Freedom of Speech in Pakistan

[LeGenD]

Freedom of speech is necessary for a nation to reflect on its course by facilitating constructive criticism of developments and introspection within.

Censorship facilitates state-sponsored indoctrination and fuels ignorance, and can lead a nation astray.

However, accountability, research and authenticity-verification are also necessary measures to adopt, to unmask propaganda and narrative-building initiatives and separate these from established facts.

Allah Almighty have forbidden the art of mixing falsehood with facts to create compelling narratives that might lead people astray. Conspiracy theories for instance.

 

[Imran Khan]

no body want other opinion in our country . freedom of speech is dead long time ago

 

[El Sidd]

Why has PEMRA banned news coverage of Kashmir protests by religious parties?

 

[Indus Pakistan]

Why has PEMRA banned news coverage of Kashmir protests by religious parties?

Because that helps the Indian narrative over Kashmir and Pakistan. That is the Kashmir issue is just about crazed religious jihadi's who want to turn Kashmir into another Afghanistan and kill all the minorities etc. This narrative is designed to win traction in the west. Pakistan must not fall for this Indian propaganda and highlight Kashmir as a humanitarian issue that involves right of self determination.

These religious parties are by their actions helping Indian propanganda.

 

[!eon]

In Pakistan situation changes time to time.

Now a days, you can use your freedom of speech against PPPP, PMLn, JUI, and other opposition groups, all religious groups except the Iranian group, because it would be then sectarian.

However, you have to keep your freedom of speech in your pocket while talking about Imran niazi and about all his of followers, and of course all times holy armed forces.

 

[Chak Bamu]

Senior & respected media workers have been complaining about very suffocating environment because Establishment & Government are on the same page. Mostly it is self-censorship because the consequences are pretty bad if WhatsApp messages from certain quarters are ignored or if high government functionaries dislike something.

If you recall so called DawnLeaks and the aftermath, you would understand the modus-operandi for coercive censorship via namaloom afrad. We know who they are.

 

[Dubious]

Just give them lifafas they will become pro government

THAT IS THE PROBLEM!

They run on money not on responsibility to the state


Such people can be bought by the highest bidder!

 

[VCheng]

Senior & respected media workers have been complaining about very suffocating environment because Establishment & Government are on the same page. Mostly it is self-censorship because the consequences are pretty bad if WhatsApp messages from certain quarters are ignored or if high government functionaries dislike something.

If you recall so called DawnLeaks and the aftermath, you would understand the modus-operandi for coercive censorship via namaloom afrad. We know who they are.

Stifling dissent and its expression is an enduring feature practiced in various forms by nearly all governments in Pakistan, both civil and military, and protests against it usually belong to the camp that is currently out of favor. Soon the tide turns, and we go through this cycle again, except for one holy entity above all else.

 

[Indus Pakistan]

Just give them lifafas they will become pro government

Lifafa media is the norm in the west. USA, UK etc all have 'lifafa' journalism but the differance between Pakistan and them is the lifafas are aligned on the broad contours with the establishment. Thus they all sing a song scripted by the establishment.

Not so in Pakistan. Much of the media is divorced from the establishment thus you get the problems.

 

[VCheng]

Lifafa media is the norm in the west. USA, UK etc all have 'lifafa' journalism but the differance between Pakistan and them is the lifafas are aligned on the broad contours with the establishment. Thus they all sing a song scripted by the establishment.

Not so in Pakistan. Much of the media is divorced from the establishment thus you get the problems.

In other words, as long as media tow the establishment line, all is well? So much for the Fourth Estate, eh?

 

[Indus Pakistan]

In other words, as long as media tow the establishment line, all is well? So much for the Fourth Estate, eh?

If you read my entire post, you will see that I said we have 'lifafa' journalism in the west as well. It's just discrete but always is entirely aligned with the establishment. Even in the UK. All mainstream media which has the eyes and ears of 95% of the population is just extention of the establishent.

 

[VCheng]

If you read my entire post, you will see that I said we have 'lifafa' journalism in the west as well. It's just discrete but always is entirely aligned with the establishment. Even in the UK. All mainstream media which has the eyes and ears of 95% of the population is just extention of the establishent.

But what happens in the West is not the topic of this thread, is it? How does your comment above help or hinder - or even apply to - freedom of expression in Pakistan?

 

[Imad.Khan]

There is an ethical code of journalism, which you can read in the below link. Pakistani media needs to turn away from being a sensationalist circus to an ethical fabric of the society and having a tribunal for the media is the first step. As many journos have said multiple times, " if you havn't done anything wrong then you shouldn't fear accountability"

https://www.spj.org/ethicscode.asp

Senior & respected media workers have been complaining about very suffocating environment because Establishment & Government are on the same page. Mostly it is self-censorship because the consequences are pretty bad if WhatsApp messages from certain quarters are ignored or if high government functionaries dislike something.

If you recall so called DawnLeaks and the aftermath, you would understand the modus-operandi for coercive censorship via namaloom afrad. We know who they are.

Regarding Dawnleaks, have you heard of Edward Snowden? How about Julian Assange? Do you know what happened to them and why?

 

[Chak Bamu]

There is an ethical code of journalism, which you can read in the below link. Pakistani media needs to turn away from being a sensationalist circus to an ethical fabric of the society and having a tribunal for the media is the first step. As many journos have said multiple times, " if you havn't done anything wrong then you shouldn't fear accountability"

https://www.spj.org/ethicscode.asp






Regarding Dawnleaks, have you heard of Edward Snowden? How about Julian Assange? Do you know what happened to them and why?

Ethical codes are all good and dandy, as long as they are applied to someone else' as*. In a constitutional democracy basic freedoms are guaranteed. What we see instead is freedom to ban channels in cantonments, freedom to threaten cable operators to not show certain channels or change their positions. freedom to forcefully stop newspaper circulation in cantonments and elsewhere, freedom to burn newspapers, freedom to ban certain people on TV channels under severe threat to the life & liberty of journalists / anchors.

I know about Julian Assange & Edward Snowdon. Do you know about Umar Cheema (beaten up and thrown in a deserted area of Gujar Khan), Matiullah Jan (harassment on road in Islamabad), Ahmed Noorani (beaten up in broad daylight & later forced to abandon his twitter account), Taha Siddiqui (beaten up & pursued in Islamabad; now living outside Pakistan). Whether we agree with someone or not, freedom of speech is a fundamental right. It is available to ISPR which dares reject Government decisions (rejecting report on "Dawn Leaks" on twitter account), but it is not available to the people whose JD is to inform the public. Speaking truth to power is important and societies that encourage it are healthy and stable, unlike Banana Republics like Pakistan.

Anyone who tries to obfuscate issues using red herrings may impress security-centered fools, but someone with a sense of constitutionalism is not going to fall for false parallels.

If you read my entire post, you will see that I said we have 'lifafa' journalism in the west as well. It's just discrete but always is entirely aligned with the establishment. Even in the UK. All mainstream media which has the eyes and ears of 95% of the population is just extention of the establishent.

Show me one media outlet in Pakistan that goes against Pakistani State's narrative on Kashmir?

You are mistaking difference of opinion & dissent as treason. Speaking truth to power is a duty, not treason. As long as information is aligned with one's bias, one will be tempted to spread it even if it is fake news. I have seen great proliferation of fake news via WhatsApp. Shahid Masood's career is built on fake WhatsApp news. People living in cognitive bubbles are loathe to leave them. Whenever I see the term 'lifafa', I am 80% sure that the expression has been used due to cognitive dissonance.

Each nation-state has its official narrative about its core interests and its view of IR, especially in its neighborhood. Out of nationalist bias much of media would toe the line. But that does not mean that toeing Establishment line is something of value or has much good in it. Sometimes challenging a damaging narrative is important when its failure is manifest. This is just plain common sense. For example, what good has support for non-government actors done for Pakistan? Has it done anything at all? Have the long-term ramifications been worth the short-term gains, if any? I hope you see why it is important to challenge official narratives. Policy makers could be operating out of bias and have blind spots that they do not wish to address. When civilians rule, they know that they need to be re-elected; when Generals rule, they know that they can get away with misrule as long as they have a bogey. In Pakistan's hybrid system, some lies have the State's sanction and must not be questioned. Policies based on those lies are sacred and if journos address them, they are branded as anti-state, lifafa, Pressitutes, etc...

I am not saying that journos are all good. I know there are many who are actually black-mailers & crooks. But the excuse for dealing with them can not be used to support censorship.

 

[313ghazi]

Anyone who thinks Pakistan doesn't have freedom of speech is ignorant of Pakistani media.

Look at the sustained media campaign against Nawaz Sharif for example during his term. Go to any newspaper and read the critical op-eds. Join twitter and see the bile spewed by the so called liberals.

People say we don't have political freedom too. Yet at the same time in my memory we had the lawyers march against musharraf, we had NRO, we had 2 PPP PMs (Gilani and raja rental) removed, we had dharna after dharna, we had ns removed, we had 2 terms of parliament completed and PTI won an election. They also ceded two seats to PTM who want to tear our Country apart.

We've had more political freedom than Brexit Britain!