Media handling ‘kallay banday da kamm nahi’ ISLAMABAD: The trail of catastrophes in Pakistan is turning into a Greek tragedy. It never stops. The mourning over the Peshawar carnage was hardly over when the news about the Balochistan earthquake struck like a lightening. By the time the Parliament session was over the death toll had crossed the 300 mark. This had every member sad and worried. The Balochistan members were more concerned about the timing and enormity of the disaster. The Balochistan government needs to form a cabinet, besides resolving its coalition squabbles, before it handles the earthquake. The epicenter is situated in the most politically troubled area. The locals of Avaran, Khuzdar and Turbat were already hard pressed by the perpetual insurgency, which is now compounded by this natural disaster. This also makes it equally challenging for the security forces tasked with relief and rescue. The members seemed worried about the supply of medicines, food, tents and other essential items. However, the biggest worry was the absence of National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA). JUI’s Maulana Ameer Zaman was spot on to ask: Why have this elephantine organization when it fails to deliver on time ? The official explanation that it was just an advisory body was not enough. Others thought that it was not effective because its chief patron-no less than the Prime Minister-was traveling abroad. The government was found in its typical mode of confusion: nobody knew who the boss was. Somebody should have simply volunteered the latest situation on the disaster.The Opposition was quick to blast the government for its non-seriousness. Khursheed Shah rightly pointed out that why should the government need 24 hours to give information on a disaster of this magnitude. It only requires a few calls to local administration to find out the scale of casualties and the relief matters. “Why can’t you give us a few basic facts and figures,” he said in his usual polite but firm style. “The PM is not here and we can’t find the relevant minister. He was obviously referring to the crown prince. The Chaudhry from Chakri had probably had too much of battering in the last week to appear once again and receive the flak. Never have we seen Nisar in so much trouble. Our local Lalu Prasad, Khawaja Saad Rafiq made a feeble attempt to defend the government by reminding the opposition of their less than exemplary conduct. But the damage had already been done. Media gurus sympathized with the prime minister who continues to receive one bad news after another since his leaving the local shores. The news about the Peshawar carnage has definitely put him in the defensive during such a crucial visit to New York and Washington. The likely meeting with Manmohan Singh may not win him the foreign affairs trophy that he needs. The lame duck Indian premier is not in a position to deliver any cogent progress on the Pakistan-India front. A few placards denouncing the killing of Peshawar Christians outside the UN building will be enough to spoil the headlines for Pakistan. Imran Khan may have made it worse by coming out with yet another bright idea about opening a Taliban office in the KP. Why not also hand over the KP government to them, quipped a colleague. Imran’s logic was that if Afghanistan Taliban could have an office in Qatar why the local Taliban can’t have one here. The issue is that the Afghan Taliban are fighting against what they see as an occupation army and their primary target is not their own people. Can we say this about Imran’s friends here. In any case, the statement coming after the Peshawar carnage was in bad taste. It was seen as a reward for their latest deeds. We all wait for the news from New York and Washington with fingers crossed. The government decision about not taking journalist on free junkets, though laudable, is a tough one. This denies the government the cheap propaganda that came with such foreign visits. We saw the opposite of that during the PM visits to China and Turkey. The journalists who cover the official visits sponsored by their organizations tend to be naturally independent. Perhaps a little more than required. Pervaiz Rashid made history by sitting in the parliamentary Press Gallery. And this was not to dissuade us from a Press boycott. But then being the Information Minister he is one of our own—kind of. Anyway, it was nice to have him see the proceedings, for a change, from ‘up there.’ Bereft of all the powers to oblige journalists with junkets and secret funds, he still makes extra effort to clarify government position. He is doing a good job under the circumstances but it will take many more to help him. Kallay banday da kamm nahi, as they say in Punjabi. The ministers dealing with energy, inflation and terrorism-incidentally the three biggest issues of the country-also happen to be the most inaccessible. Half of the government problem will be resolved if they could give up their smug attitude and become a little more forthcoming in providing background information. Riddle of the day: What is common among the cabinet ministers who accompanied the PM in most foreign visits? Hint - Kashmir.
Posted on: Fri, 25 Oct 2013 20:50:08 +0000
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