Free to travel again

Media houses stood together to uphold a fundamental freedom as Dawn stood by its story and we and others stood by Dawn

There was something blackly comical about the government handling of the Cyril Almeida Affair. Not only was it one of those stories that would be difficult to make up, but it was just the latest foot-in-mouth moment by a government whose communication advisers are longing wistfully for the days when censorship left blank spaces on pages everywhere. The placing of Mr Almeida on the Exit Control List (ECL) prompted the formation of a media firing squad that was remarkable for agreeing to burying assorted hatchets in the government rather than one another.

Shooting the messenger in this instance backfired badly both nationally and internationally. Pakistan became a laughing stock once again and the Interior Ministry the butt of much online ribaldry. Levity aside, Mr Almeida’s name was removed from the ECL on October 14 and he is free to travel again. Representation had been made to the Interior Ministry by a range of media bodies and the IM said that the removal of Mr Almeida’s name would in no way affect the ‘ongoing enquiry’. The Interior Minister was however unable to restrain himself from once again taking aim at his feet and letting fly with both barrels when he mentioned the role of what he described as the ‘independent media’ and its role in ‘safeguarding national interests and countering negative propaganda by enemies of the state.’ Clearly the IM’s understanding of what constitutes an independent media is somewhat at variance with that of every newspaper, magazine, TV channel, online blog and street-corner crier in the land.

The media houses stood together to uphold a fundamental freedom. Dawn stood by its story and we and others stood by Dawn. The government looked foolish and was forced into a climb-down that is rare if not unprecedented. Far from being weakened by the actions of the government the media houses have found strength in unity — the government cannot shut them all down, silence every journalist, kill every negative story. The Almeida Affair may paradoxically end well for the Fourth Estate. It is ending less well for a government that now faces a media that has found its collective feet.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 16^th, 2016.

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