Davis and our national honour

After Raymond Davis was freed on the basis of blood money (diyat), sections of the media and the rightwing conservative elements in the country got yet another issue to rail about. Much of their outrage was centred on what they perceive to be the loss of ‘national honour’ and the metaphor that was most commonly used was of Pakistan selling itself to the Americans. Some processions were put in the field by the Jamaat-i-Islami and Imran Khan’s Tehreek-e-Insaf — though the JUI-F has been conspicuous by its absence. That mainstream political parties remained unmoved by the so-called loss of national honour was nullified by the performance of the media, which lost its cool as several TV hosts and anchors lunged for ratings in an effort to pander to the lowest common denominator.

The case of Raymond Davis was not discussed objectively. A national consensus on the way the case was handled was presumed and any difference of opinion over immunity was brushed aside. One tended to see the same people on several talk shows, which would lead some to believe that perhaps there is a dearth of analysts/’experts’ on television. Knowing that any anti-American upsurge could not be managed without ex-ISI boss Hamid Gul, every anchor tried to get him as a guest.

The anchors were angry under the misguided principle that views that they present should be in tune with those held by the general public. Points of law were made and established by non-expert guests and, in some cases, by the anchors themselves. Already, the stage had been set for an emotional mudbath: Channels and newspapers had decided that the way the police had changed tack on the framing of charges against Raymond Davis was not to be questioned and the same was the case with military involvement/influence in the whole matter. In fact, it took an emotional PML-N senior office-bearer to ask Imran Khan point-blank why he was maligning politicians and not mentioning the role played by the country’s most powerful institution — the military — without whose consent nothing of the sort could have happen.

Is there no available knowledge about the behaviour of states which could be used to differentiate between the conduct of the individual and that of the state, especially in the realm of international affairs where national sovereignty is always in doubt? Why should ‘honour’ take precedence over the ‘interest’ of the state? Why can’t one realise that acting emotionally in the past has harmed the state of Pakistan? Why should honour lead the way to self-destruction when wisdom points the way to survival and prosperity? Why cannot we learn this from, say, a traditional ally like China, which does not factor in ‘honour’ into its dealings with the rest of the world? From the loss of East Pakistan to the protest over the Kerry-Lugar Bill, one has seen how meaningless any reference to nationalism and ‘qaumi ghairat’ has been.

What was the use of pillorying all the important political entities of Pakistan when it came to diagnosing the mechanics of Raymond Davis’s acquittal? What pleasure did it give the media to hurl angry words at the PPP, the PML-N, the judiciary — including the Supreme Court of Pakistan — the ISI and the Pakistan Army as renegades who had ‘sold the nation cheap’?

How can ‘honour’ be the yardstick of conduct for a country? Nations/states that are really strong don’t feel the need to constantly prove that they are honourable. The truth is that states recognise as valid only their national interest and think of survival at all times. The opposite of honour is wisdom. Almost bankrupt with its politicians victimising one another at the cost of the economy, Pakistan needs to exercise restraint and act wisely rather than passionately. And if the politicians are without wisdom, should the media, too, politicise itself and join the chorus of destruction? The way the media has reacted to the release of Raymond Davis was not its finest hour and should lead to some introspection and, one hopes, correction.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 19^th, 2011.