9
AFTER a recent column, a friend sent me a mocking email inquiring if I had become a Nawaz Sharif follower. “Of course!” I replied. “And I get a weekly lifafa from him.”
Although this brief exchange was in jest, it does highlight a nasty streak now running through our political discourse. Over the years, I must have received hundreds of emails accusing me of being a paid hack for the PPP or the PML-N. I still haven’t been charged with being a spokesman for the PTI, but it’s only a matter of time. And when I write about international affairs, I am immediately slammed for being in the pay of the CIA, Mossad or RAW.
And it’s not just me: a number of independent journalists are regularly blasted for being on the payroll of some political party or foreign intelligence agency. Sadly, in some cases, these charges may well be true. I can’t speak for foreign spy networks, but our spooks claim to have had some journalists on their payroll. A former MI head once named a TV anchor as being recruited by him and paid a monthly stipend.
Imran is further coarsening an already dismal political process.
This tendency to accuse dissenting journalists of pushing the agenda of local political parties or foreign states has spilled into our TV studios. Here, guests at chat shows regularly blame politicians of having amassed billions in looted money. In both cases, no proof is ever offered.
I heard a guest on one of these mindless discussions accuse Zardari of having made Rs60 billion. Now I have no means of determining whether or not the ex-president made this kind of money, but no evidence was offered, and none was demanded by the anchor. In most countries, anybody making such accusations would be sued for libel, but our courts appear so tolerant of personal abuse that nobody bothers with legal challenges in such matters.
Imran Khan is past master at hurling invective and unfounded accusations, safe in the knowledge that he will not have to prove them, or face the legal consequences. The result of this cynical approach to politics is to raise the temperature of what is already a blood sport. And by spreading ‘false news’, Imran Khan is further coarsening an already dismal political process. (So no PTI lifafa for me).
The media — especially most TV channels — share the prize in this race to the gutter. The most outrageous claims and charges are made, unchallenged by anchors who are either under instructions not to intervene, or too ignorant to stop a guest and ask for evidence. They, too, seem to believe that our courts will not act to protect any reputation but that of the higher judiciary.
Why this apparent indifference from the courts? Shahbaz Sharif, the Punjab chief minister, has issued a legal notice to Imran Khan, seeking several billions as compensation for defamation. I would advise the chief minister not to hold his breath waiting for a decision. Had the matter been about alleged corruption, I’m sure NAB would have been ordered to complete the investigation yesterday.
The result of this vitriolic political debate is that the credibility of our politicians — never very high at the best of times — is further eroded. When I think of our children growing up with their nightly fix of our inane TV chat shows, I worry about the image they must have of our politics and politicians.
And with parties now going into election mode, there will probably be more abuse thrown in every direction, accompanied with an escalation in charges of financial scams. But Pakistanis have become so used to this sort of language that they now take it in their stride. When a religious leader used choice Punjabi invective during the recent three-week dharna designed to block traffic between Rawalpindi and Islamabad, the speech went viral on social media, it took the Supreme Court to direct that foul language could not be used in a ‘religious’ cause.
Perhaps this coarsening of the public discourse is part and parcel of the crude society we have degenerated into. Teenagers who get into a quarrel think nothing of pulling out guns to settle scores. Senior police officers, bureaucrats and politicians driving around with heavily armed police escorts are a common sight. Aerial firing at the slightest pretext often kills innocent bystanders with no response from the police. Political parties often have armed groups to intimidate rivals as well as to raise funds.
This mix of ballots, bullets and abuse makes for a toxic cocktail. Our culture of selective accountability makes it imperative for the ruling party to stay in power by any means to avoid being dragged through the courts.
Oh yes, any lifafas intended for me can be donated to charity.
Published in Dawn, December 16th, 2017
