When two unbridled forces clash, the debate around it will naturally degenerate. Hamid Mir was targeted and seriously injured. It is a miracle he survived. There is also no doubt that he is one of the most well informed and courageous journalists in Pakistan. He suspects that he might have been targeted by the ISI. As such, the media was obliged to report these facts regardless of the stature and identity of the suspect. Moreover, this is not the first time that allegations of serious human rights violations have been made against the ISI, and not just by a journalist.
The commission on missing people and the Supreme Court, in cases of missing people and arbitrary detentions, have noted grave abuses carried out by our security forces, including the ISI. It is not as though the accusation of attempted murder was made against the likes of Mother Teresa that the media should have waited to air the allegation.
[quote]An immediate demand for the resignation of the head of ISI added insult to injury[/quote]
The argument that the media has threatened national security is downright absurd. By this logic, all those who maintained a silence during the operation in East Pakistan, or Balochistan, while the Constitution was being abrogated and politicians chased around by our power-hungry Generals, were the only patriots in this country.
Protestors supporting ISI burn a poster of Hamid Mir in Karachi
Similarly, to argue that all intelligence agencies around the world abuse their power is perverse. Firstly, a crime cannot be condoned simply because it is the practice elsewhere. Secondly, there are very rare incidents where intelligence agencies constantly threaten active members of their civil society simply because they are critical of the excesses committed by them.
Neither the allegation made by Hamid Mir nor its accurate reporting can prompt an extreme reaction based on a serious breach of national security. More harrowing is the campaign launched against Geo and Hamid Mir, painting them as enemies of the State. It poorly reflects on those in authority, particularly the ISI. If, indeed, they did believe that Geo was working against the interest of the State, then why did they wait to bring this to light till a serious allegation was made against them? I cannot recall anyone in power or out of it boycotting Geo on this premise. The ISPR has itself aired its statements over Geo. Surely they would not have sat or appeared on a TV channel that had nefarious ties to an enemy country.
A balanced criticism of Geo can be the manner in which it sensationalized the allegation. Military authorities may have genuinely apprehended that the manner in which this allegation and subsequent comments were aired could have been orchestrated in typical Geo-ish manner leading to a vicious campaign maligning the head of the ISI.
[quote]Pakistan has paid heavy political and economic costs in the name of national security[/quote]
In the past, Geo’s consistent distortion of facts and initiating twisted campaigns against other political forces and individuals has misled public opinion. Geo also played a leading role doling out certificates of patriotism ad nauseum. The manner in which it portrayed the large sized photograph of the head of ISI was highly irresponsible reporting. An immediate demand for the resignation of the head of ISI added insult to injury. The ISPR may have suspected ulterior motives to the hype created. After all, our erstwhile security forces are best placed to smell such stench as they are very familiar with these tactics and perhaps even indulged in them with the very identities that they are now dubbing as disloyal.
Women and children hold a candle-lit vigil in support of Hamid Mir on April 24 in Karachi
Fortunately, Hamid Mir is alive and everyone’s prayers are with him to recover fast and return to his profession. The debate on the post-Hamid attack has been hijacked. The question is not about national security but about protection of journalists, who are under attack from State and non-State actors. The worry is not that the media has gone too far in its freedom but that its independence is being compromised.
It is time for collective serious reflection on the imperatives of responsible journalism. It is becoming hostage to business interests. Unscrupulous journalists continue to divide the community at the behest of vested interests. Geo in particular has assumed the role of a power broker rather than an independent news channel. It is also important to send an equally clear message to the security agencies that they cannot undermine the rule of law on the premise of upholding national security and that they are not the sole interpreters and custodians of national security.
Pakistan has paid heavy political and economic costs in the name of national security. Half the country and countless lives have been lost to protect “national security”. Unholy political alliances have been clobbered together by the ISI ostensibly to save “national security”. Governments have been sent packing home and elections rigged to save the country. It is precisely these very undemocratic and ruthless actions that have undermined national security rather than the other way around.
Any extreme action against Geo will unfairly hurt the media group and emasculate freedom of expression. Pakistan can ill afford this as it will pave the way for undemocratic forces to derail democracy.
