Saman Hamid
Tensions are high at the Indo-Pak border. In these critical times all means are being employed to gain victories, conventionally and unconventionally. A news story, “Act against militants or face international isolation, civilians tell military” seemed like a headline in a major Indian newspaper unfortunately it was published in one of our own. The flagship in newspaper publications, the voice of Muslim League since 1941, founded by Quaid-e-Azam himself, and this revered publication has fallen from a pedestal. Thiscolumnist turned reporter revealed unnamed sources and unconfirmed details of a meeting that had the civil and military leadership of Pakistan confront each other in the wake of growing international isolation, something our dear enemy has been pandering for the longest time;interestingly the alleged course of action decided by ISI chief and PM Nawaz and the rest at the meeting, whoever chose to be named and quoted indirectly was to curb militancy by banned organization named by Indians time and time again, even China wants us totake action according to the same officials in clandestine. Needless to say the story has unfolded like an Indian dream. A newspaper at the forefront of Pakistan’s journalistic code of ethics and known for not following hidden agendas has published an unverified story on its front page at a time when the enemy is employing all tactics divert us for the atrocities they are committing in Kashmir. There have been subtle hints from some quarters for quite some time now more aggressively as cross border tension has escalated. Themes such as; giving up on Kashmir, rights of Balochistan by people like Bramdagh Bugti, Pakistan’s economy being no good, and CPEC being a nightmare for all have been finding friendly print sources in Pakistan. This story however is a step above everything; it is a form of treason against the nationand appears to be more of a gruella tactic from our neighbor and defies all those blowing the trumpet of freedom of expression as freedom of expression does not give freedom to falsify. The kneejerk reaction from all official quarters of Pakistanan outright denial even so by the same newspaper but the damage has been done. The reality hinges on perception and as “The Hindu” quotes an old journalist adage;”one must never “accept anything about the Government until it has been officially denied; then you know it is true.” The Indian media is projecting it as a victory, a confession in so many words; a “WE SAID SO!” and above all a further source for their establishment to pressurize Pakistan, the global audience especially the US look at India as they blow this trumpet. This is also taken as an opportunity to discredit Pakistan infront of
China, putting question marks on her ability to steer a project like CPEC, with all the stakeholders allegedly not on the same foot anymore. No matter how much there are denials a spec of mistrust via misinformation has been firmly planted increasing the challenges ahead of us.
The role of media is quickly evolving and unfortunately for countries like ours the gates that safeguard national interest and quality of information are not fast enough. Gone are the days when media was someone that watched and waited as the state acted. Building popular opinions and prompting subsequent actions and reactions has vested tremendous power in an already powerful actor, especially in the wake of cyberspace. In the current context, Mr. Imtiaz Alam in his article; “From brinkmanship to de-escalation” in The News (October 6) has very aptly put the role of media in as that of an unbridled magnifier of war hysteria in the Subcontinent. A multiplier he says. Media houses like that of Mr. Haroon shoulder the responsibility of our nation’s image building. A newspaper of the literary elite; his esteemed newspaper has always held a special place in all the educated quarters of the country. At a time when we all need to unite and fight our internal demons as well as send a strong message to external enemies as a nation, this throws us in a frenzy of doubts. Questioning our establishment at a time when they are laying their lives for our security is something that needs to be nullified. The course of action some may wonder? As an audience there should be denial and strong condemnation, fabrications at whatever scale should be outright denied the realm of discussion. The quicker we as a nation, the target audience of such attacks give it a cold shoulder the faster its effects will be nullified. As far as the international response is concerned, the rebuttal should suffice as time and our national attitude will adequately question the credibility of such a story. The damage to our national interests though should not go in vain as there must be repercussions though; a precedent should be laid to discourage others from following in this reporter’s footsteps additionally independent investigation should be carried out to ascertain those responsible for letting such fabrications build up at such a huge level, apologies are simply not enough as Dawn’s commitment towards its visionary Quaid has been shook to the core.
