Reprehensible as it is, the reason why the police turned their ire on journalists as Islamabad’s Constitution Avenue descended into chaos over the weekend is not hard to understand.
Amid stone-pelting, tear-gassing and with a baton-charge under way, the knowledge that footage of these scenes would shortly be splashed across television screens across the country would sit like a canker.
Pakistan’s police aren’t averse to using brutal methods when they feel the situation requires it, and few would welcome incontrovertible proof of it.
Also Read: On Constitution Avenue, journalism is a crime
One cameraman says that he heard someone shout “beat up the media people”, and he was thereafter chased down and beaten severely.
All in all, at least 28 media persons were beaten up and injured, several despite having identified themselves with their press cards.
This episode is a sad reminder that journalists in Pakistan face a unique set of challenges while executing their jobs; the norms that have been developed to protect men and women in the media around the world are routinely flouted with shameless impunity here.
Were that not the case, how would it be possible to understand the fact that the two personalities at the centre of the scenes of destruction and unconstitutionality, Imran Khan and Tahirul Qadri, felt that it was acceptable for them to hurl threats against journalists, media houses and their owners, and incite violence against them?
That said, media persons are also left vulnerable to attack by the actions and inactions of their employers and managers.
The question to be asked is, why were they so near the scene of action, as police and protesters fought it out, that they ended up becoming involved?
Why were they not at a safe distance, where neither side could mistake them for being part of the other?
Sadly enough, in the thirst for ratings and the lust for footage that is thought to increase viewership, Pakistan’s news channels tend to put pressure on those out in the field to get as close as possible to the action — regardless of the dangers.
Then, they all too frequently fail to provide the gear that is essential in situations where conflict might develop: flak jackets, protective head-gear, and so on.
Why this neglect? Should journalists not have the right to expect that the organisations that employ them will look out for their safety and welfare, and not expect them to put themselves in danger?
Published in Dawn, September 2nd, 2014