Thursday, March 26, 2009

Drone attacks... electronic media is a powerful weapon that cannot be used irresponsibly!

The role of anchors and guests is very disturbing... they are not giving the true picture!
It is about time to put facts in front of the people. The anchors and the so called Tajziakars (analysts) are muddling the issue along with the ultra-militant religious parities who have a softcorner for terrorists. The Drone attacks must be seen in proper perspective and responsible people should not play to the gallery lest they harm Pakistan irrevocably.

It has been reported today that 7 people were killed in a drone attack (http://www.thenews.com.pk/top_story_detail.asp?Id=21153). These people were not Pakistanis. They were all foreign nationals who were using Pakistani soil to attack the allied forces in Afghanistan. US and the West are not a dead nation. They feel a threat from a direction,  they take action unlike us, let any number be looted at gun point we do nothing. They are serious in their own interests. I think we should be serious in ours.

It is totally misleading even malicious to say the drone attacks are an attack on Pakistan. They are not. They are attacks on militants and terrorists. US is going after perceived threats on the basis of intelligence. Sometimes collateral damage takes place which hurts us surely. But they have never gone against Pakistan per se. The discussion on Capital Talk and the hint of taking on the US army Mr. Hamid Mir was alluding to is very dangerous. Very. It might over turn the applecart completely. 

Just because you have to discuss something, does not mean you say any thing to fill air time. This is irresponsible journalism and the new Information Minister also put up a poor show in defending the Government. He was on the back foot when he did not have to. He could have easily played on the front foot dispatching every loose deilivery to the ropes.

The government is at the moment going fine with respect to drone attacks. We are protesting all the time. Beyond that why should we do any thing so long as they are not attacking Pakistan? It is childish to argue otherwise. First of all we do not have the where with all to take on The Super Power whose aid is also fuelling our economy. We are not self sufficient in many areas. Ours is not an industrial economy. We can't afford too many things including the luxuries of our ministers and landlords and we cannot take on America.

It is time to see things in the larger global canvas. The world is not going to keep quite and Pakistan will never be at ease so long as the terrorists threat is present in any part of Pakistan. It has to be eliminated for our children's sake if we want to give them a safe Pakistan as the founder The great Quaed e Azam envisioned it. There is no need for us to get into problems created in the world by the follies of the last century by Arabs. By not addressing the issues in time we are at this stage now.

I think the government should come down heavily on any journalist using the mass media, promoting terrorism even obliquely. Siding with any body who fights the State with weapons must be considered a crime and put behind bars. I see a lot of people siding with the gun totting residents of Lal Masjid who fought a pitched battle with Pakistan army. Can you have a soft corner for them? No, regardless of imagined conspiracy theories.

Media in general but electronic in particular is a lethal weapon that cannot be used irresponsibly lest it do permanent damage to the public psyche. Most people do not know much so please do not fill their minds with misleading inforation whose results are invariably disastrous. 

I urge utmost responsibility in every word that is uttered n the electronic media. Character assasination must also stop that guests of the anchors indulge with impunity and without proofs. A point of view right or wrong cannot be projected as fact. A POV is only a POV (point of view).

I was listening to an interview in Waqt News, late night where in Moulvi Sufi was giving ideas which were not consistent with the Constitution of Pakistan. For instance he did not believe in democracy and so forth. Destruction he condones one way or the other and while advocating people to carry weapons, holds Government responsible for infrasturcural reconstruction and law and order. How can we govern oursleves?

By the way those who want to take on America are not able to shoot down slow low flying drones and yet claim to take on a super power. This is really absurd. All they end up is blowing up schools and bridges and force local people to tow their line and follow a divisive and militant brand of Islam imported from Najd. We in Pakistan follow a more tolerant version of Islam. That is the reason we are in the majority (about 65% in Pakistan, India and Bangladesh combined) in a sub-continent that was once 100% kufr (belivers in more than one God). 

Islam here spread never with the sword but with love, affection and appeal of The Onenesss of Allah (Wahdath) and The Character (seerath) of our beloved Prophet, peace be on him. We have to preach the benevolent and peace loving Islam not the militant one.

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

Yes let not the drone attacks bedevil the relations between the two friendly countries. America must stop it. But at the same time we should not side with the militants who are using our soil bringing us a bad name.

Anonymous said...

This too much Kuch bhi bolthe rahthe hain. Ek fashion bana lethe phir bakthe rahthe hain. Musharraf ko bura kaho ek fashion ban gaya tha. Ab bhi hai. Khud tho kuch nahi kar pa rahe hain. Bas Musharraf par rothe rahthe hain. Ab Amrecka mil gaya hai. Drones par galath thaathur paida kar rahe hain jo ke Pakistan ke liye bahuth galath hai.

Anonymous said...

Musharraf baiting continues no ends. And some poeple seem to know nothing but that. Where will they take the country? Yes the media is building a wrong consensus against America it is dangerous. Wonder who can stop it.

Anonymous said...

Beautifully written. Indeed people must understand the finer points and realise where we stand in the world community. The last paragraph is very touching. We have pushed our Islam into the very abyss of ignorance and intolerance and arrogance with this brand of imported petrodollar Islam.

Anonymous said...

This is too much favouring America. Why did America go into Afghanistan in the first place. OK it did. Fine. But why did it go into Iraq and destroyed it completely. Bush listened to the bad angry people like Cheney etc. He has destroyed what little love there was between people of USA and Pakistan. Really Pakistani people do not hate American people but when it attacks others we don't like it you see.