New Pemra law
IN a rapidly evolving media landscape, there is a need to update the relevant laws to ensure press freedom, while filtering out lies and libellous content. This can be done either through dubious laws, such as the PTI government’s Pakistan Media Development Authority bill, or stakeholders can be taken on board to formulate laws that respect press freedom, while regulating the media sphere judiciously. The recently approved Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (Pemra) Amendment Bill, 2023, appears to strike the right balance, though there is room for improvement.
There was initially some confusion about the government’s intentions regarding the amendments, but closer scrutiny has clarified several matters. The clause calling for paying media workers’ salaries within two months should be welcomed. Though ideally there should be no delay in the disbursement of salaries, at least the law sets limits, while workers can complain to the regulator in case of delayed dues. A distinction has also been made between ‘disinformation’, which means intentionally false news, and ‘misinformation’, which relates to unintentional mistakes. These definitions align more closely with international norms, and are an improvement on the state’s obsession with ‘fake news’, a blanket term through which the authorities could clamp down on all dissenting opinions. The inclusion of a representative each of the PFUJ and Pakistan Broadcasters’ Association as non-voting members of Pemra is also positive, though to give them a real voice, they should be granted voting rights. There are some problematic sections, such as Clause 27. Under this, broadcast or distribution of a programme can be prohibited, and the matter then referred to a Council of Complaints. Instead of prohibiting content, it should be referred to the council first so that the matter can be investigated, while some parts of the clause appear overly broad. These lacunae should be examined in order to create a more balanced law.
Published in Dawn, July 23rd, 2023
Manipur horror
THE timeline tells the story of craven cynicism at very high places. Two tribal women were paraded naked and filmed by a mob in Manipur on May 4. One of the two was allegedly gang-raped. Manipur, bordering Myanmar, has been in flames since May 3. The chief minister belongs to the mostly Hindu Meiti community whose armed members paraded the two women of the Kuki community of Christian tribals. Both groups had lived largely peacefully for decades, and intermarriage was not uncommon. Then mayhem broke out in May, which observers say appeared to be planned. Hundreds of churches were burnt, 150 people killed, thousands of families uprooted from their homes. A false rumour of a Meiti woman’s rape by Kuki men precipitated the violence, including the targeting of the two women. A similarly false and deliberately divisive rumour in Uttar Pradesh on the eve of the 2014 elections had helped range Hindu voters against Muslims. Narendra Modi swept the polls.
When the Manipur video surfaced on Wednesday on the internet an incensed supreme court urged the government to act swiftly or let the court take charge. That’s when Prime Minister Modi broke his silence, on Thursday — after all of 75 days of merciless ethnic violence. He called the assault a national shame and promised exemplary punishment for the culprits. Four men were taken into custody. But he said nothing about the unending one-sided anti-minority violence. In fact, between the videographed incident of May 4 and its public revelation this week, Mr Modi was being toasted in powerful Western capitals as the leader of a robust democracy, a strategic partner. Were the hosts unaware of the tragedy unfolding for Manipur’s women and elsewhere? One of the targeted women decided to tear through the façade of political correctness. She informed The Wire on Friday that the police were a mute spectator as the mob molested them. If the police witnessed the crime, it is unlikely the chief minister was oblivious of it. It is difficult then to accept that Mr Modi would have been kept in the dark by his own party and government about the horrors of Manipur. As the leaders of the free world ‘celebrate’ Indian democracy under Mr Modi’s watch, opposition parties and the people of India appear less primed to accept the fiction.
Published in Dawn, July 23rd, 2023
Hapless province
BALOCHISTAN presents a variety of complications spawned by the historical neglect of its people’s rights and the perverse determination to press on with ruinous security-centric policies. The ferocious conflict that has engulfed Wadh, Khuzdar district, since Wednesday — although a tenuous ceasefire is currently in place — is another manifestation of the same.
On the surface, it is a feud sparked by notorious outlaw Shafiq Mengal’s men forcibly occupying land belonging to tribal chief and BNP-M president Akhtar Mengal. With both sides heavily armed, an extended confrontation could lead to things spinning further out of control. Former chief minister Aslam Raisani has stepped in to broker peace.
However, as Akhtar Mengal himself said in a bluntly worded tweet, this is part of a far bigger problem, that it does not pertain to a specific area or a particular tribe but is an outcome of the shocking impunity with which ‘death squads’ have been allowed to operate in Balochistan.
Indeed, no lasting solution to the conflict can be found if individuals like Shafiq Mengal remain ‘in play’. He was part of the state’s response to the Baloch insurgency, whereby extremist groups and tribal militias — such as his Baloch Musalla Difa Tanzeem — were given carte blanche to hunt down separatists.
Had there been any rule of law in Balochistan, instead of short-sighted policies that generated cycles of bestial violence, Shafiq Mengal and his gang would not have been able to commit the serious crimes they are alleged to be involved in, including murder, robbery and kidnapping for ransom. Locals still refuse to speak on the record about that reign of terror in Khuzdar district during which journalists, teachers and doctors were slain in targeted killings.
It was only after the public outcry over the discovery in Tootak of mass graves of missing people, with evidence suggesting his group’s involvement in the crime, that he was reportedly asked to step back. But he remained free. In fact, Shafiq Mengal was a candidate in the 2018 elections for the National Assembly seat from Khuzdar — further evidence of a political landscape engineered to a point where it bears little resemblance to a representative democracy. After all, even sardars like Akhtar Mengal, who won the seat, need to be reminded of the limits to their power.
Underlying all these machinations is the real tragedy being endured by the people of Balochistan. Among the most backward and regressive areas of the province, Khuzdar district has a deeply entrenched tribal culture. Neocolonial policies of divide and rule have exacerbated the existing problems.
What will it take for the state to place the people of Balochistan, their right to provincial autonomy and ownership of the natural resources that lie beneath their soil, above its own narrow interests?
Published in Dawn, July 23rd, 2023