All the king’s men seem to be batting on a sticky wicket these days. Less than a week after Islamabad High Court had mentioned en passant the kitchen cabinet’s misleading role in the controversial Peca saga, the former brother-in-arms Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi has also advised the prime minister regarding his advisers. Following the path trodden by his party president, Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain, a month earlier, he too wanted Islamabad to reconsider the Chinese whispers those around him continue to indulge in; knitting huge castles in clouds here, there and everywhere. Mr Khan’s high-handed defence of a draconian law has left him vulnerable to attacks from all opposition quarters but more disturbingly, the bulldozer appears unmoved by any criticism–however scathing–on its way to stifle dissent.
The renewed vigour in the movement for his head, if not the freefall in popularity charts, has clearly made him nervous but making inroads to allies’ chambers and a fresh string of attacks against some jumping cats still trump reconsidering the tyrannical round of peca-boo. Freedom of expression is something that should be taken for granted in a civilised democracy. But choosing to crack a whip against whosoever dares defy the mighty and the wealthy’s wishes; handing out advertisements like a hard-earned stamp of approval goes entirely against the definition of championing free media. Remember, your tirade from the opposition benches, Mr Prime Minister? Perhaps, raising all of Pakistan’s hopes sky-high from your campaign containers when you promised us press freedom might ring a bell? Unfortunately for everyone, the love affair has long ended and suffering from under-the-table vetting, baffling set of regulation instructions every other day with the regular onslaught of violence, Pakistani media has come a full circle.
Islamabad can choose to cherry-pick which parts of its manifesto need to be rigorously pursued and which, hidden away in some far-off closet but the rest of the country cannot afford to let it play hangman with its sovereignty. The chickens have all come home to roost, sir, and a compromised media would, undeniably, become the last nail in the facade of democratic narratives. The dark, dark days of censorship have been done with and if needed, we would be back to fighting the good battle with our blood and bone.
