DESPERATE ACTS ALWAYS FAIL(REBUTTAL TO SHAFQAT MAHMOOD)

Ref you article styled above in News dtd 9-11-007.
Most of what you wrote was predictable.For the simple reason that pen-
pushers in our country are given to promoting policies of the parties
they support & newspapers are given to print them because of their own
policies & for lack of anything better to print.
However, some points need to be clarified for record's sake.
First, role of the media. As a teacher of the subject of Media Laws,
let me point out that media has the role of a "watchdog". It has a
social responsibilty.With special reference to electronic media, they
had a duty to present both the points of views impartially.To deciede
what to show & how, what not to show & why not.The electronic media
channels are by and large owned by individuals with political leanings
who used these channels as a mouthpiece to promote their own political
stance.This was done with a flagrant disrespect to any office
concerned with unprofessional moderators whose only qualification was
a proficiency to be rude to their guests .In no democracy can I
recall,media playing such a negative role, assuming the role of
opposition.Showing dead bodies etc which I never in my life recall any
foreign channel to have showed. In the war in Iraq, so many died from
both sides, have we ever been shown dead bodies? This negligence by
media was first due to lack of any formal institute training to equip
them with handling professionally with such situations & secondly due
to the fact that each party had its own axe to grind and used them to
prove their point.
Second, the newspapers. They abound with pen-pushers who are either
serving a 2 year stint in a foreign university on a party's payroll
and thus are bound to promote the party's policies & that of the host
country or if Govt employees, need to please the masters to renew
their job positions.
Coming down to the Judiciary.
Musharraf undoubtedly made an error of judgement in ousting Ch.
Iftikhar from his post in an uncermenious manner.This he admitted
on his TV appearance. However, we saw, that once the honourable
justice was restored, there began a politicising of every executive
decision. To the common man like myself,it seemed that all that
Supreme Court was involved in, was a political wrangling. Before
saluting them, it is advised that you look up the number of suo moto
cases taken up in the previous 8 years vis a vis those taken up after
the Chief justice was restored. It was a personal vendetta, without a
care for the consequences to the country, supported by political
parties to suit their objectives.According to the code of conduct for
judges(were you aware before saluting them Mr Shafqat that this ever
existed?I very much doubt it.)no judge can comment, even privately on
a matter subjudice to the court,niether can he make a comment on the
judgement made by a court of law. This can be faced with the severest
of punishments.
There is a term ;your freedom ends where my nose begins!Aptly stated!
Now coming to the politicians.
If elections are held today, there remains no party that can truly
call itself a party with a national following, PPP will bag some seats
some interior sindh whicle MQM will hold the day in urban Sindh.
Punjab will be divided between PML-N & PML-Q. Baluchistan & NWFP will
fall to other parties.
Having said that, the question is:who then?
Those who criticize Shafqat Sahib are thereby bound to present an
alternative or stay quiet.
My solution is based in the basic premise that what we see in our
country is Dynatic Rule as opposed to Democracy ie one after the other
of a family member coming with or without capabilities as of
heriditery right. I feel, if these "gidh" or "dynosaurs" , their
sposes & all family members are declared ineligible to participate in
the polls by virtue of law, only then we may finally dream of a
"democracy".
I am reminded of an article by Cowasjee, in Dawn recently in which he
states"We are being forced to choose between a third rate mother & a
fourth rate father" or something to the exact effect.
Well said indeed.
Do we deserve a third rate mother or a fourth rate father?
No Mr Shafqat. I would rather salute to those who have the ability to
be rational and deal on an intelligent level rather being led by
emotional rhetoric.The second category are dime a dozen in this
country!
Yasmeen Aftab Ali
Lahore