To be rational here is another act of delirium. The aggressive and violent onslaught against voices of sanity is becoming a serious issue as the spaces available for free speech are shrinking rapidly with the growing radicalisation of society. Mindsets here are being constantly designed and inculcated, if not evolved on their own. The media here acts on the wishes of its sponsors, who are more interested in disseminating discourses that can get them the biggest audience. They have also developed a strong nexus with right wing parties, oversimplifying the complex problems a terrorist-hit country like Pakistan suffers from. The media has also been used extensively by power holders to malign people or their ideas, which they consider to be a challenge to their overfed dictums to the masses. A difference of opinion is no longer tolerated, let alone respected. And, worse, people like Sabeen Mahmud are being shot for speaking their minds or hosting dissenting opinions.
Stereotyping people who dare to speak out is a common phenomenon. They are publically ridiculed, humiliated and trashed with labels. People are being strategically discouraged from questioning certain policies of the state. They are termed anti-Pakistan whereas, in fact, they are only advocating for the state to stop using anti-people policies for its own invested interests. People who fight for human rights here are easily termed as those working on a “western agenda” and “anti-patriotic”. The powers that be have successfully created an air of mistrust for nongovernmental organisations, social and human rights workers.
If we are to look for examples of how ridiculous a mind can get, we must take a look at how Malala Yousafzai was ridiculed by religious parties on social media, with Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) at the forefront, for getting shot by the Taliban. I was appalled when an educated gentleman told me that Malala Yousafzai got herself shot with such angular precision that it did not kill her, an art only the CIA has mastered. He tried to convince me that Malala and her father were agents of the west. Apparently, he has been drawing his conclusions from local newspapers that have a huge circulation among the masses. There is no need to ask how they further such theories that make no sense at all on such a massive level in the absence of any editorial oversight. It has become too easy to fall for unfounded claims that have left the realm of common sense far behind. Whether Malala is a foreign agent or not, it is the intent behind creating this mess that is more intriguing. It is more an attempt to distract attention from the real issue: the accessibility and safety of girls in procuring education.
There is another malicious conspiracy theory that has been making the rounds in Pakistan. It is about linking individuals with RAW, an Indian spy agency. The objection that is levelled against human rights defenders is mainly due to their questioning the unaccounted for and non-transparent actions of the military and its spy agencies in Pakistan. They are being dubbed anti-state and anti-patriotic. People who speak up against missing persons and enforced disappearances, torture and political suppression are being dehumanised by frenzied media propaganda whereas atrocities by the state are being justified and appreciated. This causes confusion in ascertaining the exact ground reality where people are suffering from the excesses committed both by the state and non-state actors. The negative propaganda against people working on these issues hampers their work greatly and discourages them from seeking the truth.
Social media has also been playing a dangerous role in moulding minds in cyber space. We witness interesting interactions from the English speaking educated class on the internet (that represents just a small fraction of literate persons in Pakistan) falling for conspiracy theories. Character assassination of individuals who are vocal and passionate about their work is commonly found there. A Facebook page that goes by the name of Nazgul Baloch on Facebook, believed to be run by an army major, is spreading slanderous rumours against liberal individuals, activists and intellectuals who have been objectively working for human rights issues. The cartoons they upload are merely spreading hate and are a sad reflection of how insecure and defenceless human rights defenders are.
Recently, a LUMS professor was targeted in the media for his liberal views, not only on the internet but also on television in connection with a talk that was going to be organised on Balochistan. The threatening attitude of the media can put the lives of human rights defenders in extreme jeopardy. It must also not be forgotten how Salmaan Taseer was humiliated on a live television show by an anchor for his taking a stand for Aasia Bibi, a Christian woman who was wrongly accused of blasphemy. The television anchor went on to demonise him for talking about the need to change the draconian blasphemy law. It was from a show such as this that Mumtaz Qadri, Salmaan Taseer’s own bodyguard, took inspiration and assassinated him in broad daylight. The anchor responsible for the show was fired from the television channel but she continued her career unhindered through other television channels. Likewise, a prominent television channel that hosts a so-called religious scholar is responsible for the killings of Ahmedi community members when they were declared wajib ul qatal (permitted to be killed) on his show. There are no media checks in place to keep an eye on and prevent incitement to violence. Though there are many other reasons for the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) and Pakistan Electronic Media Regulation Authority (PEMRA) to ban and limit expressions and media, but they never pay any attention to malicious content.
Protecting individuals and human rights defenders should be the responsibility of the state. The state should also recognise the media’s maligning of them. The things that need to be looked at objectively and rationally have been made murkier and confused with the weird mix of jargon and lies. The conspiracy theories that engulf the common dialect today are proving to be fatally dangerous. The practice of demonising human rights defenders is a deliberate attempt to silence them and conceal the truths they have been fighting for.
The writer is a freelance columnist and may be contacted at [email protected]