TELEVIEWER: Suicide bombers struck when the nation was celebrating Quaid's birthday

Attack on President Musharraf's motorcade on December 25 was the most deliberated item on all national and private TV channels overshadowing the birthday celebrations of the Father of our Nation. Other attractions on the tube included the LFO agreement between the government and MMA; special Christmas stints; ARY's Aap ki Baat focusing on Gawadar; Geo TVs Match Box on cricket; and STN Portrait on late Raushan Ara Begum.
The incident, which engaged the attention of the viewers and understandably given top priority by all TV channels, both in the public as well as private sector channels during the week under review, was the abortive two-prong attack on President Musharaff's motorcade by suicide bombers in Rawalpindi on December 25. The President had a miraculous escape in yet another attempt on his life within a short span of eleven days. The attack has raised many disturbing questions, particularly about the existing security arrangements for the Head of the State.
Analysts, who were invited by all TV channels to comment on the dastardly attack pointed to the dangerous security lapses and speculated about the identities and origins of the attackers, blaming in general terrorists owing allegiance to extremist groups and religious parties. They thought that it was clearly the job of militant extremists, who were unhappy over the policies President Musharraf had been following that they would have him eliminated even at the cost of their own lives. The discussants recommended that the government should not rule out any possibilities as to the motives of the terrorists, which had successfully penetrated into the top security outfit of the State twice in less than two weeks and came close to taking the life of the Head of the State.
The gory incident of December 25, which took the lives of 15 innocent people, called for an extensive overhaul of the security apparatus and a thorough probe not just to assign blame but to find loopholes in the security arrangements that made the disastrous scenario possible.
The other development, which was played up by the electronic media was the agreement between the ruling coalition and Muthida Majlis-e-Amal (MMA) on the highly contentious Legal Framework Order, which came after a long and bruising confrontation between two sides. The absence of an agreement between the two major political groups made the Parliament dysfunctional for over a year, creating a fear among the people and the politicians about the very existence of the Legislature.
The viewers of different TV channels in the country heaved a sigh of relief after the electronic media broke the news about the deal between the two contending political groups in the Parliament - the ruling coalition and the MMA. They have now pinned their hopes on the peaceful sessions of the Parliament, allowing the President to fulfil his constitutional obligation of addressing the joint session. By agreeing to present the Constitutional amendments Bill to the Parliament the government seems to have agreed to the demand of the Opposition to assert the supremacy of the Parliament.
The din kicked up by these two events overshadowed the elaborate programmes revolving around the personality of Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah, the Father of the Nation, especially those chalked out by PTV for its December 25 telecasts.
All TV channels telecast special Christmas programmes on December 25 in line with the celebration of this very important event in the Christian calendar.
These special items included music and drama presentations in which members of the Christian fraternity participated. Christian dramatic clubs in Lahore and Karachi actually produced a few Christmas programmes.
Two politicians, who have already served sentences handed down by the Supreme Court of Pakistan for contempt of the honourable court were brought on the mini screen by ARY ONE's Anchor Javed Malik in its INSIGHT stint. It seemed to be an exercise in rehabilitating the two politicians in the eyes of the viewers. Both of the politicians pleaded not guilty to the charge of attacking the apex court of the country for which they have already served prison sentences and fines. They claimed that their appeals for acquittal were lying pending with the Supreme Court. It is the understanding of this scribe that when a matter is sub-judice before a court of law, it should not be discussed publicly. Didn't the accused persons commit yet another contempt of the same apex court by discussing the matter openly on a TV channel?
Federal Minister for Information and Broadcasting Sheikh Rashid Ahmed announced on December 20 that Pakistan Television Corporation would launch a 100 Channel Direct to House (DTH) service for the viewers. It would be a part of the measures envisaged by PTV to become more competitive with cutting edge technology and better news and entertainment programmes. The minister said that 13 new channels in the private sector would soon be launched, which would pose tough competition to PTV.
Whereas on the one hand PTV is planning to use latest technology to increase the number of its viewers, it has allegedly become short of funds to pay for the services of musicians, commentators and participants of its programmes.
The Lahore Centre of Pakistan Television, it is learnt, has not paid to the participants in its different stints since September 2003. PTV higher- ups should arrange sufficient funds for its Lahore Centre enabling it to pay remuneration to those artistes and people who participated in it's different programmes. This is necessary to rehabilitate it's reputation, which has suffered recently as a consequence of it's inability to discharge its financial obligations
Dr. Shahid Masood of ARY ONE World, who has earned fame for its incisive analysis of events and political acumen, included the speech of a deposed Chief Minister of Punjab, which he made at a public meeting in Birmingham, UK, recently. Waxing eloquence, the discredited politician made certain claims, which did not stand to scrutiny. It would have been better if the speech of the deposed chief minister was followed by comments from impartial observers of the political scene in Pakistan.
The programme telecast in ARY's Aap Ki Baat last week provided useful information to the viewers about the development of Gawadar as a modern psort and the problems it has created for the dislocated local population. The well-produced documentary covered all aspects of the problem.
GEO TV's Match Box invited former Test cricketer Zaheer Abbas to offer comments on the current sorry state of cricket affairs in Pakistan and what the change of command at PBC would mean for the promotion of the game.
Anchorperson Tipu Sharif formulated probing questions, which were intelligibly answered by former Test cricketer.
STN Channel telecast an absorbing programme on Malika-e-Mauseeqi Raushan Ara Begum on December 25. Interspersed with clips of her concerts and conversation, the LTV-produced documentary in its Portrait series revoked nostalgic memories among the viewers about the vocalist, who was considered the best exponent of classical music in the Sub-continent.