Posted: 11/23/2009 10:29:53 PM EDT
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/south_asia/8369914.stm
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 |  The principle obsession is when and how President Asif Ali Zardari will be replaced or sacked   |
The answer is nowhere.
One notable channel which also owns
newspapers has taken it upon itself to topple the elected government
and appears to hardly ever air democratic views.
newspapers has taken it upon itself to topple the elected government
and appears to hardly ever air democratic views.
Another
insists that it will never air anything that is sympathetic to India,
while all of them bring on pundits - often retired hardline diplomats,
bureaucrats or retired Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) officers who
sport Taliban-style beards and give viewers loud, angry crash courses
in anti-Westernism and anti-Indianism, thereby reinforcing views
already held by many.
insists that it will never air anything that is sympathetic to India,
while all of them bring on pundits - often retired hardline diplomats,
bureaucrats or retired Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) officers who
sport Taliban-style beards and give viewers loud, angry crash courses
in anti-Westernism and anti-Indianism, thereby reinforcing views
already held by many.
Collapse of confidence
Pakistan is going through a multi-dimensional series of crises and a collapse of public confidence in the state.
Suicide bombers strike almost daily and the economic meltdown just seems to get worse.
But
this is rarely apparent in the media, bar a handful of liberal
commentators who try and give a more balanced and intellectual
understanding by pulling all the problems together.
this is rarely apparent in the media, bar a handful of liberal
commentators who try and give a more balanced and intellectual
understanding by pulling all the problems together.
 The media debate 'misses real Pakistani life' |
The explosion in TV channels in Urdu, English and regional
languages has bought to the fore large numbers of largely untrained,
semi-educated and unworldly TV talk show hosts and journalists who deem
it necessary to win viewership at a time of an acute advertising
crunch, by being more outrageous and sensational than the next channel.
languages has bought to the fore large numbers of largely untrained,
semi-educated and unworldly TV talk show hosts and journalists who deem
it necessary to win viewership at a time of an acute advertising
crunch, by being more outrageous and sensational than the next channel.
On any given issue the public barely learns anything new nor is it presented with all sides of the argument.
Every talk show host seems to have his own agenda and their guests reflect that agenda rather than offer alternative policies.
Recently
one senior retired army officer claimed that Hakimullah Mehsud - the
leader of the Pakistani Taliban which is fighting the army in South
Waziristan and has killed hundreds in daily suicide bombings in the
past five weeks - has been whisked to safety in a US helicopter to the
American-run Bagram airbase in Afghanistan.
one senior retired army officer claimed that Hakimullah Mehsud - the
leader of the Pakistani Taliban which is fighting the army in South
Waziristan and has killed hundreds in daily suicide bombings in the
past five weeks - has been whisked to safety in a US helicopter to the
American-run Bagram airbase in Afghanistan.
In other words the
Pakistani Taliban are American stooges, even as the same pundits admit
that US-fired drone missiles are targeting the Pakistani Taliban in
Waziristan.
Pakistani Taliban are American stooges, even as the same pundits admit
that US-fired drone missiles are targeting the Pakistani Taliban in
Waziristan.
These are just the kind of blatantly contradictory
and nut-case conspiracy theories that get enormous traction on TV
channels and in the media - especially when voiced by such senior
former officials.
and nut-case conspiracy theories that get enormous traction on TV
channels and in the media - especially when voiced by such senior
former officials.
The explosion in civil society and
pro-democracy movements that bought the former military regime of
President Pervez Musharraf to its knees over two years has become
divided, dissipated and confused about its aims and intentions.
pro-democracy movements that bought the former military regime of
President Pervez Musharraf to its knees over two years has become
divided, dissipated and confused about its aims and intentions.
 Troops and militants are fighting in South Waziristan |
Even when such activists do appear on TV their voices are drowned
out by the conspiracy theorists who insist that every one of Pakistan's
ills are there because of interference by the US, India, Israel and
Afghanistan.
out by the conspiracy theorists who insist that every one of Pakistan's
ills are there because of interference by the US, India, Israel and
Afghanistan.
The army has not helped by constantly insisting
that the vicious Pakistani Taliban campaign to topple the state and
install an Islamic emirate is not a local campaign waged by the dozens
of extremist groups, some of whom were trained by the military in the
1990s, but the result of foreign conspiracies.
that the vicious Pakistani Taliban campaign to topple the state and
install an Islamic emirate is not a local campaign waged by the dozens
of extremist groups, some of whom were trained by the military in the
1990s, but the result of foreign conspiracies.
Economic crisis
Such
statements by the military hardly do justice to the hundreds of young
soldiers who are laying down their lives to fight the Taliban
extremists.
statements by the military hardly do justice to the hundreds of young
soldiers who are laying down their lives to fight the Taliban
extremists.
Nor has the elected government of the Pakistan
People's Party (PPP) tried to alter the balance, as it is mired in
ineffective governance and widespread corruption while failing to
tackle the economic recession, that is admittedly partly beyond its
control.
People's Party (PPP) tried to alter the balance, as it is mired in
ineffective governance and widespread corruption while failing to
tackle the economic recession, that is admittedly partly beyond its
control.
Moreover the PPP has no talking pundits, sympathetic
talk show hosts or a half decent media management campaign that can
attempt to refute the lies and innuendo that much of the media is now
spewing out.
talk show hosts or a half decent media management campaign that can
attempt to refute the lies and innuendo that much of the media is now
spewing out.
At present the principle obsession is when and how
President Asif Ali Zardari will be replaced or sacked, although there
is no apparent constitutional course available to get rid of him except
for a military coup, which is unlikely.
President Asif Ali Zardari will be replaced or sacked, although there
is no apparent constitutional course available to get rid of him except
for a military coup, which is unlikely.
The campaign waged by
some politicians and parts of the media - with underlying pressure from
the army - is all about trying to build public opinion to make Mr
Zardari's tenure untenable.
some politicians and parts of the media - with underlying pressure from
the army - is all about trying to build public opinion to make Mr
Zardari's tenure untenable.
 Pakistan is caught in a spiral of violence |
Nobody discusses the failure of the education system that is now
turning out hundreds of suicide bombers, rather than doctors and
engineers.
turning out hundreds of suicide bombers, rather than doctors and
engineers.
Or the collapsing and corrupt national health system
that forces the poorest to seek expensive private medical treatment, or
the explosion in crime or suicides by failed farmers and workers who
have lost their jobs.
that forces the poorest to seek expensive private medical treatment, or
the explosion in crime or suicides by failed farmers and workers who
have lost their jobs.
Pakistan cannot tackle its real problems
unless the country's leaders - military and civilian - first admit that
much of the present crisis is a result of long-standing mistakes, the
lack of democracy, the failure to strengthen civic institutions and the
lack of investment in public services like education, even as there
continues to be a massive investment in nuclear weapons and the
military.
unless the country's leaders - military and civilian - first admit that
much of the present crisis is a result of long-standing mistakes, the
lack of democracy, the failure to strengthen civic institutions and the
lack of investment in public services like education, even as there
continues to be a massive investment in nuclear weapons and the
military.
Pakistan's crisis must be first acknowledged by officialdom and the media before solutions can be found.
The alternative is a continuation of the present paralysis where people are left confused, demoralised and angry.
Ahmed
Rashid is the author of the best-selling book Taliban and, most
recently, of Descent into Chaos: How the war against Islamic extremism
is being lost in Pakistan, Afghanistan and Central Asia.
Rashid is the author of the best-selling book Taliban and, most
recently, of Descent into Chaos: How the war against Islamic extremism
is being lost in Pakistan, Afghanistan and Central Asia.
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Quoted: Any technology, sufficiently advanced, can be confused with magik.Quoted: Arn't these the same group of people who still believe in some forms of "magic"?  We got them here to. Television is magik to Oprah viewers, and the Gen Y'ers who voted for Das Obammy. |
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Quoted:
Funny the Pakistani friends that I have say just the reverse. Hate Pakistan, Love America. Of course they are here and not in Pakistan. My chemistry teacher in high school said, "I moved here when I was a teenager because I was sick of the bombs." No BS. |
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Where do you think the troofers and Paulbots get all their info from?? Alex Jones? PAH! Its just the Islamo nut cases. They "think" about why a certain bomb went off, then they figure its must've been jooooos!! or Hindooooooos! and behind it all is the freemason controlled USA. Why invade Pakistan? Because Halliburton wants to corner the market of camel shit. (that's one thing they got a lot of!)
Then they spew that shit on the intarwebs and guarantee that within 2 weeks the troofer paulbots here in the USA will start spouting the same horseshit. IOW- Islamo nut cases = troofer paulbots. |