Zia ullah Marwat
IN today’s world, free media has become as necessary as food and clothing. Media plays important role in the age of information. In the modern concept of nation state media is considered as a basic prerequisite of democracy. Media and democracy go hand in hand. The leading role of media in the modern concept of democracy is imminent and incommensurable. Democratic regime in absence of free and fair media cannot decently and suitably serve out the basic needs of people glued by them therewith. Media plays its conventional role in shaping public opinion at large over national and international issues. It is a quick tool of communication between government and citizens whereby they can promptly trade their views with one another. Similarly, it also keeps stern check over the abuse of statutory power being saddled upon public servants.
The unmatchable services of media which are meted out for the development of democracy are necessarily required to be appreciated by all and sundry. But at the same time it is also extremely necessary to state here the fact that sometimes the media brings democracy to an abrupt halt when it makes an effort to take down fair and square reporting of an incident. The ongoing systematic human rights violation in various parts of the country generally and in Baluchistan and KP especially, with impunity, is a matter of deep concern for human rights activists and academia. On a daily basis we frequently receive wandering accounts of extra judicial killings, torturing and enforced disappearances via social media websites like Facebook and twitter. But unfortunately, the channels of electronic and print media don’t bother to accommodate the extra-constitutional common practices in their hourly running series of headlines. The biased behaviour of a few media outlets towards the heart-wrenching issues has discredited and disrespected the hardly earned little morale of democracy in the eyes of the people who heedlessly blame democracy for the ongoing rampant human rights violations.
Similarly, the biased media also systemically suppresses the blasted voices of political opponents and critical thinkers. A set of articles or speeches in parliament which is critical of either the incumbent government policies or of the state armed forces for their undemocratic intervention in internal affairs of the government go censor. The uncovering of the PTM gatherings and frequently censoring of Mohsin Dawar speeches in Parliament are good cases in point. There is no disputed opinion to assail the established fact that constructive criticism of opposition parties and critical thinkers over ill performance of treasury benches is a natural and inherent beauty of democracy. It is a constitutional and diplomatic mood and manner whereby we can appropriately navigate the stocked and static shortcomings happen in democracy every now and then. It makes democracy more accountable and transparent. Furthermore, the biased media also keeps lending their support unwaveringly to the government flawed policies irrespective of the negative effects that cast upon democracy. Even the policies which don’t serve out any purpose are shamelessly spun positively just to be in good books of the government otherwise business interests of the owners of media houses are certainly at stake. They try their best to shrewdly take up support of the people in favor of the policies pregnant with pack of weaknesses. They indoctrinate the people through biased and senseless analysis. Recently, senior analyst of Hum news in show has dishonestly held liable democracy for the existing crowd of crises.
Moreover, they also keep themselves entailed in the nonsensical debates on religious and racial issues which may give rebirth to the new wave of sectarianism and racial grudges which will straightly lead the society to social chaos and weaken the social fabric thereof. Unfortunately, the biased behaviour of the few media outlets has badly bruised the real shape of democracy by justifying the wrong steps of the government. Media is the main factor, among others, which took the democratic regime into the pool of crises like bad governance, human rights violation, politicization of public institutions, manipulated judiciary and selected use of laws against political opponents. People who dreamed of strong democracy in near future on account of the two time successful consecutive transition of democratic governments to another elected government has led to rest their hopes because of unsatisfied performance of the incumbent government. To properly regularize the media across the broad enforcement of PEMRA ordinance is the need of time. Media outlets should also act responsibly.
—The writer is a lawyer stationed in Islamabad.
