
By Iram Saleem
DAWN declares that it will not be cowed down the pressure of Imran Khan government that is bent upon muzzling the free media. Although PM Khan has stopped the government ads for Dawn the maverick media organization refuses to submit to its might and doing independent journalism.
Dawn reminds Khan that shooting the messenger is the go-to tactic for authoritarian leaders; facts are anathema if inconsistent with the airbrushed version of reality they choose to project. When the government demonises the media as the ‘enemy’, it creates a buffer against the public being informed of inconvenient truths and against poor governance or corruption being exposed.
Unfortunately, Dawn says Prime Minister Imran Khan’s diatribes against the press have become increasingly frequent and hostile. On Saturday, during a chat with journalists, he claimed he had endured “media attacks” over the past two years, singling out the Dawn and Jang media houses as having, in his words, published “false stories” against him and his government.
In the same breath, he rightly described the media as “an important pillar of democracy” — which makes his discrediting of the press all the more ironic. Presumably, in the prime minister’s eyes, only a media uncritical of his government’s performance is a pillar of democracy; only a media that fawns over him, as it did during his long dharna in 2014, is tolerable. Now in the ‘hot seat’ himself as the country’s chief executive, Mr Khan — his well-documented aversion to criticism on full display — has even advised the people to refrain from watching TV talk shows and reading newspapers.
Democratic dispensations do not have the luxury of a victim narrative; they must defend their performance before the public on the basis of facts. However, Mr Khan demonstrates a woeful lack of understanding of the media’s function as a conduit of information — whether favourable or otherwise to the government of the day — and, if it acquits itself well, as a watchdog for the public interest.
Certainly, it is possible that inaccuracies may have crept into some coverage, and a few newspaper columns may not have been to the government’s liking. But to accuse the media of having some ‘agenda’ against it is ridiculous and smacks of rising frustration in PTI ranks. The government should not hide behind wild accusations, such as those by Mr Khan’s media aide that 20 “baseless news” had appeared in Dawn and Jang in the recent past.
Which stories were these? The publications concerned have a right to know and defend themselves.
The state’s desire to bring the media to heel is most clearly manifested in its arbitrary, unacceptable and illegal strategy since last December of denying government ads — as have done some previous administrations — to certain outlets that refuse to be dictated to. While the approach is being tacitly applied at the federal level, and KP and Punjab too have resorted to unannounced bans, there is no doubt the orders have come from the very top. The prime minister must rethink his short-sighted approach, immediately lift the ban and engage with media leaders. Power is ephemeral, and Mr Khan should consider that one day he may once again need a free press.
Mr PM Imran Khan don’t try to be another Ziaul Haq. Pak Destiny
Media in Pakistan is free and unregilatex. Yet it is opposing British style legislatio for misreportng nd defamation laws. Is it unfair? It should be bound by law for spreading false news.
90 % of the channels just create chaos and spread fake news they are not loyal to Pakistan they get foreign funds to do so,
They do not play any part in the development of the country. They produce indecent and vulgar programmes in the name of entertainment or stage a battlefield in the name of political discussions.
Without free press, democracy is a sham.
Dawn has lost its moral authority to talk about media freedom after the publication censored Jami’s rape story
In 1960’s, there was a famous fable being used by our Pakistani media during the time of Ayub’s govt. Fable goes like this: a famished Indian dogs was crossing the border from India and trying to enter in Pakistan ( mind it at that time there was famine in many states of India while pak was better off). On his way he saw many fatty and healthy Pakistani dogs trying to cross indian border. On this he asked why they were entering India where many are dying of hunger. In reply, Pakistani dogs said that well here in pak there was plenty of food and luxury but we were not allowed to bark, whereas in India barking was allowed, so that’s why we were crossing indian border. Moral of the fable: allow people to bark. Don’t snatch that right. It is
at least Niazi govt can do.