The press is free to report on anything against the United States, India, women and minorities and that is the extent to which it is free. This was said by researcher and writer Wajahat Masood at the conclusion of a two-day seminar in Islamabad on Friday, said a press release.
“What we are not free to write is anything that is nearer to truth and objective,” said Masood, adding that the media in recent times has increasingly become a propaganda tool. The last session, where he spoke, took up the issue of media freedom in Pakistan. About 200 journalists from all over Pakistan took part in the conference arranged by the USAID.
The topic was incisive and attracted plenty of comments from the audience. Veteran journalist Ghazi Salahuddin, the moderator, said that media in Pakistan had still not figured out what to show and what not to do.
Shahzada Zulfiqar said there is no concept of media freedom in Balochistan, where national interests reign supreme. He added that the coverage of Balochistan is not in the interest of media due to low ratings.
Earlier, in the morning session, participants discussed local media and its promotion. The session was chaired by National Language Authority Chairman Ahmed and featured experts such as Zulfiqar Ali, columnist Harris Khalique, and senior journalists Madad Ali Sindhi and Irshad Mastoi.
Sindhi described the emergence of Sindhi newspapers. He said that state of Sindhi media is no different from the mainstream media as far as the wages and behaviour of the owners is concerned.
Irshad Mastoi, a local journalist from Balochistan, said that media in the province is going through a dire state due to a number of threats to journalists. He said that currently only three newspapers from Balochistan are being published from various parts.
Khalique shed light on the inadequacies of English and Urdu medium. He said that going by the statistics, the mainstream medium of Urdu has been confined to urban centres and government offices. Raising another important point he said that vernacular media is more progressive and liberal than the mainstream media.
Published in The Express Tribune, December 1st, 2012.
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If Pakistani media can change the chant "Pakistan ka matlab kya: La Illaha Illalah" to "Parhne likhne ke siwa Pakistan ka matlab kya" in their own country, I don't see how they can complain about limited freedom. In fact, people complain about the media crossing the limits of freedom.