Daily Times

As performances go, Fawad Chaudhry’s was better than most. Indeed, the federal Information minister proved that he is a man who understands the art of spin. And when to avoid a sticky wicket.

Those expecting the recent BBC HARDTalk interview to have a little bit of something for everyone were likely disappointed. Certainly, there were the usual and legitimate recriminations about enforced disappearances and the extent of khaki power in a parliamentary democracy. All of which were met with tried-and-tested narratives about the war on terror. Yet the majority of the virtual sit-down focused on media freedom in Pakistan. And whether this was an oxymoron.

Naturally, Fawad defended the PTI government’s record on this front; referring to Article 19 of the Constitution which protects freedom of speech and the right to information. He also did well to turn the tables on the Beeb and recall the ‘fake’ and irresponsible BBC Urdu headline that involved the Dutch ambassador and a local woman acquitted of blasphemy. This was a welcome move since, for far too long, the western media has behaved as if it enjoys the last and definitive word in objective reporting. No matter that Britain’s national broadcaster has for years stood accused of bias when covering the Israel-Palestine conflict.

So far, so good. Except that the minister misstepped when he pointed to the country’s extensive news networks — including some 112 private, 23 national and 43 international television channels as well as the more than 1,500 print publications — as evidence of an untamed media. This is simply not true. And it never has been, not even during those initial heady days of Pakistan’s private media explosion. Where the Musharraf regime breathed life into the thorny issue of cross-media ownership and amended PEMRA towards this end. It is never a good idea to rest control of the media — anywhere in the world — in the hands of a few. Not least because the fallout is limited news sources for mass consumption.

For the country’s journalists, the biggest take-away from the interview has been the reminder that Pakistan’s leadership across the political divide never turn down the chance to go on international television and be grilled by the white man; even though Stephen Sackur is no Tim Sebastian. And while everyone and their cat understands that the objective is to present respective cases to the western world — it remains a meowing shame that the same level of professional respect and conduct is often lacking when it comes to interacting with local media. Here, in Pakistan. *