 |
| |
WEEKLY
SECTIONS |
 |
|
 |
| Clueless in Islamabad |
|
|
|
Sunday, July 05, 2009
Ghazi Salahuddin
Way back, during that long night of Ziaul Haq's reign, I had a standard reply for those who would quiz me about what was happening in the country: "How do I know? I work in a newspaper". This tongue-in-cheek remark was, of course, intended as a comment on restrictions on the press and, for some time, censorship.
Look at how the media scene has changed, and not at all because of the rulers' change of heart about press freedom. Thanks to this ongoing revolution in information technology, it has almost become impossible to block the communication of information. We have this volcanic eruption of news, often described as 'breaking', on our private channels. Images obtained from CCTV or cell phone cameras, flaunted as 'exclusive' by multiple channels, provide the viewers an allusion of being on the spot.
With this surge in the coverage of national issues and the exposure that is provided to leading journalists and talk-show hosts, an impression has been fostered that the media – and its leading professionals – are fully aware of what is happening in the country. In addition, some of them even pretend to be privy to whispers made in the corridors of power.
So, how would a senior journalist respond to that question about the present state of affairs? In the first place, it would be hard to find someone in that position to plead ignorance about the inner dynamics of our daily headlines. But there are some who claim to be participants in rather than observers of the power game. For obvious reasons, most of these well-connected – wired? – journalists are based in Islamabad and irrespective of the real value of their pronouncements, they are generally very assertive in presenting their assessments.
I was in Islamabad for most of this week to shoot some episodes of my 'Geo Kitab' programme and found time to catch up with the latest formulations of some media stars. Considering that this is such a critical time in the nation's life and so much is happening on different fronts, I was expecting some illuminating insights into the developing situation. I wanted to sift through some rumours and the allusions that seem planted in news headlines.
Fortunately, I had an evening's access to the usual suspects in a typical cocktail setting. Unfortunately, I was left with a terrible hangover in the aftermath of an intense mastication of conspiracy theories. Logically, Islamabad is a place, particularly when the National Assembly is in session, where valuable information can be gathered from media practitioners. Some of them do seem to be very well informed.
But during that long evening, I was repeatedly reminded of that quotation from Shakespeare's 'Hamlet' --- about something being rotten in the state of Denmark. What it means, in our context, that all is not well at the top of the political hierarchy. But the manner in which some voices from the media were interpreting the crisis betrayed little concern about the threat that we confront as a nation. I was amazed by the cynical approach of a few very seasoned observers. The message seemed to be: there is no use fretting about the increasingly grave situation because it's going to be business as usual.
Business as usual means, to a large extent, that corruption at high levels would go ahead at perhaps a more frenzied pace and that the military establishment would be loath to rethink its dated doctrines in spite of the gruesome realities that have sprouted up on our western frontiers. All this would appear to be starkly suicidal against the flaming backdrop of violence, disorder and discontent across the country. Indeed, the power breakdowns may be used as a metaphor to underline the intimations of a systemic collapse.
Perhaps I should not be distracted by the dismal frivolity of Islamabad's cocktail circuit, though I was surely expecting the mood to be more sombre and reflective at this time. I did have more encounters of another kind. Irrespective of the shady activities of our political and media 'operators', Islamabad has a fair share of thinking people and committed professionals. My 'Geo Kitab' engagements were largely of a literary nature. At a certain level, only the poets and the novelists are able to capture the spirit of their times.
Islamabad is also exciting for a visiting Karachiite on other counts. Its scenic splendour on this visit was marred by scorching heat, with just a minor respite of its famed dust storm that is followed by a light shower. Shooting outdoors was very uncomfortable. I felt distressed by the fact that they have stolen my Lotus Lake. It used to be there behind the Lok Virsa complex.
It so happened that we wanted to shoot a small segment at the Lake. We went looking for it with the entire crew in the afternoon. It was not there and instead, some construction was going on at an advanced stage. This meant that the Lake had been 'removed' quite some time ago. But the signs were there and during about one hour we were there, there were people coming to see it, including a foreign lady who was accompanied by a guide.
Somehow, the most instructive experience I had in Islamabad had nothing to do with the place or time. And yet, it left me with an eerie feeling about events that may shape our destiny. I was just lazing about in my hotel room around noon when I chanced upon 'Charlie Wilson's War' on a movie channel. It left me enthralled and inexplicably in an agitated frame of mind.
This remarkably sparkling movie, released in the States in the last month of 2007, tells the story of Texas congressman Charlie Wilson and how he guided the covert war against the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan in the eighties. Tom Hanks has played the role of the wicket Charlie Wilson and Julia Robert sizzles as Joanne Herring, the Texas socialite who became a close friend of Gen Zia. It was reported that the Pakistani dictator was fascinated by her. I simply loved Om Puri playing Zia, though the role is brief.
Would Hollywood do a sequel and name it, possibly, 'Richard Halbrooke's War'? Ah, but the plot has certainly thickened and there may not be enough of a romantic relief this time. Charlie Wilson was shown to have felt that they had messed up – I can't quote the expletive – the endgame. We don't know what the endgame is going to be in the present war. For that matter, there is this controversy about whose war is it, anyway. One can, however, be sure about the pace of the action. On Friday, our army's MI-17 helicopter crashed in the Taliban-controlled Orakzai Agency and twenty-six personnel were killed. It is getting more suspenseful.
The writer is a staff member. Email: ghazi_salahuddin@hotmail .com
|
|
|
| Back
| Send
this story to Friend | Print
Version |
|
|
|
ISSN 1563-9479 
