The Pakistani media is currently committing a crime for which history should never forgive it. And those of you who will write the chronicles of this time, decades from now, must remember this and ensure that their memory is stained and vilified when the final accounts are written — in a distant time and space where the hands of today’s rulers cannot reach. You must record it for all humanity to know, when the time comes to tell the story of today’s Pakistan without censorship.
The most important pro-democracy and people’s movement in our history for years and years is, at this moment, being deliberately marginalised and ignored by the Pakistani media.
I am talking about the Pakhtun Tahaffuz Movement. This is an entirely non-violent and immensely reasonable movement. Its demands are entirely based on the Pakistani constitution and basic human decency.
Pakistani journalists have abdicated their responsibilities in the face of Power on so many issues. But this issue should have been where they made a stand. Instead, they have chosen to continue being hired entertainers and liars.
Yes, there are a handful of people who do their duty. May God forgive the rest of us for our association with shameless cowardice and cruelty.
Published in Daily Times, April 9th 2018.