Tag Archives: Pakistani Media
Silence is golden
Mir Mohammad Ali Talpur
Though a lot has been said and written about the General’s book promotion trip to the USA and many have justifiably vented their anger at the gross misuse of taxpayers’ money and of self-delegated authority, not much has been said about the media’s role in such visits. Along with the seventy-plus top heavy official delegation, cavorting and carousing in the US at our expense for three weeks, there was a big contingent of media persons. The official media persons certainly must have been enjoying themselves at our expense. It remains a mystery if non-official media persons representing various media groups too were fulfilling their responsibilities at our cost. It certainly would be interesting to know who footed the bill for whom. The total cost to the national exchequer will be partly known when questions are raised in the Assembly, but the damage done to the country’s already tarnished image will never be assessed because that is not quantifiable.
We usually get a lopsided picture of these visits because the official media obscures the real issues. Credit should be given to those journalists who stay committed to honest reporting in spite of various pressures. It is their unwavering commitment and comments that keep the media free of shackles and lend respect and credibility to it. Their reports present the true picture and we should be grateful to them.
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Balochistan discourse: the tale of dominant narratives
When it comes to the Balochistan discourse, there is always a built-in and dominant narrative that represents the ‘selected’ side of the matter — be it political, social or economic
By: Noor Ahmed Baloch
These days Balochistan is in news for two reasons. One, for the China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) and Gwadar, which gets a great deal of coverage in mainstream media; two, a combination of multiple problems, including the ongoing insurgency, which is a point of little discussion in media. Nonetheless, the historical background of Balochistan reveals much, and its current state of affairs is beyond how it is viewed. The other day in a discussion regarding Balochistan, a friend raised a very valid point saying that as much as Balochistan is rich in terms of natural resources, it is also rich in manpower and talent. There is much truth to that. But what really counts a great deal is how that is being utilised, facilitated and given the due space.
Filed under Write-up
انہوں نے میرا کالم بند کردیا
تحریر : محمد تقی
ترجمہ: لطیف بلیدی
ترجمہ: لطیف بلیدی
جنرل راحیل شریف کے تحت پاکستانی فوج اختلاف رائے کیخلاف ایک کم شدت والی جنگ لڑ رہی ہے۔ پاکستانی آرمی چیف کا بت تراشنے کے ساتھ ساتھ ان کی میڈیا ٹیم فعال طور پر ان کے ناقدین کی بھی چھانٹی کررہی ہے
سیر سپاٹے کے دلدادہ پاکستان کے چیف آف آرمی سٹاف جنرل راحیل شریف دنیا کے مخصوص دارالحکومتوں میں ضرب عضب نامی فوجی کارروائی کی ظاہری کامیابی کی فروخت میں لگے ہوئے ہیں۔ انٹر سروسز پبلک ریلیشنز کے ڈائریکٹر لیفٹیننٹ جنرل عاصم سلیم باجوہ نے اپنے باس جنرل راحیل شریف کے ارد گرد کامیابیوں بلکہ بے خطائی کی نفی میں ایک ہالہء نور پیدا کرنے کیلئے سماجی اور روایتی میڈیا میں ایک شدید اور فیصلہ کن جنگ چھیڑ رکھی ہے۔ لیکن ذرائع ابلاغ پر فوج کی بھرپور یلغار کے ساتھ ساتھ اس کا اختلاف رائے کیخلاف ایک غیراعلانیہ جنگ بھی جاری ہے جو کہ ان دانشوروں کی رائے اور نیت پر اعتراضات کی بوچھاڑکرتا، خواہ مخواہ میں بدنام کرتا، برادری بدر کرکے اسکا حقہ پانی بند کرنے کی کوشش کرتا ہے جو واقعات کے حوالے سے فوج کے پیش کردہ نسخے کو ماننے سے انکار کر دیتے ہیں۔ پاکستان میں جداگانہ رائے کیخلاف یہ کم شدت والی منظم جنگ بمشکل مقامی یا بین الاقوامی توجہ حاصل کر پاتی ہے۔
Filed under Interviews and Articles
They shut down my column
Under General Sharif, the Pakistan army is carrying out a low-intensity war against diversity of opinion.
Written by Mohammad Taqi
Pakistan’s globetrotting Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Raheel Sharif has been peddling the ostensible success of a military operation called Zarb-e-Azb in assorted world capitals. The director of the Inter-Services Public Relations, Lt General Asim Saleem Bajwa, has unleashed a social and conventional media blitzkrieg that creates a halo of accomplishment, nay infallibility, around his boss, General Sharif. But in tandem with the military’s media blitz is its undeclared war on dissent, which impugns, maligns and tries to ostracise those in the intelligentsia who refuse to buy the military’s version of events.
Filed under Interviews and Articles
Baluch Sarmachar 