THE state, it seems, would like the media to move in lockstep with its international ties.
Prompted by the government, Pemra has sent an SMS to news channels critical of allegations being levelled on certain programmes that mismanagement by Saudi Arabia was to blame for last month’s tragedy at Mina.
The statement said: “They need to be reminded that Article 19 of the Constitution restricts comments that may affect relations with friendly countries.”
Although no legal action has as yet been threatened in case of non-compliance, it has been made clear unofficially that the matter is so important for the government that those concerned would ignore it at their peril.
Pemra had issued a similar warning to television channels five months ago, when talk shows were holding animated discussions on the Yemen crisis and Pakistan’s refusal to send ground troops as part of a Saudi-led coalition against the Houthi uprising in that country.
Interestingly, the notice on that occasion also mentioned “the electronic media’s contribution towards image-building of nations”.
Contrary to Pemra’s perception, however, “image-building” — whether of nations, institutions or individuals — is not the media’s job, but that of public relations firms.
The duty of the media is to inform the public: in order to do so in as balanced a manner as possible, there must be discussion and debate on the issues at hand. Of course, news channels should ensure that such exchange of views remains temperate and civilised; and one can justifiably argue that Pakistani media does at times need to be reminded of its obligations on this score.
Moreover, freedom of speech is indeed subject to some broad, constitutionally mandated limits — “any reasonable restrictions” as the document describes it — including the one pointed out by the regulatory authority, but public interest and the qualified privilege of fair comment that arises from it should take precedence over considerations about ‘offending’ any country.
After all, the death of nearly 800 pilgrims — the worst disaster to befall the Haj in 25 years — merits calls for a transparent and thorough investigation. If the government cannot bring itself to ask any questions, its move through Pemra to muzzle the media is entirely unreasonable.
On a related note, one could also ask what constitutes a ‘friendly’ nation. For it is difficult to ignore the fact that another ostensible ally is regularly subjected to vitriol in the media — without any attempt by officialdom to dial down the invective.
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