a best-seller?

Who prevented Imran Khan from entering Sindh and confined him to Lahore for three days (also in the process making him a hero to some)?

Who included the names of 12 prominent journalists on a list calling them enemies of the people and placed bullets in envelopes in the cars of three of the 12?

There are many more questions but these are some of the more pressing ones that come to mind. Surely, it wasn’t the print or the electronic media that did all these things. As has been pointed out several times in the recent past – and not just by this newspaper but by pretty much the whole print and electronic media – the media is a mirror and reflects reality. If it takes sides or begins to show a one-sided version of events as they unfold then it should be held accountable and that will be reflected via the erosion of its credibility (a la PTV). Also, if for the sake of argument, it is accepted that the media is presenting an unbalanced anti-government version then what about coverage in the international media and what of perception on the street against the government’s policies and actions, especially post-March 9?

By pursuing such a policy, the president risks alienating (a whole lot of them have already been alienated after March 9 and then May 12) those who still see him as someone who can take on the extremists and deliver the country on a progressive and liberal path. Of course, many of these people will now be questioning the glaring dichotomy in the government’s readiness to take on the media but unwillingness to take on extremist vigilantes such as those in Lal Masjid and Jamia Hafsa, who continue to hold parts of the federal capital hostage (and as of June 1 tried to create a law and order situation at PIMS). Censoring the media will make an already bad situation worse and is advice that the government should do without. It is bad for its image domestically as well as overseas but more importantly, it will not bring any kind of advantage to its side.

For instance, it is quite unlikely that the number of people turning out to receive the chief justice will dwindle in the coming weeks merely because the TV channels are not carrying the rallies and demonstrations live, just like the ban on Military Inc’s launch only served to increase its demand among readers. Also, in this day and age there are several ways to counter this live ban (one assumes that those behind the censorship policy are not aware of the fact that blogs have come of age in Pakistan as have websites like YouTube as so on, where such raw footage can be shown). Those who hold the reins of power need to ask themselves what it is that has brought things to this pass. Does the fact that the president of the country also happens to be army chief have something to do with the criticism that is being laid at that institution’s doorstep? Of course politicians have themselves to blame by covertly and sometimes overtly courting the army and asking it to step in but that doesn’t absolve the latter of blame in outreaching its mandate. Surely, if the president of the country were a civilian, or if the corporate and business interests of the military’s various welfare foundations not so expansive, the armed forces would have been spared much of the criticism. In the current situation regarding the action taken against the Chief Justice of Pakistan, it is only to be expected that people will ask whether the president’s being also army chief played a decisive role in the unfolding of events.

The only way forward is to treat the cause of the crisis, not the symptoms (which is being done by what seems to be the beginning of a media clampdown). Such actions, may in the eyes of some, seem as if the government is trying to show to the country and the world at large that it is in charge, but it ends up giving the opposite impression – i.e., that it is now panicking. The government would be advised to either withdraw the reference or come to some sort of compromise with the opposition parties on the president taking a final decision on presenting himself as a civilian candidate.

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