The details emerging out of Pakistan are still somewhat sketchy but some facts are clear; more than 30 people are dead and over 115 injured. The Chief Justice of Pakistan was unable to address the Sindh Bar Association and was forced to go back to Islamabad and the private television station Aaj TV, which has been in the forefront of covering pro-judiciary and anti-Musharraf protests, was attacked by armed gunmen. This is indeed another dark day in the checkered political history of Pakistan.
It is now well past time for the Musharraf regime to go. This government has now lost the last shreds of moral authority required to govern. I salute the men and women of the civil society of Pakistan and the courageous independent media who are leading this struggle for the supremacy of the law and freedom of expression at grave risk to their life and limb.
As tragic and sad as events in Karachi are, this political moment is of historic import for the people of Pakistan and even on this day of darkness I see some hope for a better future. Since the sacking of the CJP on March 9th, the heroic struggle of the lawyers has germinated greater democratic desire and decisively strengthened Pakistan’s civil society and its beleagured independent media.
In the face of relentless governmental coercion there have been heartwarming displays of peaceful resistance, none more evident than in the historic journey of Justice Chaudhry through the heart of Punjab. Those in Pakistan and abroad who desire an eventual constitutional democratic polity rooted in a rule of law have to be encouraged by these developments. The conclusion of this episode, however, remains highly uncertain because no political sagacity can be expected from those who have brought us to this pass.
This grassroots peoples’ movement has also forced the politicians of all hues to make a choice; they either stand on the side of the rule of law or for the perpetuation of a dangerously unstable, one-man military banana republic. Mainstream politicians (despite all their historical shortcomings) clearly seem to grasp the national mood and the King’s men who are standing up for the present dispensation to save their personal fiefdoms will hopefully pay a steep price whenever they face the electorate in a fair election.
MQM more clearly exposed itself today than it ever has in its sordid history (thanks to private TV channels). The party that started with great hopes, rooted in the educated middle classes has over the years just become a collection of vicious thugs. It is wielding its fascistic tactics on behalf of people who seem to believe they have a divine right to perpetual power and who originally nurtured this party as a counterweight to PPP. MQM has shown itself the mirror image of the worst of MMA; both groups want people to acquiesce to their ideologies by force. Neither believes in nor has any fundamental respect for a constitutional rule of law.
Pakistan stands at a critical juncture as it has so many times in its unfortunate 60 year independent history. I would urge all Pakistanis and their well wishers to lend thier support to the struggle of Pakistan’s revitalized civil society. Let’s hope that the forces of peaceful democratic activism led by the country’s courageous lawyers ultimately emerge victorious and we can close this latest chapter of the military’s recurring era of authoritarian and unconstitutional misrule without further human suffering.
Fawad is a California-based literati-at-large and writes the blog ‘Moments of Tranquility,’ where a version of this was first posted.
fawad on this thread and on your blog, you spoke of the absence of hamad raza’s story on the news’ website and assumed that this was censorship at work — you were told by myself and one other interactor that this is not censorship but you persisted with your unsubstantiated arguments — fyi, the newspaper even carried his (i.e. hamad raza’s last emails) — now if it was under strict censorship how would it be print such stories — it also carried an exclusive interview of this DIG’s wife — the DIG has been arrested but his wife says its because he refused the Sindh CM’s orders in a case that the CJ was looking into — like i said first get your facts straight and then get into debates –
fawad — like i said earlier one shouldnt say anything unless one knows of the facts — as for dawn, i worked there for 11 years prior to my current job at this ‘large newspaper’ — six of those 11 years were on its editorial pages —
oliveream — read up before you comment — i never said blogs are bad or useless so please point out where i gave no ‘credence to citizen journalsm’
– rather i was countering the mostly uninformed comment on this thread (much of it unsubstantiated ranting along with personal pot shots against me) vis-a-vis the print media — also please dont quote rupert murdoch for me — he might be speaking with reference to the US, UK or Australia but there is still a long way to go
clearly people like sabahat, fawad and now oliveream are proof that pakistanis do not take to criticism kindly and launch personal attacks when they run out of arguments — it seems none of you can take someone else telling you his or her opinion that goes against your held views — i didnt find that insulting oliveream — i have dealt with far more misinformed and generally annoying people in real life to be perturbed by your ‘remarks’ —
darwaish sahib — no your conclusion is inaccurate — it doesnt mean that there is no pressure but it also doesnt mean that there is pressure all the time — those on this thread seem to think the other extreme — also darwaish sahib, i think you all need to understand that press freedom (and this is true for any country) is relative — hamid mir may have been pressured but many things have been said on his show which one would have thought would have been censored in days gone by — the same goes for what Aaj TV aired —
really darwaish sahib — how many professional journalists do you speak to on a daily basis — i am only asking this personal question because you raised this matter — strange because ive been in the profession since 1993 and find that although there are significant pressures the press is doing a good job of itself — also i fail to understand your collective naivete at this — press freedom is under threat in practically every country of the world — which doesnt mean that i am condoning it but one needs to see things in perspective — the original issue is that some people here think that blogs are the next big thing in pakistan and i told them that they werent — in fact its only when a blog gets quoted on the print or electronic media that its audience will increase significantly —
zakintosh — what trash did i write — i called someone’s uninformed comments idiotic and you call that trash — i call someone living in a dreamworld and that’s trash for you — haha - pray tell me how am i supposed to conduct myself on this thread — try and engage in an argument without getting personal — and if you do want to get personal then lets start discussing your profession as well here —
fawad — again speak when you know the facts — hameed haroon is a publisher — he is not a professional journalist — i would rather believe someone like ahmed ali khan or abbas nasir (the current editor) because they are professional editors — also i dont think you got my point about the blog and intimidation — maybe you would like to read and attempt a re-comprehension of what i wrote — also there have been several people here who have equated the press’s reluctance to name the MQM openly as some kind of sell out — like i said fawad, open your eyes, read, get your facts straight and then debate by all means
saif — yes i know who he is — if you bothered reading our pages you would realise what big ‘fans’ we are of this minister — but like i said people need to know of the facts or at least be informed when they get into such debates — and no, i dont think calling someone’s comments idiotic warrants an equation with wasi zafar — btw i hope you did read our editorial calling for his sacking :)
cases of intimidation (from economic to violent) by the government, and its supporters, abound. the well-documented dawn saga, the attack on newsline offices, the kidnapping of najam sethi, the list goes on. however the intimidation is obviously directed at good and eefective journalism. that may help explain some things …
by the way, an interesting discussion on blogs and the other media (i agree that it is detracting from the main topic here) continues on my blog.
I agree, everyone, please don’t make things personal.
This whole thread has turned into something that has nothing to do with the topic or is even important. Blogs are blogs. Newspapers are newspapers. Let it be guys. What are we trying to prove and for whom?
But whatever we say, please please let us keep this forum clean so that it does not turn into the gali galoch and personal attacks you see in other places. Please, lets not mess up this good site.
@Omar R. Quraishi:
For a person who gives very little credence to citizen journalism, you seem to have spent a lot of your time arguing your point on a BLOG! Can you spot the irony?…or should I point it out to you?
Also, you might not be aware but even Ruport Murdoch has admitted that blogs are the next true source of news, evidenced by the fact that every major newspaper in the west has launched its own blog in order to compete with citizen journalism.
And by the way, I think it is appropriate to claim that the word ‘professional’ does not apply to you, as your arguments here have been rude, insulting and condescending. And your lack of ability to comprehend and face reality is not only surprising but also rather disturbing. By the way, have you ever considered working for Fox News?
Am I being too insulting? GOOD!
– i edit the editorial pages of one of the country’s largest english newspapers and have yet to receive any call from any minister or govt official or the publisher for that matter telling me what to do � like i said you guys have no idea of what you are talking about or of how journalists go about carrying out their duties in real life
Omar Sb: If we go by above statement then it given an impression that basically there is no such thing as government pressure on journalists but yes, it happens once in a while? Are you suggesting that stories of severe government pressure on journalists are not entirely true? If yes then this is quite a news flash for me atleast because most of the journalist we see on television these days or meet in real life, always complain about government pressure and threats etc. People like Ansaar Abbasi (The News Islamabad), Hamid Mir, Talat Hussain, Ayaz Amir etc etc are always whining about the pressures and portray a picture that freedom of press is in great danger. Ansaar Abbasi gave several references in one program about how his stories were held back because of government pressure.
Are your fellow journalists trying to create a hype/panic in public by making up false stories. Please help me understand what exactly is the real situation and what you meant by your above statement?
Only on the Internet could a proud professional print journalist write such trash or behave so unprofessionally - telling others they don’t know what they are talking about, calling them idiots, and live in a dreamworld thinking everyone else lives in one.
Although Omar R Qureshi’s comment must have upset many, both for it’s tone and content, we see that this democratic medium - which could have been used to call him the many things he more than deserves - has shown more decency and decorum in allowing him to express his inane views and use language that his medium of choice would not permit.
The times, Mr. Print Journalist, are a-changing. Wake up! You are young enough to be writing (hopefully more maturely and with fewer immature reactions!) in the road ahead for this medium which will be there for a long, long while after print journalism has further lost it’s relevance and impact … and only the best among it (The News is certainly far from that) survive.