The blind patriotism of our cable operators
Pakistan already doesn’t show Indian news channels for fear that these may offend patriotic feeling in Pakistan. Now the BBC has been targeted for showing the ‘other side of the picture’ in one of its programmes. The channel has offended with this manner of programmes in the past, too, but this time around the entire nation is outraged with what the US has done at the climax of a period of mutual distrust between the US establishment and its Pakistani counterpart. The coming together of the ‘Pakistani nation’ has many factors behind it — and it is not always good that a nation have just one opinion — but the trend of blocking news channels can be to the disadvantage of Pakistan.
States that ban news have a pathology and much has been written about it during and after the Cold War, when the Soviet Union and its allies in Eastern Europe made their populations live in an information blackout. As Pakistan gets ready to confront the US as a prelude probably to breaking off all ties with it, the popular mind is being prepared through channel bans. Is this uniformity of opinion good for us? A consensus that results in national self-damage can occur even in democracies and it has recently taken place in the US too. However, in states such as Pakistan, where one institution of the state dominates all decision-making functions and those who should be ruling and not allowing this domination are busy in lethal self-diminution, this trend of blocking TV channels can be dangerous.
Pakistani popular anger is based on just one side of the story. One version has the official endorsement and is already inclining the Pakistani mind to rash punitive reactions. (Rash reactions tend to hurt even the powerful states but tend to damage the weaker ones more permanently.) The fact is that there are two versions of the truth. Unfortunately the American version is what is credited at the international level, while the Pakistani version can only hold if the news channels are prevented from puncturing it. Our asymmetric proxy war against India was rejected by the world while the Pakistanis were force-fed with ‘justifiable jihad’ by non-state actors. Its fallout was experienced by Pakistan’s neighbours whose fear of what Pakistan may do next has isolated Pakistan in the region too.
Even big states have to do self-correction after reversals. Weaker nations don’t have the capacity to do that without being crippled in sectors where they are weak. Creating a popular ‘consensus’ is more dangerous in Pakistan than in the US. We had a glimpse of it during the Raymond Davis crisis when the ‘revenge’ hype manufactured through the media made it almost impossible for Islamabad to slacken its maximalist position — of letting a local judge give Davis a death verdict — and de-escalate the crisis of relations with the US. This time, Pakistan is determined to get the Americans out of the Shamsi airbase and thinks it should not attend the Bonn conference. The world knows that if Pakistan doesn’t attend the conference, a major stakeholder in post-withdrawal Afghanistan will go missing. And it will bend all efforts to get it to return to it. By blocking news and opinion of the variant sort, Pakistan may entrench itself in dangerous isolation and may find it difficult to do course-correction in the midst of popular resistance.
What the cable operators are recommending is going to push the Pakistani TV channels into further unilateralism on what narrative to push. We all know that the ‘national narrative’ has big holes in it — take the example of the Mumbai attacks of 2008 and the current Haqqani network issues — and nurturing it will not be good for Pakistan and its palsied economy.
Published in The Express Tribune, December 1st, 2011.
COMMENTS (34)
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Of course -- points noted
Best, ORQ
Dear Omar I am sorry! I had missed this aspect somehow, though I don't know how. However byline was only part of my objection; it's true that Editorial will have much more freedom in terms of taking positions, however facts still need to be checked and presented in a balance; for instance India and Pakistan both have not allowed their news channels on cable systems. In India, just like the trade issue, there are certain policy guidelines and market barriers which also make it difficult for Pakistani entertainment channels to have easy access, consequently unlike Indian channels which are freely available in Pakistan, the rest is not true in India. This can be a long debate however given this background to argue that Pakistan has not allowed Indian channels is simply misleading. We need to see the whole picture for a more result oriented debate.
Dear Pirzada sahib, This is the newspaper's own editorial -- and hence has no byline.
Regards, Omar R Quraishi Editorial Pages Editor The Express Tribune
Dear Editors, this is an unbalanced kind of report. Such pieces, based on an opinion and one sided facts to reach that opinion should only and only be allowed or printed as "Opinion Pieces" or Op-eds and writers should be clearly identified with their names. Publishing such opinion pieces as newspaper reports damage the credibility of the paper because they look like being the voice of the paper. The broadcasts of BBC World should not be banned; this is a rather reactive decision. Hopefully soon the cable operators will resume this service. Having said this the documentary of BBC, "Secret Pakistan" was a low end media product and its repeat immediately after the NATO attacks and killing of Pakistani soldiers was an intended provocation and many states or institutions do react in such moments. Also many states do bann various broadcasts on one or the other grounds; Al Jazeera English remained unavailable in the US for a long time. I am still not sure if it is freely available on the large American cable system. Similary comments regarding Indian channels are inaccurate. Indian entertainment channels are freely avaialable in Pakistan; both India and Pakistan have not allowed news channels of each other which is sad. However to pin point Pakistan for that is a misleading comment and smacks either of ignorance or deliberate negative propaganda. In view of all this, Editors of Express Tribune should check the credentials of the staff reporter who wrote this piece, "Patriotism of the Cable Operators" and advise him or her to write opinion pieces instead of news reports.
Well one may ask how many Pakistani Channels are shown on Indian DTH and cable TV...Secondly if you think that exposure to CNN , BBC and specially fox would make you 'enlightened" and not watching them will make you a a Lunatic. I would rather be a lunatic but at least I will not be justifying the killings of millions in the name of humanity and democracy..sorry I forgot WMD's..
There is a thing called "remote", if you don't like what is being showed just change the channel, is it that difficult?
Tribune is a Pakistani newspaper and it should not distort the facts. Tribune should tell the whole truth and not half the truth. Tribune wrote "They(Apcoa) requested Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (PEMRA) to revoke landing rights to BBC for showing “Secret Pakistan” after the Mohmand incident.Pakistan already doesn’t show Indian news channels for fear that these may offend patriotic feeling in Pakistan." 1: I would start with that BBC's documentry "Secret Pakistan" was shown on 26/10/2011 & 02/11/2011 and not after the Salala, Mohmand agency attack which occured on 26/11/2011. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-south-asia-15445047 2: Tribune writes "Pakistan already doesn’t show Indian news channels for fear that these may offend patriotic feeling in Pakistan". Fact is that Pakistan allows almost all other Indian entertainment channels but their news cahnnels. On the otherhand, Tribune forgets to mention that India does not allow any Pakistani news or entertainment channels.
What shall we gain by putting ban over most reputable channel in world. We need to understand what world thinks of us. Closing our eyes won't solve our problems. We need to accept that we too have a dark side and which unfortunately we as a nation are not ready to admit this fact. Pakistan certainly is a big shareholder of terrorism in world and denying this fact won't help. Though its not absolutely our own fault but we can't put the blame on anyone unless we ourselves come total clean.....
First the Indian Channels, then BBC. What's next? Complete Black Out?
Add BBC to list of banned words for texting!
theres no escape from this mindset... if we don't like something, we want it out of sight...
I Wonder if BBC made any Documentary on USA Double Games with Britain in Russia, Africa, Middleast, South Asia and now in Central Asia and in China. And what about Killings of million innocent Iraqi and Afghani now Pakistani????
I don't understand why this move is being scrutinized so much by ET....that 80% of the comments are in favor of this move and i believe same case is the rest of population. What is wrong with you Express Tribune (ET)...You can talk about freedom of speech! why do you have to push a biased agenda to condemn this move??....I being a regular audience/follower of ET....have got a right to ask you about this!.....
Good move but I still see these channels being aired. Freedom of speech does not mean anyone can evil talk about our country and we sit like ducks, let their channels run and get higher business.
JD will make Pakistan into a Taliban state – seems it is on its way to becoming one.
Blind Politics not Blind Patriotism
we can close all information and sit like frog in the well...
@Riaz Haq: Al Jazeera is considered anti American yet not shown in Pakistan? Our cable operators should also ask PEMRA ro allow Al Jazeera transmissions in Pakistan.
I fully appreciate this decision by cable operators, the mass media propaganda channels such as BBCCNNFOX should be banned for the one sided and dumbed-down news they deliver. People are realizing the sham that these channels are and in this context well done to our cable operators! For the news hungry, use this opportunity to get news from alternative news sources, see both sides of the picture.
@Richard Cheeseman: Well "Richard",would you please provide a list of the major world news media outlets that should be "banned" from all countries of the world so that we can all live like the North Koreans, secure in the knowledge that "ours" is the best country because our state run (unbiased) media said so.
@Riaz Haq: You say that " Aljazeera English is considered “anti-American” in spite of evidence to the contrary, and it has failed in its efforts to have any major US cable operators carry it." Please go to the Al-Jazeera web page and look at the right hand list of opinions/authors. They are almost all from the far left Bash America crowd! I would call that "evidence" NOT to the contrary! In America the Cable Operators run a BUSINESS, and they will sell no advertising (and thus make no money) on a cable channel that appears to promote anti-American and Anti-Semetic Drivel.
The BBC's self-proclaimed "impartiality" is a fraud. The BBC is the mouthpiece of the UK aggressor regime, which is a satellite of the hegemonic US empire.
The BBC is part of the media wing of the NATO armed criminal gang. It retails and promotes the official lies of the NATO gangsters directed against whichever country is currently in the empire's gun-sights, from "Iraqi WMD" to "Libyan Viagra" and "Iranian nukes."
These BBC propaganda bombs are a warning to Pakistan from the empire, just like the Mohmand massacre. Just as the NATO war machine has a technological advantage over Pakistan's armed forces, the BBC propaganda machine's attacks are more sophisticated than the ideological defence capability of the Pakistan media. But even if the imperial gangsters can't be shot down in flames, they can at least be kicked out of the country.
@Riaz Haq Yes we can watch Aljazeera English in the USA. So don't fool yourself. I'm glad you quote another great American that supports free speech too. One professor Noam Chomsky, kind of funny huh? It's too bad the BBC is cut off by the crazies for telling it like it is... What are the Pakistanis so afraid of anyways? A different opinion? really fellas? a different opinion? or is it the facts that come along with the opinion? Sounds slightly immature, if you ask me, like some kind of a political temper tantrum.
Maybe if the local English media had countered BBC's propaganda effectively, cable operators wouldn't have had to take such steps. But our English media lacks originality and happily tows the same line as BBC/CNN/Fox.
@sana...you are nobody to tell us which channels merit watching and which don't. We've banned youtube, facebook, and the bbc all within the last 2 years. Are you people mad? do you want to live in a place where no outside voice can be heard? are the people of this country too stupid to decide that the bbc is talking B.S. on this issue?
All there years and I have yet to see a BBC documentary on civilian deaths in Afghanistan inflicted by "Friendly Fire" - Karzai government has been speaking on this for ages. The quality and accuracy of the story is not the only thing in question. What is more important is the editorial discretion of just covering topics that only targets on site in this complex theatre. The cable operators have the right to reject content that is offensive to the sentiments of their viewers.
they should have shown this much concern when mullahs were all over the news channels praising the murderer qadri and providing lame excuses and justifications for his horrific crime.they should show this much concern when the news channels thrust the mikes in the faces of rape victims and ask them ''how are you feeling right now". where does the ghairat of the cable operators go then?
I admire these gentlemen for showing patriotism and i dont think it is blind or anything. Unfortunately, these days when it comes to Pakistan, the moto of western media is , anything goes. Everyday there is some new story pr report saying most outlandish things and demonising Pakistan and its people. There is no one to question or confront these newsoutlets. Western reporters looking to establish their cariers come to Pakistan because it is easy to manufature scoopes here and best part no one will question them because environment so hostile for Pakistan that everything gets accepted as truth. Its about time that someone told BBC and other channels that how we Pakistanis feel about incessant tirade of accusation and lies directed at us.
nice article! some objectivity there. Besides, BBC is known to be more reliable than CNN or fox news and most important of all Pakistani news media. The Pakistanis need to know what the world is thinking of them and what they can do to alter their opinions.