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THERE can be no doubt the military’s spin machine is one of the most effective in the country. Even then, what it achieved over the Eid holidays surpassed anything else witnessed in recent years.
Most TV channels were broadcasting images of men in uniform from a four-star general to the ORs (other ranks, read the foot soldier) in abundance, forcing one commentator to say he had not seen so much of the army top brass in the media since the days of military rule.
Where the COAS was visiting front-line troops on the battlefield against militants in the north-western reaches of the country, offering Eid prayers with them and then celebrating the day in battle fatigues with his soldiers and tribal elders, the ubiquitous Rangers officials filled the TV screens on account of their operation in Karachi.
Of course the heavy rainfall and floods in some parts of the country were still a few days away so the images of armymen involved in the rescue operation were still to come, but the army-offered ‘facility’ to leading TV personalities to Waziristan/Tirah Valley ensured the troops and their combat operations received wide, uncritical and favourable coverage.
This isn’t to say for a moment that the valiant fight of the men in khaki and their sacrifices on the front line ever since the current army chief decided to take on the terror merchants hasn’t earned everyone’s gratitude and should not be acknowledged.
However, it seems the media, and more so the electronic media, has had its memory banks erased. Not one line of background was used in the adulatory coverage of the war on the Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan — for example, how we got here. As long as the army decided to at least partially end its association with religious fanatics and is taking some of them on, all is forgotten, forgiven.
In the micro-focused coverage of the troops on the battleground, frankly there may not be much room for any critical appraisal of the policies pursued with mindless dedication since the end of the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan anyway.
This coverage zooms in and brings into sharp focus our heroes, their faces and their words. But sadly, among those who command endless hours of prime time TV, there seems no desire either to open up the discussion to encompass the wider issue, particularly with the aim of ensuring that past blunders aren’t repeated.
For now it is Hail Raheel Sharif and his men. All else is pointless. Yes, it must be conceded the army chief doesn’t seem to have set a foot wrong so far. After the Army Public School carnage, he took a policy decision to go after the perpetrators and didn’t procrastinate or negotiate with them as some of his predecessors did.
That there was not even a perfunctory attempt to hold to account those who, despite intelligence alerts and warnings, failed in their duty to protect the institution located within the Peshawar Cantonment confines received no attention. Bad for morale when we are fighting a war may be the argument of some in the media to explain away their shortcomings.
Does the media allow our civilian politicians the same amount of latitude in its coverage that it affords the military? For example, when economic indicators hint at a happier scenario than over the past seven/eight years, do we see focus on that?
For this rather skewed state of affairs or coverage, the culpability is not just ours, i.e. members of the Fourth Estate. Consider this. During Eid you are running the newsgathering for a TV channel. Over what is seen as a ‘dull’ news period what are your options?
You’ll assign reporters to cover what the key functionaries of the state/the country’s leaders are doing, who they meet, what they say, even how they are celebrating the festival. This will add a bit of ‘colour’ to your reporting.
Now imagine you are in Pakistan. The ISPR (Inter-Services Public Relations or the military’s media wing) offers you helicopters and other facilities to visit soldiers on the front line in a scenic war zone in the days immediately prior to Eid.
Troops in full battle gear against lush mountain background make for fantastic TV images. And yes, these are battle-hardened soldiers so their words reflect their experience and the overall effect is captivating TV that often brings a lump to your throat and mist to your eyes.
To top it all, the icing on the cake, Eid day footage appears of the chief embracing his foot soldiers on the battlefield, empathising with them since they are away from their loved ones for a bigger cause, raising their morale and raising his fist in response to slogans affirming commitment to defend the motherland.
You use all this. Why won’t you? It makes for great TV. Even still photographs in newspapers seem to acquire a life of their own. But you have a problem. You’ll be accused of one-sided coverage as the civilian leadership is missing from the news.
What can you do except bow your head to the critic. How can you tell the critics that you can’t really show the prime minister in aetikaaf in the Holy Land and also his granddaughter’s nikah there for no TV crews were present; that you had no images of the prime minister’s heir apparent as he spent the holiday in his London flat.
And yes the people couldn’t see one glimpse of their (Pakistan) People’s Party leaders as the latter convened a meeting of their top guns in Karachi, the capital of Sindh province? No. Not even in Abu Dhabi, the capital of the UAE, but at their mansion in Dubai.
One would have been happier if the issue was merely one of optics, of poor spin doctors. It isn’t. It is an issue of substance, even priorities.
The writer is a former editor of Dawn.
Published in Dawn, July 25th, 2015
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