THE Pakistan Cricket Board’s recent announcement that the remaining matches of the Pakistan Super League’s sixth edition would resume from June 1 has not met with a lot of enthusiasm because of the resurgence of the coronavirus in the region. Besides, several key overseas players who appeared in the League in February-March, might not be available this time because of international commitments. PSL-6 came to an abrupt halt in March with just 14 out of 34 matches completed after seven people participating in the tournament tested positive for Covid-19, amid reports of gross violation of the bio-secure environment by players, officials and franchise owners. Concerns about the safety of players and fans are bound to increase if the matches resume in a month’s time — the third wave of the virus has been particularly harsh and has already resulted in a large number of deaths in the country. Besides, the franchises themselves, although they have invested millions of rupees in the League, are concerned about how the absence of some big cricketing names could dent the popularity and competitiveness of the matches. The PCB, which came under scathing criticism for its poor handling of PSL-6 in March, has vowed to make foolproof arrangements for the remaining games in June that would include robust and strict implementation of the protocols as well as maintaining a zero-tolerance approach towards all those who breach the SOPs. The cricket governing body has also decided to hire a globally recognised safety management company that specialises in providing Covid-safe technology solutions.
Having said that, nothing can be predicted about the severity of the pandemic nor of the response of the players or the public if PSL-6 matches do go ahead in June as scheduled. Hopefully, the PCB will promptly reschedule the remaining League games after assessing the situation towards the end of this month and not take any undue risks that could damage Pakistan’s flagship cricket event and hurt its credibility.
Press Freedom Day
TODAY is World Press Freedom Day: for Pakistan’s beleaguered journalist community, it is a reminder of how the space for them is steadily shrinking. But this grim reality should also be of concern to those who understand the critical importance of a free press in a democracy. A media in chains cannot hold the powerful to account and serve public interest as it is meant to do. Indeed, the very quality of a democracy can be gauged by the state of its press.
In its latest report, the International Federation of Journalists has ranked Pakistan the fifth most dangerous country in the world for mediapersons. During the period between 1990 and 2020, no less than 138 journalists lost their lives here for reasons connected to their work. Freedom Network Pakistan documented at least 148 attacks or violations against journalists across the country from May 3, 2020, till April 20, 2021. These include six murders, seven attempted assassinations, five kidnappings, 25 arrests or detentions, 15 assaults and 27 legal cases registered against journalists. And state authorities, responsible for protecting constitutional rights, emerged as the biggest threat to media practitioners — perceived as the perpetrators in a whopping 46pc of the documented cases.
Certainly, journalists’ safety appears to be very low on the government’s list of priorities. The human rights ministry had drafted the Protection of Journalists and Media Professionals Bill over a year ago. To its credit, this was a comprehensive piece of proposed legislation that managed to take into account many of the problems confronting the media and provided workable solutions. For instance, it suggested dealing with the critical issue of impunity by setting up a seven-member committee to be headed by a former Supreme Court judge, which would have wide-ranging powers of investigation and redressal. Just as it appeared that the government had woken up to its duty towards the media, the cabinet decided to club the draft with another bill prepared by the information ministry and, for that purpose, send it to the law ministry — where it has been languishing ever since. Then SAPM on information Firdous Ashiq Awan had said that while more time was needed, “the process is in the final stage and we will try to speed it up”. The cabinet’s inexplicable decision conveniently placed an urgently needed piece of legislation on the back-burner, leaving media professionals to fend for themselves.
Meanwhile, threats from known and ‘unknown’ state elements continue to be hurled at journalists; news editors are coerced into censoring ‘undesirable’ information or giving stories a certain slant; media outlets are threatened with financial ruin if they refuse to toe the line. In the midst of this, for government functionaries to insist that the press in Pakistan is free, as they are wont to do sometimes, is no less than a bald-faced lie.
A mission for the PM
THERE appear to be strong reasons behind the abrupt recall of the ambassador to Saudi Arabia along with some other staff members. The increasing number of complaints against them from Pakistani expatriates will now be investigated, and the chairman of the Prime Minister’s Inspection Commission has constituted a team for this purpose. While the prime minister has done well to take swift action, one hopes that the details of this case will be revealed to the public and that those recalled will have an opportunity to defend themselves. An overwhelming number of complaints usually pertain to consular services and this problem has persisted over the years regardless of who is running the government in Islamabad. Since Prime Minister Imran Khan has always given special attention to overseas Pakistanis, the stern action will be seen as a warning to other errant missions. Pakistani expatriates in several countries have long complained of inefficient services provided by our embassies and missions but no major improvements have taken place despite the gravity and frequency of the problem. The nature of the Pakistani state has never been service-oriented and the missions are no exception. They are staffed by bureaucrats and other government officials who are steeped in a culture that lays little emphasis on service delivery and efficient public dealing. The systems they run are archaic and burdened with lack of incentives for performance. The result is an apathy that percolates from the top all the way down to those members of the missions that have direct contact with the citizens.
This must change. The PTI government is best suited to spur the effort by paying special attention to the performance of embassies and consulates across the world. Mr Khan should instruct the Foreign Office to revise all systems, audit the performance of its staff in these missions, and establish a system of feedback that keeps the ministry linked to the problems of the expatriates. The old ways of running these missions must give way to a service-oriented approach that prioritises the welfare of the people. This will not be easy to achieve. However if the prime minister can present this as a challenge to Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi, he can ensure that the Foreign Office begins work to reorient all missions and gets them to start performing with the efficiency that is to be expected in this day and age. The prime minister should demand no less.
