OPINION: Pak media is handcuffed

PAKISTAN lost its democratic structure, the day it came into existence. The freedom of the press was the first casualty after the death of Quaid-i-Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah followed by the constitution and the judiciary. The subsequent governments always wanted to control the press and the black colonial laws were retained.

Freedom of the press In Pakistan has consistently been violated by both military and civilian regimes, making a free press today deadwood. Pakistani media were never allowed to become the eyes and ears of the people. Instead, most of them became mouthpieces of successive governments. In the process, the media lost both freedom as well as independence.

The first martial law brought the press under government control through a new law. It replaced the Press and Publication Ordinance (PPO), of 1960, with an amended version of 1963. These new laws gave enough powers to the government to control Progressive Papers Ltd and other media enterprises and brought reputable papers, like Pakistan Times, Morning News, Mashriq, and Imroz, under its thumb.

It is pertinent to note that the 1970-71 crisis in East Pakistan ( Now Bangladesh) never reported the reality of what was happening there in Pak media out of fear of the state.

The expectations from the first elected government, under Prime Minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, also fell flat. He retained the black laws, besides, imposing Section 144 of the Criminal Procedure Code, against journalists. He banned the publication of a few newspapers and weeklies. Under the martial law of Gen Ziaul Haq, the media experienced a nightmare. During his army rule for the first time, journalists were not only put behind bars but also flogged in public. Nawaz Sharif, on the other hand, was a democratic leader. However, he too proved his authoritarianism also existed among democratic leaders. Nawaz Sharif appointed many journalists to important positions, including ministers and ambassadors. However, consistently distanced himself from journalists who were not sycophants and spoke the truth.

Today, the entire media in Pakistan is a divided house and facing all kinds of challenges from direct threats, intimidation, crisis of credibility, and thus on the decline in professionalism. In the last 10 years, nearly a thousand notices have been issued by the Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (PEMRA) to private television channels for one reason or the other. Many channels have been taken off the air while the journalists have gone missing, some have been killed, and the voice of dissent is no longer acceptable. As a result, Pakistan's future of professional media is uncertain, and entered the era of fake news where disinformation is sometimes the only information available Author of four books on journalism, the late Zamir Niazi, once said: "This is not the age of mass media education but of mass media disinformation and misinformation".

In the last 13 years, nearly 50 journalists have been killed. Some aggressive anti-media laws, the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act (PECA), 2016, have also been implemented. The Freedom Network, an award-winning independent national media watchdog, has documented 140 cases of attacks and violations against journalists and other media professionals between May 2022 and March 2023. Out of 53 cases of journalists killed in the period 2012-2022, there were convictions in only two. In its latest report says, "There has been a staggering two-thirds increase in the number of violations in the preceding year when the number of cases was 86". Five media professionals were killed and unsuccessful attempts were made on the lives of 10 others. Women journalists, as always, continued to be the target of noxious, sexualised attacks on social media. Media persons are getting caught in the middle. With 40pc violations, Islamabad remains the riskiest place to be a journalist. Punjab, the scene of particularly ugly government-opposition clashes, comes in second with 25pc of the violations; last year, the province was in third place with 13pc.

Ironically, Islamabad itself was stated to be the most hazardous place in the country for journalists. Pakistan is like a country where the right to information has never been accepted in its true spirit and worse times expected for the besieged media. Journalism is a difficult job in Pakistan now. Their life becomes miserable if an institution or political group is unhappy with a journalist. However, journalists continue to work despite the threat of terrorists and mafias, but for how long.

(R C Ganjoo is a senior journalist and columnist having more than 30 years experience of covering issues concerning national security, particularly Kashmir. He has worked with several prominent media groups and his articles have been published in many national and international publications.)

Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in this article are the personal opinions of the author. The facts and opinions appearing in the article do not reflect the views of OneIndia and OneIndia does not assume any responsibility or liability for the same.