TV THOUGHTS: Let Musharraf prove his innocence: Eid in the midst of worries, anxieties

This column evidently appears on the first day of Eid-ul-Azha and the beginning of a new mood in the country. Primarily one perceives an Eid environment that will prevail, and TV viewers, despite the politics that has virtually seized their hearts and minds, will be driven by the significance of the religious festival. This is one of the two most important religious occasions in the Islamic calendar.
Apart from the live telecast of the performance of Hajj by 2.5 million devotees from all over the world, the mood for the Eid has also been built up with a sustained focus on sacrificial animals that are on sale all over the country. That the sacrificial animals are much higher priced, and at times incredibly so, is something that has been highlighted by all TV reports in the last fortnight or so. Apparently if the animals are expensive what has been seen is that the number of buyers has been on the smaller side-unless of course there is a substantial; fall in prices on the last day, which enables people to buy comfortably. Some TV reports suggested that people would opt to buy the animals on Eid day or the next day, hoping that the prices would have declined considerably by then.
I would imagine that TV channels, private and the state managed PTV will have special but traditional Eid-ul-Azha programmes that will engage television viewers. But there is something about this date - the 28th of November. It relates to the National Reconciliation Ordinance (NRO) around which there has been an agitated debate and discussions and also dissent of a distracting kind. It is on that date the ordinance will become null and void. That 8000 plus list is out and there are denials and denials of all sorts that have been coming from those who are on the list of beneficiaries.
What will happen in the days following the 28th of November? There is an awful suspense and there is a politics that is taking place. Overt and covert both and there is much that is not visible to the public eye - which has only watched with great intent and deepest possible concern the NRO debate, which assumed a wider significance in view of the Transparency International report on the perceptions about the widespread corruption that exists in Pakistan.
The country's corruption has evidently gone up (worse), and regardless of what the report's critics believe, or so they publicly contend, the fact remains that good, clean, efficient governance remains an elusive goal for this struggling society. The TV channels discussed the report and in conjunction with the NRO list, and the political fallout of what could (should?) happen after 28th November, some grim, dramatic scenarios were imaginable. Of course there are cynics who believe that nothing will happen, and it may all sail along as it does today - until the common man's predicament becomes critical, and unbearable.
There is much that needs to be said on the subject of corruption especially in view of the stories that are appearing in the print and electronic media about the allegations of bribes and commissions and kickbacks that have involve men in power, and those who have held power in recent years. I find them horrifying to say the least, and it is vital to note that we have come to a stage when the media is telling it all - and therefore the media is stepping on toes.
Therefore, there are power lobbies and power brokers and powerful people who are beginning to feel the heat that is coming from a media that is playing a dramatic role in exposing backdoor and backstage manipulation and white collar crime - and with a superior judiciary restored after a historic societal struggle there is also available a hope. This hope factor is not to be lost track of at this point in time. Ordinary people are clinging on to it. It is dreadful to imagine the kind of scenario that can unfold were people to lose hope in the political process or that they can ever get justice from this society.
What the ordinary people are facing on the price rise issue is something that is being reflected through TV coverage - but certainly not adequately, or comprehensively. For instance, what is happening on the subject of healthcare and medicine prices is something that is underplayed intentionally, I suppose.
Balochistan Package
In a way, another Balochistan package has come, and it was tabled in the Parliament on Tuesday. And while the Prime Minister, Yousuf Raza Gilani, invited the rebels and the angry leadership of Balochistan, from within the country as well as abroad, and to join the mainstream, and initiate a dialogue, the Baloch nationalists rejected the package. It was argued on many channels that very night that the package, a five-tier one and called Aghaz-e-Haqooq-e-Balochistan "did not go far enough to meet their main problems." In fact the trust deficit which is so evident in other spheres of our national and provincial lives, was highlighted as the Baloch leaders spoke.
That the Balochistan problem has been a part of the country's politics for almost four decades now is stating the obvious. Interestingly, for this Balochistan Package, which Zubeda Jalal described a "cut and paste" job when she spoke on Duniya News in the 'In Session' with anchor Asma Chaudhry and panellist Auriya Maqbool Jan on Tuesday night. Like other current affairs shows this was also repeated the next day, around midday.
From the signals that were coming out of this candid discussion on the Balochistan package it seemed that the situation in that province could get far more complicated in the days ahead. Asma Chaudhry spoke to Shahzain Bugti, Dr Abdul Hayee Baloch and Sanaullah Baloch besides the two panelists in the studio. She talked to the three Baloch leaders on the phone, and they gave various detailed reasons and contexts of why they did not accept the package.
It was Auriya Maqbool Jan, who has served in Balochistan as well, and is a senior columnist besides appearing on various TV channels in the current affairs segment, who said that he had seen various positive and negative phases in the history of that province, and that there was no law and order or political problem as long as the Levies were in charge. Once they left and the Frontier Constabulary came into the picture the problems arose, and they continue till this day.
Shazain Bugti was very vehement that the FC should be asked to leave at once, and that former dictator and president Musharraf should be tried for the murder of the Bugti tribe chieftain Nawabzada Akbar Khan Bugti. He said that Musharraf and his cronies should be brought back to Pakistan through the Interpol. He was very categorical when he said that the "Sarkari Sardars" should be removed from the power scene.
On the subject of the trial of Musharraf the Baloch leaders said that there was no need for a fact-finding mission or a commission as indicated in the Balochistan package and that "let Musharraf come to the court and prove his innocence". One of the points that Dr Hayee Baloch underlined was that the Pakistani or the Punjabi establishment was trying to subjugate the Balochistan people and generally there were no expectations from the package, even before it came. What was particularly disappointing was that an elected PPP government had been unable to come up with a package that takes on board the people of the province, said Dr Baloch.
Viewing this programme, as well as the spontaneous comments that were telecast along with news bulletins, reflected the futility of the recent exercise.
Sensational disclosures:
Possibly indicative of the socio-political changes that are taking place in the country is media focus on the story from the Supreme Court where the owner of the Haris Steel Mills (HSM), Shaikh Afzal that was on some TV channels on Tuesday, as well as in the print media on Wednesday. He is the main accused in the Rs 9 billion financial scam in the Bank of Punjab. A three-member bench headed by Chief Justice Iftikhar Mohammed Chaudhry is hearing the case.
The details of the story have been reported and they have made citizens wonder at the way this country functions. The main accused Shaikh Afzal, whose images have been shown on some TV channels also gave a list before the apex court which has names of people who allegedly took millions of rupees to win a verdict in his favour. And according to the list he said that he paid Rs 35 million to federal minister Dr Babar Awan, Rs 10 million to former advisor and senior counsel Sharifuddin Pirzada, Rs 20 million to former attorney general Malik Qayyum, and Rs 7.5 million to Ali Waseem, son of senior lawyer and a top PML(Q) leader Waseem Sajjad.
Shaikh Afzal who was arrested in Malaysia along with his son Haris and brought back to Pakistan through the Interpol said that he had paid Rs 400-500 million as bribe to the ex BOP Punjab President Hamesh Khan, Rs 30 million to the Bank's control risk manager, Aziz Ahmad, Rs 50 million to Haroon Aziz, Rs 10 million to Shoaib Qureshi, Rs 40 million to the Bank's treasury head, Saleem Mirza, and Rs 5 million to Fazeel Asghar to help him escape the country because his name was on the exit control list.
Needless to say that the people of Pakistan are going to watch this case with exceptional interest-as indeed there are numerous other stories and developments on the political and financial front, to say the least. One does wonder whether it is all heading in the right direction.
Meray Mutabiq:
Meray Mutabiq, one of the popular (also controversial it is apparent) shows that is telecast by Geo News has come under pressure, and trouble again. It has been closed in Dubai, forcibly, and reportedly under the pressure of President Zardari. The News reports that Dr Shahid Masood faces threats to his life, and that Geo will telecast the programme from another location.
The Supreme Court Bar Association President Qazi Mohammad Anwar is due to file a petition in the Supreme Court to challenge the alleged ban. The programme on Monday night was not telecast from the Dubai studios and was presented from a different location.
Whatever President Zardari has said about one major TV channel in his speech on Wednesday night made from the Presidency through video conferencing and heard by the public meeting near the Quaid-e-Azam's mausoleum does mean that this is yet another indication that the freedom of media, especially the TV channels, is going to come under new curbs. Those of us who were cautious in their responses to the voluntary code of ethics wonder whether the coming days are going to be tough for the media, as tougher times await the country.
Yet, another instance of the Musharraf-style of dictatorship being demonstrated.
Homage to S.D Burman:
I get the impression that there is not much telecast of musical programes that enable viewers to hear the famous melodies from the cinema of yesteryears. There is no point in talking about the cinema of the days gone by, as there appears to be little interest in Indian or Pakistani films given the options that are available to viewers today. Therefore, when there was a two-part programme of homage to the music composer Kumar Sachin Dev Burman, on the Hum TV channel it was something not to miss out on. A repeat telecast whose timings I could not determine, but which I caught on chance enabled me to see almost both the parts - and this despite the current affairs programmes and the various political developments that have taken place in this country throughout November.
Of course, as I sat through the first part of the memorable homage to S D Burman on a Saturday night in November, I was conscious that I was doing so at the cost of missing out on a couple of political discussions and news stories of that day. But the lure of hearing films songs from the past, rendered by Salman Alvi (two of them) and the well known Shabana Kausar as well as by impressive amateurs and budding talent, was strong enough to ensure that I do not switch channels. A word about the amateurs-they sang the old numbers with enthusiasm and feeling.
S D Burman's debut film in Hindi was Shikari (1946). But his first commercially as well as a musically successful film was 'Do Bhai' released a year later. And in a career spread over three decades he scored music for about 90 Hindi as well as some Bengali films. He also sang and composed a fairly large number of non film Bengali and Hindi songs.
There were 34 songs that comprised the homage to S D Burman in about 200 minutes, and besides Salman Alvi who does a truly wonderful regular music programme called Sur Zindaqi Hai on the Hum TV, the others who rendered the unforgettable Burman hits were: Florence Thomas, Shabana Kausar, Masroor Hussain, Zareen Haidar, Imrana Naeem, Payam e Khurram, Afshan Fawad, Azfar Saeed, and Ameer Ali.
It should come as no surprise that the songs of yesteryears carried the same intense appeal (if not more) for those viewers who had heard them in the past, in their younger years. Some of the films that the songs were selected from were box office and musical hits like Do Bhai, Baazi, Bahaar, Saaza, Jaal, Taxi Driver, Munimji, Nau Do Gyarah, Paying Guest, Chalti Ka Naam Gari, Kala Paani, Solhvan Saal, Sujata, Kala Bazar Bandiini, Meri Soorat Teri Ankhen, Guide, Jewel Thief, Aaradhana, Prem Pujari, Sharmili, and Abhimaan.
I am tempted to mention some of the songs that brought back memories from the days when I first heard such songs like Mera Sundar Sapna Beet Gaya..., Janey Kya Tu Ney Kahi, Janey Who Kaisay Log They Jin Ko..., Khoya Khoya Chand... and Jaltay Thay Jin Kay Leay, Meri Ankhon Kay Deay; Dhoond Laya Hoon Wo Hi Geet Main Teray Leay... I still remember, the last song in particular, was sung by Talat Mahmood and picturised on Sunil Dutt and Nargis.
S D Burman was reverently referred to as SachinDa or BurmanDa and was trained in classical music initially by his father and then by the singer K C Dey (who was singer Manna Dey's uncle). It is said that SachinDa was a crown prince of the former princely state of Tripura and who defied his father by opting to become a music composer. With that decision he lost the option becoming the next Maharaja of Tripura.
One takes this opportunity to mention the need for more such programmes that seek to pay tribute and homage to the legends like BurmanDa from the past, and also that it would be a valuable addition to the collectors libraries were there to be audio and video CDs of such programmes available in the market.
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