Journalism awards and journalists
By several accounts the ceremony for distributing Agahi Awards, Pakistan’s first journalism prizes, at the Pak-China Friendship Centre in Islamabad was a special event. First, because the heads of press clubs from across the country including National Press Club (Islamabad), Multan, Lahore, Quetta, Peshawar, Karachi, Azad Kashmir and Tribal Areas attended it. Second, no top government representative showed up at the event — encouraging organisers to take a major decision. The information minister was invited to the event but the ceremony couldn’t make it to her priority list. An important decision made at the awards ceremony was that in future ...
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Tableeghi Jamaat: Playing politics
The Sharifs, who portray themselves as the torch-bearers of principled politics, have by their actions shown themselves quite otherwise. In other words, they have shown that when it comes to garnering votes, they have no problem courting the conservative and right-wing elements of society. A war of words keeps erupting between Federal Interior Minister Rehman Malik and Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif over issues of religious extremism, banned outfits and existence of the Taliban in southern Punjab. The former makes the allegations and the latter denies all of them, saying that no such thing is happening in his province. In the ...
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Islamabad Diary: Lacklustre dialogue at a glamorous affair
The predominantly male press corps of Islamabad spent a lot of time last week on Google trying to figure out exactly what a Birkin is and how it is related to the Pakistan-India peace process. “At least it’s cheaper than maintaining the nuclear deterrent,” said one journalist after finding out that a Birkin handbag cannot be had for under $10,000. Media coverage of Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar’s talks with her Indian counterpart SM Krishna in Delhi was dominated by her looks, style and the price of her wardrobe. I confess to being guilty of the same crime. The media was accused ...
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HRK: The politics of pretty faces
The media coverage of newly appointed Pakistani Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar’s Indian tour is proving to be equally offensive either side of the border. Given Khar’s youth and her inexperience, there were already plenty of ‘ifs and buts’ floating among Pakistanis regarding her capabilities with respect to her new role, but it appears the media’s fascination with her wardrobe has trounced all performance related concerns. Indian electronic and print media has recently been reported calling the minister everything from “model-like” (Navbharat Times) and “Pakistan’s Best Face” (Times of India) extending to insinuations about her being “drool worthy” as well ...
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What you need to know about Hina Rabbani Khar
After keeping the slot of Foreign Minister vacant for more than five months, the government has finally woken up and decided to appoint Hina Rabbani Khar as the next Foreign Minister of Pakistan. It will not be an alien territory for Ms Khar, as she has been performing her duties as the Junior State Minister at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs till now. But, there will be an additional set of responsibilities that will come with the promotion. Even though she is familiar with the portfolio, it will be very difficult to speculate, at this stage, how much she would ...
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Smart power: Mango diplomacy and Khar
I said I wanted to write about our Chaunsa Diplomacy and was reminded that the accepted phrase for the season’s initiative was Mango Diplomacy. I still prefer Chaunsa Diplomacy, Chaunsa being the only variety amongst Pakistani mangoes to have been allowed market access in America. Also, I believe it sounds more native and therefore implies credit and ownership for the policy where it is due. And why have I not written about the new tint our diplomacy is taking vis a vis India? I can say that from the foreign minister’s purse to her blue scarf, the subject has been beaten ...
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The bag that worked
Not surprisingly, Hina Rabbani Khar has captured the popular imagination. The bag, the shades, the pearls and the chiffon. No news article about the Pak-India dialogue was complete without a reference to all of them. And while every major news outlet did precisely that on Wednesday, Thursday brought the bashing. Why is the media fixated by the bling, and not the brawn, they asked? Khar-the-celebrity overshadowed Khar-the-politician, they said. The media should differentiate between stars and politicians, they recommended. Why the holier-than-thou attitude, I ask? Besides the exchange of most-wanted terror lists and general accusations, no major breakthrough had been made ...
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Time for the minorities to wake up
Arguably, the communities that have suffered the worst kind of discrimination in Pakistan over the past decade are religious minorities. Hundreds of thousands of Christians, Hindus, Sikhs and followers of other faiths have been up against not only a ‘silent’ hatred by many Muslims but, in recent years, they have also faced the rage of religious extremists. Several external and internal factors, such as attempts by a powerful civil-military establishment to create a theocratic state and a ‘misdirected’ quest to seek dominance over our neighbours, appear to be contributing to the state of affairs we find ourselves in. But one reason ...
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MQM: Let the games begin
That the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) isn’t by now used to the “chicanery” of its senior partner in the coalition government portrays either naivete or clever calculation. In MQM’s case, naivete should more or less be discounted because the party has spent the better part of eight and a half years in power corridors – counting, of course, its five-year stint with the previous regime. It is hard not to understand, if not master, the laws of power, no matter how dysfunctional they may seem in our polity, in such a consecutive period. And yes the party has had ...
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‘Punishable by death’ needs to die
Punjab law minister Rana Sanaullah’s recent statement, inciting violence against fellow politician Babar Awan amazes and disgusts me. A law minister is supposed to uphold the law, not the other way around. In most countries, such a bizarre statement from a public official would instantly result in a prompt resignation. Political discourse and difference of opinion do not mean anyone has the right to put someone’s life in danger. Healthy societies thrive on differences and emerge stronger, based on dialogue and mutual respect. Ours unfortunately, is still struggling to understand the basic meaning of freedom of speech. There is a saying that ...
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