In a dramatic move on August 16, the Larkana Bench of the Sindh High Court has overturned the death sentence awarded to Faisal Mehmood alias Mota, a Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) activist. The bench has also ordered the anti-terrorism court to start a retrial of the entire case. Since the matter is still sub judice, the high-court action cannot be questioned. The bench must have considered all aspects of the case before suspending the sentence and initiating a retrial. Irrespective of the merits of this decision, certain points should be stressed regarding the importance of this case.
Let’s start with the general insecurity of journalists in this country. There was a time when journalists waged relentless struggles against dictatorships. Be it Generals Ayub Khan or Ziaul Haq, no dictator had the mettle to defuse the spark of journalists who considered themselves the conscience of this nation. Even under strict censorship, our press tried its best to circumvent the restrictions and did manage to report as objectively as possible. It has kept the torch burning under tremendous pressure from both state and non-state actors.
The ban on government advertisements, and press advice did much harm but never flushed the life out of journalists. True, the journalist community in this country has endured whipping and flogging under Ziaul Haq, but even during that darkest period of our history, journalists were not scared of being kidnapped, tortured in broad daylight, killed on the streets, punched to death in the darkness of the night, or riddled with bullets in the car they are travelling in. How many journalists do you remember who were murdered during the Ayub or Zia eras? True, there was a pall of fear, but that scare seldom converted into a reality of death.
If the student wing of the Jamaat-e-Islami – the Islami Jamiat-e-Talaba (IJT) – was responsible for instigating violence on campuses across Pakistan during the Zia regime, the MQM led by Altaf Hussain has had the dubious distinction of terrorising, torturing, and terminating journalists. Who can forget the months-long boycott of independent newspapers in the MQM-dominated areas across Sindh, particularly in Karachi and Hyderabad? Those newspapers that did not bow to the commands of the MQM don ran the risk of being burned down before reaching the readers. The don – who has been now discredited and disowned by his own creation and by his very protégés – demanded main leads and prime space on the front page.
The daring journalists who reported anything unsavoury for Altaf Hussain were beaten and tortured within their homes. Their personal dwellings and offices were barged into and ransacked. In some cases, severed limbs were thrown in front of editors’ homes, with a message and a command to shut up. But journalists not only survived with valour but also kept their heads up. The press was almost in unison against this barbarism and browbeating. The CPNE and the PFUJ stood firm against the highhandedness of both state and non-state goons. But all this began to transform during the Musharraf dictatorship.
Apparently, Musharraf opened up the media and never placed censorship on the press as was done during earlier dictatorships. But another sinister plan was underway. Amid a plethora of start-up media houses, there emerged dozens of channels and hundreds of ‘journalists’ who had never written a single word and were ready to be co-opted by both state and non-state entities. This mushrooming of the mundane was not a spontaneous phenomenon. The experiences of the CIA, the KGB, the Mossad, the Gestapo and many other similar outfits were at hand and duly replicated.
Actors, anchors, artists, bureau chiefs, journalists, media persons, poets, reporters and writers – all had become a commodity in the post-second world war period. But in Pakistan there always remained a strong body of editors and journalists who resisted and made the difference. There were ‘officially’ sanctioned journalists, but they never formed a dominant lobby and the readers never trusted them. In the 21st-century Pakistan, all this started to change. A huge crop of ‘loyal’ journalists and columnists was nurtured and rewarded. Altaf Hussain once against became a state-favourite under Musharraf and reverted to his glory days.
When Karachi burned, dead bodies lay on roads and charred remains of lawyers were buried with the debris, General Musharraf waved his fist in Islamabad. Altaf Hussain was back in command with a torch and a trigger. After Musharraf’s resignation, Karachi remained under the shadow of those who never tolerated a disagreement. Wali Khan Babar was a courageous journalist who gave his life for the sanctity of his profession. But he was not alone. In Balochistan, in Fata, in Islamabad, in KP and in other parts of Pakistan, there is a long list of journalists who have been targeted, tortured, or killed.
Be it award-winning brave journalist Hamid Mir, Umar Cheema, or Saleem Shahzad – some survived, others died – the number of daring journalist who can challenge the dominant narrative and refuse to bow under pressure is dwindling. When Saleem Shahzad was murdered, Hamid Mir was among the protesters; when Hamid Mir was attacked, the journalist community stood behind him. But now if the murderer or murderers of Wali Khan Babar are not punished, I doubt if the journalist community will show the same resolve.
It has been 80 months now since Babar’s murder in January 2011. At least half a dozen other persons have also been killed about this case including a public prosecutor, two police constables, a brother of investigation officer, a police informer, and a witness. It is about time journalists and the judiciary woke up to their commitments. Since these two professions are the backbone of any civilised society, they must remain independent and rebuild their capacity to withstand pressures.
The writer holds a PhD from the University of Birmingham, UK and works in Islamabad.
Email: Mnazir1964yahoo.co.uk