Writing this column on the 9th of Muharram 1430 (Wednesday afternoon) it is imperative to state that when it appears on Saturday the mood and ambience around us may be partially or totally changed. It is that kind of a grim, complex, threatening, and above all uncertain situation.
Muharram security measures that have been taken this year, and what the TV channels inform us in their detailed news bulletins compel the viewers to be anxious of what could happen next. Sectarian dimensions to Pakistani society not only exist deep into the roots of society, but also get adequately conveyed through image and rhetoric on relevant occasions.
Not really in order or priority or emphasis but some of the stories that determine the mood on the television channels (cable TV that is) need to stated so as to appreciate what the Pakistani TV viewer is concerned with. There is of course the country's internal political and economic picture, which relates to what has been happening in the country in the last two years.
The year (2007) in which the movement against Musharraf's government and policies began, and when he was forced to resign, (2008) and the present government, which came into office in April 2008. These are some of the broader boundaries within which the internal troubles of Pakistan appear to be placed in.
And this is a very strong TV theme today, and is likely to be there in the days ahead. One recurring voice from the opposition political circles is forcefully contending that Musharraf's policies are very much still in place.
Given the political changes that are being discussed in the current affairs shows, and the speculation that pertains to the Punjab coalition government, one very absorbing discussion that is going on is about the future of the Muslim leagues (Q and N). Will there be a merger and will Mian Nawaz Sharif agree to it? He has said that he would expect the PML-Q to regret its unrestrained support to General Pervez Musharraf, which makes it relevant to bring in here the hard hitting manner in which Mian Nawaz Sharif talks when he refers to the Charter of Democracy that the PML-N and the PPP signed in 2007.
Then there is the Pakistan-India theme, and the talk of a possible war, and its dreadful consequences. There is much discussion that has been going since the Mumbai attacks on 26th November 2008, and the tone and the text of the statements and counter statements between the two countries appears to be doing more long term damage. It makes me refer to the programme that Talat Hussain did earlier this week in which he examined in detail the reasons for the uncompromising stance of India, and how it has never accepted in effect the creation of Pakistan .And that all the efforts that had been made to have cultural ties between the two countries was an exercise in futility. To have seen this programme was for the viewer a conclusive reminder that the Pakistan-India ties have almost no future, primarily because India seeks to have a relationship with Pakistan on the basis of inequality alone. That while Pakistan is higher placed, somewhat, than Bangladesh and Nepal, it is much lower in status as compared to India itself.
At the time of writing the latest on the India-Pakistan front is that the Indian Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh has accused the Pakistan intelligence agencies of involvement in the Mumbai attacks and insisted that Islamabad was using terrorism as an "instrument of state policy". Described in news reports as his most forceful speech on the subject he said that "There is enough evidence to show that given the sophistication and military precision of the attack it must have had the support of some official agencies in Pakistan".
The Indian Prime Minister's speech which was made for about fifty Indian envoys from Europe, Middle East, Africa and Latin American on the subject of Mumbai attacks might well have reminded Pakistanis of the long standing Indian unwillingness to accept the creation of Pakistan as a reality. Look at what else he said:" Unfortunately we cannot choose our neighbours and some countries like Pakistan have in the past encouraged and given sanctuaries to terrorists and other forces who are antagonistic towards India" and Pakistan on Tuesday, soon after the above allegations came went on record through television channels as well, rejecting strongly the Indian allegations that Dr Singh made. The Foreign Office spokesman, Muhammad Sadiq, was quoted as saying that India had now embarked upon a propaganda offensive. He said that in view of what the Indian Prime Minister had said that it seemed that "it will not only ratchet up tensions but occlude facts and destroy all prospects of serious and objective investigations into the Mumbai attacks".
Meanwhile, the Federal Information Minister, Sherry Rehman, demanded on 6th January that Pakistani investigators should be allowed access the crime scene in Mumbai, and that asked India to stop the blame game. And on the same day President Zardari and Prime Minister Gilani agreed that Pakistani investigators should professionally analyse all the available information vis-à-vis the Mumbai attacks.
And the ISI Chief, Lieutenant General Ahmad Shujaa Pasha in an interview with a German magazine Der Spiegel which surfaced on the Pakistan media said that he was prepared to visit India. He, however, stayed at home, "yielding to old antipathies. He said, "Many people here are simply not ready."
The German magazine quoted the ISI chief as saying that while there would no war, "terror is our enemy, not India". And this is what the interviewer wrote "the 57 year old General, sitting in his third floor of office in Islamabad, is a short wiry man, with carefully parted hair. He smiles. Instead of a military uniform, he was wearing a gray suit and a stylish pink tie, his elbows resting comfortably on a large walnut desk".
And the latest from Gaza City, today, (7th January) is that the 45 people have been killed as Israel bombs UN run schools, which has "sparked urgent new cease-fire calls". The offensive is reportedly aimed at halting rocket attacks, as claimed by Jewish state, -- and AFP said that Hamas had made its deepest rocket strike yet into Israel.
As the Palestinian death toll hit 660, Arab nations pressed for a UN security resolution condemning the onslaught, but Israel rejected cease-fire calls by the French President Nicolas Sarkozy and other leaders.
MUHARRAM MOOD ON TV CHANNELS: A very keen TV viewer made a very pertinent observation about what the cable operators telecast in the first ten days of Muharram. That almost all the Pakistani TV channels, especially in the last two or three days have almost an 100 per cent Muharram content, in which the Karbala tragedy is remembered with due reverence and solemnity, and that the English language dailies (at least on the 9th of Muharram) keep the Muharram content somewhat restricted to only the news coverage.
What is the meaning of the extensive focus on the Muharram mood on almost all Urdu and regional language Pakistani channels--the Sindhi, Pushto, Punjabi channels for example have befitting programmes that recollect the principles, values and ideals that symbolise the martyrdom at Karbala.
This viewer referred to the English language newspapers whose focus on the Moharamm mood is not in keeping with what he felt was needed. He argued that the cable operators and TV channels have their perceptions right, he went on. There is something to think about here.
BAKHTAWAR'S TRIBUTE TO HER MOTHER: The first death anniversary of Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto shaheed was observed all over the country on 27th December. Some of the programmes telecast before and on that day were emotional, very strong and thematically rich, and refreshed the traumatic memories of that day in December.
There is one particular tribute that was paid to her which was very moving and this came from her eldest daughter Bakhtawar. It was telecast by a couple of TV channels. Described as a rap tribute, Bakhtawar Bhutto Zardari has long been "rumored to be a rapper. She has now released a rap tribute to her mother accompanied by a video that features images of her.
The heartfelt song speaks of the anguish Bakhtawar feels at her mother's brutal death in December 2007", said one newspaper. It has been reported that the video for the song, which has been posted on the Youtube, features a montage of images of the late Benazir, which are often seen in videos of the PPP. It was reported that the video had been seen over 18000 times in the first four days.
The rap tribute underlines "I would take the pain away" Some excerpts as reproduced in an English daily read as follows. 'My mother was murdered. I don't even comprehend. Was it worth dying for? I'm walking through screened doors' 'No comfort or ease. I'm begging you please God bless the deceased'
'Dear mom, I've got a few things to say to you...things I never got a chance to say...But if I could have you...I would take the pain away, I would take the pain, I would take the pain away...' '...murdered legendary mother...you had beauty and intelligence...enemies feared your presence...shot at the back of your ear, so young in 54th year, murdered with three kids left behind, a hopeless nation without you, you are in all their hearts'
'...how could you be taken from me...my eyes they keep getting sore...when we prayed at your grave, my knees they just hit the floor...' 'You were never afraid, you didn't even duck down, grinning when you laid.'
'Walking in your room and office, you'll always be back you promised...still got the sense of your presence...your eyes, your smile, the presence...perfection, beauty, your elegance, the epitome of benevolence, you were counting down the days to pray at your dad's grave...'
HASINA BACK AS PM: I saw for a short while a very unostentatious interview of a modest looking Hasina Wajed on Tuesday night on the Bengali channel, ATN. I do not understand Bengali and felt poorer for this shortcoming. It reminded me of so much of the past. Hasina Wajed has been sworn in as the country's prime minister once again. She is the daughter of Shaikh Mujib-ur-Rehman who spearheaded the movement, which lead to the creation of Bangladesh in December 1971. She was the prime minister from 1996 to 2001.
Hasina, now 61, was administered oath by President Jalauddin Ahmed in a ceremony that was telecast live on television. She has strongly indicated that she wants to end the confrontational politics that has paralysed Bangladeshi politics for decades now. It would be very interesting were Pakistani TV channels to telecast Hasina Wajed's interview in English or with English sub titles. We need to understand that country far more than what does we do, and TV channels can play a meaningful role.
MUMTAZ BHUTTO RELEASED ON BAIL: On the 3rd of January (Saturday) there came on the TV channels the news that Mumtaz Ali Bhutto had been arrested in connection allegedly for an attack that had been carried out by activists of his party on a Sindhi language newspaper office in Clifton. He was shifted to Karachi from Larkana, and from there he was shifted to the National Institute of Cardio Vascular Diseases.
He was released on bail by a judicial magistrate. The Sindh Information Minister, Shazia Marri, addressed a press conference on this subject which was given extensive coverage. TV viewers have yet another theme to contemplate of what is happening in their lives. And Mumtaz Ali Bhutto has also expressed his views on the subject of freedom of media and fair coverage by the independent media.
(nusratnasarullah0@gmail.com.)