Me, Saleem Safi And One Indian

Let me share something interesting. Last night known columnist and TV personality Saleem Safi and I were part of a panel discussion on PTV's Moeed Pirzada show.

Today, an Indian tweeted: 'AQ showing his ignorance. Salim Safi chewed him up.'

Now I don't know if Saleem chewed me up or if we had an ice lolly together, but it was interesting to see an Indian monitoring Pakistani talk shows closely. And he's not alone. Twitter is infested with such Indians who don't have much of a life besides commenting on Pakistani affairs considering, of course, that India is God's paradise on Earth.

So I tell him to buzz off, get a life and mind his own business.

Saleem, by the way, is a dear friend of mine. Coincidentally, I bump into him today afternoon at an Islamabad restaurant. I tell him about this hateful Indian. Saleem had a good laugh. He's not on Twitter yet so he asks me to convey a message to the Indian hatemonger. I share the message here for the benefit of everyone. So here goes:

"Ahmed & I can disagree on our local politics but when it comes to Indian policy he & I are on the same page!' - From Saleem Safi.

I tweeted this message to the Indian stalker. No reply as usual. But one of the best responses came from @i_am_ahad who sent me the following tweet:

"Give them a break sir. They're just busy being absolutely NOT obsessed with Pakistan. Their main focus is chai, na? #NotChina !

Thanks Saleem and Ahad. You both made my Saturday night.

P.S. For more info about activities of Indian hatemongers on twitter, see http://bit.ly/pACedo

P.S. After Saleem Safi left with his guest, my wife & I discovered he paid our bill in advance without our knowledge. Thx Saleem. Had I known this, I'd have asked u to leave your credit card with us for the round of green tea after the meal!

Two Pakistani Officials Fired For Promoting Indian Propaganda

You will not believe this. But this happened in Pakistan. And two junior government officials might lose their jobs over this. But with a pro-US government in power in Islamabad, and former employees of Voice of America allowed to steer the nation’s media policy, it shouldn’t be surprising to see a Pakistani mouthpiece promoting Indian spin.

India's Central Reserve Police Force, used by India's government to suppress the Kashmiri struggle for freedom, killed a 16-year-old Kashmiri boy the other day.

Nothing new in that. Indians have done worse, like mass graves and genocide. What was unusual here is that Makhdoom Babar Sultan woke up one morning this week in his home in Islamabad to read a clarification in a major Pakistani newspaper issued by the chief of the Indian CRPF assuring readers that Indian occupation police in Kashmir had nothing to do with murdering the 16-year-old, who was last seen throwing stones at Indian soldiers.

Mr. Babar scrathced his head.  He was shocked to see who hen he tried to see who wrote the story. It was APP, or the Associated Press of Pakistan, the official news agency.

'Wait a second', he said to himself, 'What is APP doing promoting the viewpoint of Indian occupation forces in Kashmir?'

Pakistanis already know that their government in Islamabad was basically tailored by the Americans and the Brits. No secret in that. The Am-Brits expect this government to push their agenda, which these days includes urgently patching up with India so that the Pakistani people and their military can be convinced to allow Indian soldiers into Afghanistan to help the Americans with their failed occupation there.

But peddling Indian propaganda? That’s going too far.

Unlike the rest of us, Makhdoom Babar is lucky to own a newspaper. So he rushed to his office in the morning to write a story on this, titled ‘APP Starts Promoting Indian Govt’s Kashmir Propaganda’.

Two APP journalists have been suspended and a probe is underway that might lead to some more job losses.

Earlier, two journalists from the state-run PTV were suspended for visiting the US embassy without permission.

When I contacted Makhdoom Babar to get his perspective, he replied with this E-mail note:

“Well, the Associated Press of Pakistan, the APP is the official news agency of the government of Pakistan. the aims and objectives behind running this State news agency is to project the Pakistan government's view point across the globe and throughout the country as well. The Tax Payers' money is spent on the functioning of this agency because it is supposed to promote and project national interests. Especially when it comes to the very sensitive issues like Occupation of Jammu and Kashmir by Indian Forces, the role of APP becomes very important and sensitive as well. it is supposed to confront the media propaganda of the Indian government that New Delhi continues to carry on with to cover up the gross Human Rights violations in the Occupied Kashmir by its brutal Forces. Now if APP releases a news item that actually contributes to the promotion of Indian view point over the Kashmir related matters, particularly the HR violations related matters, it is really alarming for every Pakistani and for me, as an Editor, it becomes even more worrying. That is why we published this as a major news so that such things should be taken care of in future and are not repeated. We have not been officially made known about any action taken by the APP over this issue however unofficial channels say that APP has suspended 2 of its workers over the matter and the Managing Director of APP is reported to have ordered a probe to dig out as to how it did happen. We appreciate the action taken by the the head of APP as a responsible head of an institution but at the same time we expect that no one should be made a scapegoat and only those should be warned or punished who were actually responsible for this blooper, deliberately or un-deliberately. It was very important for the head of the APP to have taken an action over the matter so that everyone stands warned and alarmed regarding such matters.”

At least two senior members of the incumbent Pakistani government are former VOA employees who served in Washington, D.C.  Both are directly involved in how Pakistan's official media outlets operate. Informally, Pakistan’s ambassador to Washington is also considered to have a say in the government’s media strategy, according government officials.

Launching The PakNationalists Movement

A school of thought has taken shape in Pakistan during the past three years. There was a time when the mere mention of 'Pakistan' and 'nationalists' together invited bland looks. Today Pakistani nationalists are asserting themselves like never before. The ideology has taken shape. It needs to be translated into a force for political change. A debate has begun. The following is one small sign of it. This is from a Dr. whose name I do not know. What is important is the idea that he is sharing. Multiply this by one thousand and you can get a glimpse into the giant lurking beneath the political mess in Pakistan today. The failed political elite does not represent the energetic people vying for change.

Mr. Quraishi,



I've been an avid fan of yours since you started on PTV. Kudos to you for your profound sense of perception and point of view. It not only is reflective of the truth but demands answers and explanations, which is so rare among the majority of journalists heading these mammoth political talk shows. They lack substance and meaning. However, your program on Aag and your views in general are truly a breath of fresh air....and usually my family and I can be heard saying "thank god...someone is finally speaking up!"

I share some similarities with your background. Spent my early childhood in the Middle East---Riyadh. Was there during the Gulf War (of course didn't ''cover'' it like you did!). I share a similar point of view as yours on the present political situation our country is faced with these days. However, my profession is quite different---I'm a medical doctor. However, through my profession I've been able to experience some of life's bitter truths that people here are faced with. And it has been an immense eye-opener.

Coming to the point. I just saw your facebook post on your aq-lounge blog about whether this is the time to launch and be a bit more proactive. You raise an interesting question that I wanted to answer through this email. Your question about what it should do initially? What should be discussed first? I think addressing our responsibilities should be discussed. This will inadvertently bring us to discussing about politics. My point is, first we need to discuss what our duties are to society. That's where it all starts from. We constantly raise the rhetoric that our politicians are doing this to us. But I think it's high time we start addressing ''Then how come we aren't doing anything to stop them?" I think through numerous talk shows and discussions and dinner party get-togethers we've managed to clarify that the ineptness of our politicians has gotten us into this mess. So I think we've covered that part well. Now, what needs to be addressed and taken action on is what WE need to be doing. Because it's becoming apparent that no one is willing to step up to the plate to set this all straight. So if we are able to, then why aren't we doing something? And even if it is on a small scale, then at least, let's do it! It could begin within your own neighborhood. It takes 1 person to start it. We need to be the change we want to see. The ills that face us are innumerable. They range from being pressured into giving safarish to get things done to even something as mundane as the milkman cheating us on the quality of milk. If we just keep taking it, then it will continue being dished to us.

Of course nothing will happen over night. But it will be a start. We can get to the politics part later. First we need to ensure we're worthy of bringing about this ''change''. Are our morals and values in line with what the Quaid expected from us? In essence, he was merely repeating what our religion instructs us to be doing. We need to teach, lead, and change by example.

Just my 2 cents. Would appreciate your feedback.

Regards,


dare2dv8 (http://dare2deviate.blogspot.com)

PTV: Plz Don't Disturb

Pakistan's largest television news network, with 6000 employees [World Bank has 9,000] and one of the richest budgets and pay scales in the Pakistani federal government, interrupted its normal programs a few minutes ago to report on the terrorist attack on the Pearl Continental Hotel in Peshawar.

The rest of the 4 or 5 major Pakistani news networks smaller than PTV in terms of size, reach and budget, did the same followed by the rest of the 50 or so TV news channels in Pakistan.

The only difference is that PTV News was without live footage from the scene of the bombing. Every other major channel had live coverage vans beaming real-time footage.

And then, SURPRISE! PTV cut its live coverage to join ARY News, a smaller TV news network that was covering the bombing aftermath live through its satellite van on the scene.

The country's largest TV network, with a generous annual federal budgetary support, a long list of managing directors, directors, consultants and legendary war correspondents who published books about dodging missiles in Baghdad, and all it could do in Pakistan is to steal the hard work of other channels.

PTV buys the most sophisticated and the most expensive equipment every year. Government bureaucrats rake in high commissions. Then let this equipment rot in the warehouse so they can order replacements later. And take in more commissions. Some of this expensive equipment quietly goes to the private production houses secretly owned by senior employees of the organization.

And life goes on.

I know more. In the interest of full disclosure, I was hired by PTV for four years. When the United States launched a media blitzkrieg against Pakistan's nuclear program, I did a show titled, 'Don't Mess With Us' [click to watch] and convinced PTV to put it permanently on its dormant website as a means of giving the world a strong and robust Pakistani view. Unfortunately, when Washington renewed its media campaign against Pakistan this year, PTV removed the video. So much for defending the national interest, which is the only reason why we supposedly have a state-run TV news network.

But this still doesn't explain why PTV has to steal the live coverage of smaller TV channels. The real reason is the working hours.

You see, government bureaucrats work 9 to 5. They can't rush out with TV vans at 10pm to cover a bomb blast. The only time anyone can push them out of their houses after 5pm is if the President, the Prime Minister or the Information Minister [PTV's immediate boss] needed a camera crew to cover their activities.

So basically bureaucrats at the state-run channel can't be bothered to cover the Peshawar bombing live at 10pm because, well, they are bureaucrats.
Maybe PTV should let the terrorists know. Please schedule your attacks between 9-5 of you want coverage on PTV!

A Word On Bhutto Celebrations

As a Pakistani citizen, I find the exaggerated government attention to former Prime Minister Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto's death anniversary tasteless and disturbing. And I have a strong reason for this. Before explaining it, let me just say something about Mr. Bhutto. I respect Mr. Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto because he was the prime minister of my country. I disagree with most of his policies and political style. He supported Pakistan's strategic programs and he brought the Arab and Muslim countries together. For this I am grategul to his memory. At the same time, I cannot but regret that ZAB played a major role, along with Mujib Rehman and Gen. Yahya Khan, in paving the way for India to violate international norms and intervene in East Pakistan. His economic policies destroyed a rising Pakistan and we haven't been able to recover ever since. The manner of Mr. Bhutto's execution after a court found him guilty of ordering the murder of one of his political opponents was not right. I emphasize the manner and not the execution itself because, althoug I wish he was pardoned, I have not seen any evidence that suggests that the court did not conduct a fair trial. President Zia ul Haq should have been fairer than he was in treating a former prime minister. Not exercising his power to pardon Mr. Bhutto is debatable. But not letting his family meet him before the execution was unnecessary harshness and reprehensible. The murder case itself, however, has been politicized in the debate that resulted from the harsh manner of the execution. There is evidence that Mr. Bhutto did resort to unusual tactics to deal with his opponents toward the end of his rule when he had also become authoritarian. I have not read for any lawyer who presented any evidence that the trial itself wasn't fair. But overall, I am proud of Mr. Bhutto as I am of most of the men, and one woman, who came to lead Pakistan after Independence. They were all unique and strong personalities with a mixed record. While there is nothing wrong if the PPP government wants to mark the execution of its founder, the exaggerated manner in which this is being done in tasteless to say the least. I object to placing the pictures of Mr. Bhutto, or his daughter Shaheed Benazir Bhutto, or the party flag, at equal level with the portraits of the Quaid-e-Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah. Only the Quaid's portrait and the flag of Pakistan should adorn the walls of the federal and provincial government offices. No political party should be permitted this violation that the PPP is committing. State-run PTV and almost all the private television channels have never celebrated the Quaid-e-Azam and his life the way they're doing now with Mr. Bhutto. Again, nothing's wrong if the PPP wants to mark this anniversary. But there should be a law that defines where a sitting government should put the memory of the Quaid-e-Azam and the other Founding Fathers and where it should place the memories of their party founders and heros. Party founders cannot be national heros. The Founding Fathers are, undisputably. I understand the tragic way in which Benazir Bhutto died. And I have no doubt that her brutal murder was part of a larger scheme to destabilize Pakistan, a scheme whose marks lead to 'non-state actors' in Washington and London. That's why I understand if the Information Ministry under Sherry Rehman arranged in 2008 for the PTV to produce an extravagant week-long event marking the life of the late Mrs. Bhutto-Zardari. This event was lavish and unprecedented. The PTV in its entire half a century never celebrated the life of the Quaid-e-Azam and the other Founding Fathers of Pakistan in the same way. Some PTV officials privately complained at the time that the extravagant celebration of a party leader was not the work of Ms. Rehman or the PPP itself but a desperate attempt by the director of PTV [Mr. Yousaf Baig Mirza, now the director of Dunya TV] to save his job. Needless to say, it didn't work and he was booted out. The point is this: All parties are free to eulogize their party heros the way they see fit. But a party in government cannot glorify a party leader in a way that overshadows the Quaid-e-Azam.