Govt-Press relationship

For years, Government-Press relationships always remain tense because of the role of the latter as adversaries, which rulers never liked. The present government is not very different from the past when it comes to handling, tackling or controlling the media, so far.

It will be a big challenge for the newly-appointed team of Senator Shibli Faraz, as federal information minister, and Lt Gen Asim Saleem Bajwa (retd) as special assistant on information and broadcasting, where on the one hand they have problems with the media and on the other with the Opposition. But to me their biggest task would be to try and change prime minister’s own perception towards media without which they may not be able to do much. Can they do it?

Successive governments often used two-pronged policy of ‘carrot and stick’. So, it hardly matters who come as minister or special assistant in the information ministry as long as the State understands the role of the media in a society and accept criticism instead of punishing them.

‘Carrot’ for those who hide media’s wrongdoing and follow the police of appeasement and ‘stick’ for those who took independent position, both, in reporting and in analysis.

Government of the day suppressed independent and critical voices through ‘black laws’ and used ‘government advertisements’ as weapon or tool. From the days of former president Ayub Khan to this day, this policy remain unchanged.

Now, if Prime Minister Imran Khan strongly believes that ‘current affairs’ programmes are irrelevant for the people and constantly asking people not to watch 7 to 10 pm talk shows, blamed media for doing ‘planted shows’, accused big media houses, from one charge to another, can the change of guard in the information ministry bring any change in the perception of the government and the prime minister towards media.

Pakistan’s media is passing through one of the most difficult period and near to collapse. Some TV channels have already been closed, newspapers have suspended some of their editions, over 5,000 media employees had already lost their jobs and those still working have not been paid salaries for months.

The crisis deepened when the PTI government, not only withheld media’s outstanding dues up to Rs6 billion, but, also curtailed its advertisements and also revised its rates.

In the past the PML-N and the PPP governments also used such tactics against those critical of their policies. If today, Prime Minister Imran Khan criticised anchors and talk shows, former president Asif Ali Zardari use to call anchors as ‘political actors’, while former premier Nawaz Sharif’s government used arm- twisting tactics in his tenures.

If Prime Minister Imran Khan just goes through his own policy and perception towards media and journalists, he will find more journalists criticising his government’s policies and his remarks than those defending his stance.

About a week back while talking to his social media team, he once again targeted media and accused them of holding ‘planted programmes’ in the past and also that huge money was used.

What happened with Jang/Geo and Dawn, Pakistan’s leading media houses, is no secret. They are still under some kind of ‘radar’. Premier’s own view about them is also not a secret. If Dawn’s distribution were disturbed, Geo and Jang, remained under constant attack and in the end through the NAB, its Editor-in-Chief Mir Shakil-ur-Rahman was arrested some 47 days ago in 1986 plot case. But till this day, the NAB has not filed a reference and his bail applications have been rejected.

Besides constantly through Pemra or other sources, Geo’s numbers keep changing and restored only after court order.

So, what changes the two competent persons in their own right, Senator Shibli Faraz son of a great poet Ahmad Faraz and Lt Gen Asim Saleem Bajwa (retd), who had been praised for giving new look to ISPR, whose role even otherwise has increased in the last few years, can bring in the information ministry, which their predecessors, Fawad Chaudhry and Dr Firdous Ashiq Awan could not bring to improve the Government-Press relationship.

What changes can they bring in the State-run PTV, Radio Pakistan and APP, in this era of information technology and make them strong enough to compete with the private TV and FM channels. None other than the Prime Minister Imran Khan had the same vision about it when he was the mainstream Opposition leader. But like his predecessors, he too failed in bringing any drastic change and making PTV’s editorial policy independent.

Prime minister’s ‘media team’ has people who had served both, military dictators as well as civilian rulers in their position as information ministers and heads of State-run media. Most of the policies they followed were that of appeasement rather giving critical review to the ‘Boss’.

No wonder why government relationship with the media could not improve and as a result the premier was left with no other choice but to bring one change after another and each time it declined further.

This new combination of full-fledged minister and high-profile special assistant; one with a civilian background and the other with a military background have also been tested in the past but during the military rule.

However, the positive aspect of the change was the reaction from the Opposition as well as from the media and journalists, who welcomed the change and the new-look information ministry.

Now, how far the government and the Faraz-Bajwa combination could cash this positive gesture in bringing improvement in relationship between government and Opposition on the one hand and more importantly, Government-Press relationship on the other will be the real test.

But the biggest challenge for them would be to bring a change in the perception of their ‘Boss’, whose public statements, remarks, and strong views against the media have caused more damage to Government-Press relationship than the approach adopted by the former information minister Fawad Chaudhry or ex-special assistant Dr Firdous Ashiq Awan.

So, unless Prime Minister Imran Khan changes his own narrative towards ‘media’ not much change can come with this media team, either. Therefore, the biggest task for Faraz-Bajwa would be to convince their ‘leader’ to withhold his personal views and allows them to improve relationship with the media.

If there is a will, there is always a way through which a new look media including State-run media can emerge. So, welcome Mr Shibli Faraz and Mr Asim Saleem Bajwa, in this new world of ‘Media’.

The writer is a senior columnist and analyst of Geo, Jang and The News.

Twitter: @MazharAbbasGEO