The Role of Media in Pakistan

Abstract

54 * The Author is Associate Professor at the Department of International Relations, Quaidi -Azam University, Islamabad-Pakistan. He has been a media anchor during 2000-2006. The research for this paper was done at the French Institute of International Relations (IFRI), Paris-France, for which the author compliments the help and cooperation of Dr. Gilles Boquerat, John Seaman and Daniel Marier. Journal of South Asian and Middle Eastern Studies Vol. XXXV, No.4, Summer 2012 The Role of Media in Pakistan Nazir Hussain* The explosion of information revolution and the proliferation of electronic media have virtually converted the world into a globalized village. Now, information, news and events have no barriers and control to reach anywhere around the world. These happenings reach to every living room instantaneously even before the governments can react and control it. The enhanced role of media has impacted the social, economic and political life. What one thinks, believes and perceives are based on the images presented by the media. It has penetrated the routine life of all individuals; commoners, elites, decision-makers and statesmen. States have often been inclined to use the media as a propaganda tool for political and military purposes. The decades of 1980s and 1990s have for instance witnessed the use of US media for politico-military ends. The projection of Soviet Union as an ‘Evil Empire’, the Saddam saga and the ‘Weapons of Mass Destruction’ and the Osama Bin Laden from ‘Freedom Fighter to a Terrorist’ are some of the examples. However, now the media has come out of the domain of the state controls, it is the financiers, the media houses and the media anchors that make heroes and villains, leaders and terrorists. Therefore, the role of media is growing from an observer to an active player in political decision making. The political leaders and government officials have become dependent to convey and defend their policies through the use of media. The media where ‘more antigovernment will earn more business’ is considered a basic key to success. This over-emphasised role of media has been theorised as “Mediatization” 55 by Swedish media researcher Kent Asp in 1986 and later by D.G. Lillker in 2006.1 Pakistan, a developing state with multiple social, economic, political and security issues, is not insulated from the media effects of contemporary world. In fact, the Pakistani media is described as more open, blunt and proactive than before. It now highlights the social wrong-doings, economic mismanagement and political inaccuracies prevalent in the country. Over the years, Pakistani media has become a strong medium of scrutinizing the functioning of state institutions; instead of offering policy options to the government, it has taken over the task of policy-making. Therefore, this paper endeavors to highlight the role of media in Pakistan by analyzing its evolution, present state of affairs, major media houses, the controlling bodies and its future in the country. Media in Pakistan The Constitution of Pakistan Article 19 states that ‘every citizen shall have the right to freedom of speech and expression, and there shall be freedom of press, subject to any reasonable restrictions imposed by the law in the interest of the glory of Islam or the integrity, security or defence of Pakistan or any part thereof, friendly relations with foreign states, public order, decency or morality, or in relation to contempt of court, commission of or incitement to an offence.’ Therefore, the freedom of expression and speech is enshrined in the very basis and spirit of the legal foundations of the country. In the pre-partition Pakistan, there were few newspapers echoing the line of the Muslims; Nawa-i-Waqat, a right-wing Urdu newspapers was the first one to start its publication in 1940, whereas DAWN, an English newspaper, followed in 1941, mainly to counter the anti-Muslim propaganda during the time. There were few other newspapers, which moved into the newly created Pakistan, these included Pakistan Times, Zamindar, Civil and Military Gazette, Morning News and Jang. However, most of the print media remained in the private hands but the government could control it through advertisement and regulations. 1 K. Asp, Massmedier: studier i politisk opinionbildning (Powerful mass media: studies in...