Culture of intellectual dishonesty

A few months back, speaking at a rally, PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari labeled as barking dogs all those journalists who talk against his party in talk shows. Now an audiotape of a conversation between PML-N Vice President Maryam Nawaz and former Information Minister Pervez Rashid has surfaced in which he is found calling all those journalists as barking dogs who do not represent the point of view of his party on a TV talk show, The former minister also lamented the lack of party’s spokesperson on the panel of journalists in the talk show. Both the leaders also showed disdain for the quality of language used by the panel journalists. At the end of the audiotape, Maryam Nawaz also talked about gift baskets that former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif had brought from Uzbekistan and were sent to two prominent journalists.

Two words are of significance in these conversations: Dog and spokesperson. Both the words are used to describe journalists. Another point to be gleaned is the culture of giving gifts to journalists. The quality of language used on TV is yet another concern area.

What does this tell about journalism and journalists in Pakistan?

Speaking of journalism in Pakistan, it has lost the vigour and spirit not to speak of integrity that it held when the editor’s office was intact, independent, and conducted by professionals. The decline in journalism quality in Pakistan is attributed to the explosion of the private TV channel that races against time, which is just a fraction of the whole truth. In reality, the downfall reflects the general attitude of the Pakistani workforce towards their professions. Pick any profession, and you find it infested with violence, cheating and professional dishonesty. With absolutely zero oversight of the ineffective regulatory bodies every profession has turned into a cult where each entity has become a power onto itself. Don’t we lament how private doctors used sleazy means to cheat their patients?

Exorbitant fees notwithstanding, professional ethics, which are supposed to be the best among doctors, remained absent in most of the cases. The usual complaint about doctors was about their cold, uncouth, and at worst ignorant attitude. The same is true about lawyers, who had gained an unusual moral authority to challenge anybody. From damaging and ransacking courts to beating judges to landing into a brawl like a vagabond with opposing parties, the lawyers had used every mechanism to establish their writ over the writ of the constitution that prohibits any individual or organisation from taking law in their hands. Likewise has been the behaviour of the private schools. They fleeced parents in the name of quality education. Every school had the choice and liberty to teach whatever they deemed right. Private schools proliferated like grass in every nook and cranny of the country. Quality was absent in most of the cases. The universities were virtually handed over to the political parties’ youth wings. Punjab University is the classic example where the Islami Jamiat Talaba, the student wing of the Jamaat-e-Islami, has the final say in the administrative decisions of the university. The Karachi University was easily placed under All Pakistan Muttahida Students Organization, the MQM youth wing.

Ditto was the case with other universities. Many prominent universities like Peshawar University became bank account for their employees. They used it to mint money by employing ghost teachers and using a considerable part of the funds on administrative expenses rather than on improving the quality of education. The same approach was used in the sports sector. From being four times the world’s champion in hockey to lifting as many gold cups in squash to becoming a name to reckon with in wrestling, we lost each bit of this accolade to corrupt practices and intellectual dishonesty of the administrative staff. There is a complete disconnect between academia and industries. Ideally, they both feed on each other’s strength to empower the country with a workforce having relevant skills. Ever wondered why Pakistan has been hostage to the low-level skill trap for countless years now?

What went wrong, and how did we reach this condition?

The buck stops at the government. All ministries and their relevant department have regulatory bodies to define parameters of quality and excellence for the organisations and individuals falling under their purview, like PEMRA regulates media behaviour. Healthcare Commission across the country regulates health sectors. The Pakistan Bar Council has the responsibility of regulating the behaviour of lawyers. The Pakistan Medical Commission regulates doctors. Then there are Private School Regulatory Authorities in every province. Innumerable regulatory bodies monitor journalism and journalists’ conduct. Pakistan Sports Board regulates sports. The list goes on.

If a sector’s quality is declining, the responsibility largely lies with the regulatory bodies because they must keep the leash of quality and excellence tight by identifying loopholes, gaps and irrelevant interventions. However, no regulatory body can make a difference if inter-sectorial engagement among different departments is not happening. The actions taken outside the sector are as important as those taken within. For instance, the quality of public transport, water, sewerage system, school curriculum, food legislation, targeted subsidies and tax relaxations impact people’s health. Any improvement in these sectors improves health indicators. According to community health studies, about 50% of diseases and 40% of deaths in Pakistan occur due to poor drinking water quality. We cannot hold hospitals totally responsible for these deaths, though lack of preliminary healthcare services does contribute to the escalation of a death rate.

This brings us to the gift-giving culture and decline in the quality of journalism. When newspapers and channels went into the hands of influential businessmen, they became profit and loss entities, and journalists were reduced to salesmen. It is all about money and power. Those who cannot make money inside the sector try their luck outside. With population explosion and quality on the backburner, intellect and skill are compromised easily. Add to that the ineffective regulatory bodies, and we have a perfect combination of the greedy, corrupt and impulsive work environment. Ever wondered why do we face a trust deficit in every sector?

Those who call journalists dogs or buy their loyalties are part of the prevalent culture of intellectual dishonesty. Ever wondered why the judiciary in Pakistan is compromised?

Published in The Express Tribune, January 6^th, 2022.

Like Opinion & Editorial on Facebook, follow @ETOpEd on Twitter to receive all updates on all our daily pieces.