The media blitz we have seen over the wedding of Imran Khan to former BBC TV presenter Reham Khan has thrown most other news in the country onto a very distant backburner. While we can understand the interest in the marriage of the celebrity, the degree of hype created seems completely out of place at a time when many other events of genuine national significance are taking place in the country. There are also questions over the timing of the event, with people in Peshawar still in mourning over the loss of their children. In this scenario, a wedding, no matter who it involves, should not really be taking up hours upon hours of broadcast time. The fact that this has happened displays before us the nature of our media. Like that around much of the world, it has become increasingly tabloidised, with a focus on sensationalising content, essentially in the desperate effort to raise ratings by holding on to the maximum number of viewers.
This is a vicious circle. The media has fed to people a steady diet of meaningless material. In turn, they have become addicted to it and will accept little else, especially anything which demands thought or intelligent viewing. It is difficult to break out of this pattern and the wedding – with every moment, every little side incident and a great deal of irrelevant background thrown in – suggests our TV channels are not even willing to move towards this. The actions of PTI workers have added to what we are seeing, with beating drums celebrating what was meant to be a private affair between two individuals and PTI leaders all taking on the role of spokespersons for the couple as political matters are cast aside by the party which just weeks ago had been involved in nationwide protests and forms government in a province still reeling from the deaths of more than 140 children. Right now, nothing seems to figure within its ranks except for the wedding and the defence of Imran Khan. It is unfortunate that this defence was
even necessary. It has been triggered by the hostile attacks on Reham Khan on the basis of her ‘character’. This is a kind of slaughter many confident, independent women have known. It should never have taken place or been driven forward in the manner it has by social media. The scenes that have been played out over the last few days on our screens and in the press bring back images from royal weddings in England or Bollywood weddings from Mumbai. What we have seen are as futile as those events.