Media Watch – Page 2 – My Bit for Change

With Friends Like These

Is safeguarding the life and rights of religious minorities a responsibility of the government? In the context of Pakistan, present or past, it appears not to be the case.

So is the targeted killing and persecution of religious minorities actually a credit to the government?

If you follow a certain Mr. Faisal Raza Abidi, it would seem so. For wherever Faisal Raza goes these days, he wears the badge of minority rights with great pride and greater pompousness. It’s quite mesmerizing actually.

For instance, I was dumbfounded when I saw him invoking the names of Shia leaders, at the top of his voice, to batter an anchor into submission. The fact that these leaders had been killed on the watch of a PPP government that seemed not in the least bit interested, or bothered, about their life or death, was lost on Abidi.

We have seen a lot in the last four years or so, granted. But vying for political mileage over dead bodies? That too of people you were sworn to and failed to, or didn’t want to, protect. I really cannot come up with an analogy.

You may ask what allows Abidi and company to get away this. How can they stand by and watch as their citizens are butchered and then shout about it on TV? Well, it’s the media, or a certain section of the media.

This is the section that lays claim to be the champions of free speech, of tolerance and are great friends of the minorities in Pakistan. They are also great friends of the PPP, but don’t say that out loud. Irony, isn’t it?

It’s peculiar how these mild mannered folk, who believe in tolerance and abhor abusive trolls, love the slightly less mild mannered Mr. Abidi. It’s also peculiar how they oversee, every day, what the PPP has done to minorities in Pakistan.

How? The “Deep State” (Establishment)! It remains the refuge of the PPP apologist. They hide behind it, pleading that their liberal party is helpless. They say the party’s hands are tied.

Yet there is much they don’t say.

They don’t say how there is more sectarian strife in the country today than when the military was directly in power, under Musharraf. They don’t say how the siege of Shia-Hazaras in Balochistan intensified under the current regime or how the PPP Chief Minister can’t even feign pity for them. Let alone the President.

They don’t say how this government has failed to control growth of sectarian outfits throughout the country, from Sindh to Gilgit to Balochistan. They don’t say that the PPP has failed to introduce stricter anti-terrorism legislation either. Apparently, the ‘Deep State’ wanted to do away with the third time prime minister clause instead? It also demanded public office holders be granted immunity from contempt proceedings.

It’s not that these people don’t have a voice. They speak ferociously enough, just not when the “secular” parties are involved. Just imagine, if “Sheeda Tully” was involved in forceful conversion of Hindu girls. But it was a PPP MNA, so he’s safe. Similarly, imagine if a ‘Right-Wing’ government were to incarcerate an eleven year old Christian girl on blasphemy charges. Now imagine the state of the self-proclaimed liberal anchors, writers, bloggers and activists! Exactly!

The fact is, an ulema council has actually come out to support the girl. In the meantime, former Prime Minister, upholder of the constitution and champion of the masses, Yousaf Raza Gillani has claimed credit for Bhutto’s Ahmadi achievement.

None of these champions of minority rights will ask the PPP why they have been this inhuman, this unmoved and this complicit in the atrocities committed. They will instead write one harrowing tale after the other, each ending before the victims can lodge a complaint against their government. A government that not only abandoned them, it persecuted them as well.

It is, however, a PPP government, so that must not make it to the papers. It doesn’t need to, man. You wrote a vague story from a distant land, such bravery would put a lion to shame. You outdid yourself sire. Your best article ever, for the third time this week! And it goes on..

Young “jiyalas” don’t grow up to be unbiased commentators. A Radio only broadcasts its feed. Institutes don’t fund themselves.

There is so much this county has given to minorities, isn’t there. And prominent among our many gifts – are friends like these.

Cyber World and its Perils

Cyber world has become a perpetual world where we all live in and yet we don’t. This is the next big frontier which the western masters have innovated and trying to conquer. Cyber space might be the perfect place for mind warfare. Victory here means conquest of whole mind kind. This idea must sound absurd and ridiculous. I agree this is as much an alien thought as I can imagine in my wildest imagination. I am neither a technologist nor a tech freak. Coming from finance and accounting background, let me ask a few questions which mark arrows towards the point I have raised.

Let us first try to unwrap this argument. How secure is our information on services like Gmail, Hotmail or on Yahoo mail? How secure are our videos and pictures on Facebook or Orkut? What do they do with my tweets? I used to believe that since I have control of my privacy settings, so it’s all very safe, people only get to know what I am willing to tell.

Friends just have a second thought about it. Your mails, information, pictures & documents may be safe from those who you don’t want to share with, but are they really safe? They are always available, just a click away, those guys who are storing it for me, am I sure that they aren’t using it? Am I sure that they are not sniffing through my information? They claim that they don’t use it but they also say that we might use it anonymously to help improve our ‘product’. This should be enough to ring alarm bells.

If still not, then let me give you view from another side. To run any business successfully, you need to have inputs, then you do some value add to these inputs to convert them into a sell-able product. This conversion costs you money. Once the product is ready, you need to find buyers to whom you can sell the product. And as a thumb rule, the price at which you are selling the product has to be higher than the cost you are incurring to produce it. Your selling price minus your cost is your profit. All commercial organizations exist only to make profits. And mind you all these organization are highly profitable.

For these services which I mentioned, let’s try to find the input, the value add and then the sell-able product. For convenience let me take the example of twitter. To support millions & millions of users, they need to have big server farms, which cost tens of millions of dollars, to run these farms they need to pay bills and salaries to staff. To develop & maintain the service that they are offering, again they need to run offices, pay bills and salaries to staff. Their end product is an application which people are able to use, express their thoughts and viewpoints. Bingo it’s all free. We don’t pay a single penny to twitter.

Isn’t that enough to raise some suspicion? If not then let me give you another hint. You must have seen suggestions while using twitter, which suggests you, people whom you might be interested to follow or people who are similar to ones you are following. Another value add and that too free of cost.

Ever thought how a service provider which is offering free services to all across the globe is able to make millions of dollars in profits?

This should be enough to mark arrows that someone is doing user profiling at a mega level. Our click on suggested people only confirms the profiling they have done.

Now the question is with all this profiling who is the buyer of this information or product. I will leave this question open to readers for them to think and make their own analysis.

Last but not the least, what I worry most is that my generation was born in an era when TV was a novelty. We got easily influenced by what we saw on it. Comparing us to people of Radio generation & generation even before that, we very easily bought new idea & thought appearing on TV. With these free services which intrude into the privacy of individuals, doing their profiling, what will happen to our new generation? The Cyber warfare is on and we are all part of it. I shall also leave this question open for everyone to think.

Because the Ugly Combination Sells

So Ladies and Gentlemen, contrary to all expectations and despite the ever strong social media activism, Veena Malik is back in full swing to help people get over their sins -and hers- and plead and beg to the Almighty Lord to forgive them -and her- for their sins -and hers- for the moment so they can get back to what they were doing as soon as they change the channel.

For some, the whole controversy was a rather new one. The media has crossed all limits. Vulgarity and obscenity is one thing, as it goes, but associating people related with obscenity with issues that we hold sacred, like Ramadan, was just wrong, and out of the blue. It’s just not nice.

While this represents the popular sentiment regarding the issue, I tend to see the whole drama in a rather broader sense. While the whole Veena Malik episode, a populist stunt of sorts, was definitely the last straw, and off limits as it was, fails still to be the problem itself. The problem in my opinion is the Capitalist nature of the media whereas everything that can be sold is sold, and customized to suit the commercial agenda.

This one-dimensional, or profit-dimensional, Capitalist mindset, that sees not the ethics, responsibility, values, and morals, that come in its way, has but one problem; it’s not human. In fact, it’s satanic. Greed is its ultimate value, where all things through which humans derive meaning and purpose are utilized and customized for ends that make mockery of human existence.

So what sells? Ratings!!

Oh, and who knows what gets ratings better than the media itself. Apparently, the screen is not a big fan of serious real-life engagement with the audience. Such an enterprise would first need pretty cutting and editing to get some real applause from the audience. After all, the people don’t want to see things as they actually are, but rather in ways that suit their deepest imaginations and fantasies; that shine and dazzle, and look good to the eye. And what they want to see is on-screen; so what happens off it is none of their business.

Nonetheless, religious broadcasting in our country, especially in times of Ramadan like these, is quite a money making enterprise. One mustn’t forget, however, that religion is, in fact, serious business; we look at religion for things like social and moral guidance, spiritual emancipation and intellectual enlightenment. More simply, religion is not a consumer product.

But what we see on our television screens is just outright deplorable. Actors and televangelists are busy reading from pre-determined scripts to people expecting a ‘religious transmission’. We know for a fact that some of these performers are completely different people off screen. In fact, when the masks are taken off, no humility is spared. Leaked videos then lead, not only to controversy, but also to a deep sense of shame on our miserable state. “Online Aalims” with huge followings display how low they can really go; but it doesn’t stop there. They make returns, ever afresh; blaming their previous employers and other conspirators with all the credibility that comes from consecutive calls from Mecca and Madina.

My actual concern is on how Islam is trimmed and framed into a collage for the masses that is highly superficial, populist, symbolic, theatrical and even, hypocritical. The media knows well how to manipulate popular imagination. Just put the “Aalim” in the grave and make him cry to a live audience; what a show, what a show indeed! But even more, Islam is in the process stripped from its essentially profound nature. On the other hand, cultural aspects associated with religion, like the ‘Kurta Shalwar’, are made essential. Programs devoid of any moral and spiritual nature may easily be Islamized by symbolic gestures alone.

So to be honest, the media crossed the line ages ago when it decided to treat religion only to ends that met its commercial agenda. Today, the media has become a power house. But power necessitates responsibility. While we may criticize the government and the politicians, the bureaucracy, and the military, and not to forget the judiciary and all other stake holders of power for being involved in projects based on personal greed, we must also make the media accountable for its actions. The media isn’t just a bunch of corporations seeking to get a share of the market; the media is a pillar of society that exercises a significant amount of influence on people’s lives. The satanic obsession it may have with money should not result in the mockery of our values and faith. It’s high time to bring it to order and make it realize its boundaries.

Burma is Burning

Burma is burning and most of us are conveniently silent ….

Some believe that death toll is not high enough to condemn the killings because few dozens have been murdered and few women have been raped; not a big deal because they were muslims. Some others say that we are far away from Burma, so leave them alone and try to solve our own problems first while some are confused to believe the atrocities did actually happen or not.

Media (international and local) is silent because it has not received the dictation from its real masters to show ethnic cleansing of Muslims as a breaking news. Media didn’t even recognize the problem unless Amnesty International reported it. And all of those who want to keep mum are blaming social media for raising voice for the oppressed. Those who are against any check and balance on their own ‘freedom of expression’ want to have checks on social media, so that the issues like Burma are never highlighted anywhere. They are blaming the social media networks like facebook and twitter for propagating fake pictures, while forgetting their own fake stories and fake programs. The problem with electronic media is their capital influx, which they get from multinationals and governments and due to which they cannot go beyond a certain limit set by their sponsors.

Social media on the other hand has given voice to general public. Common people can use twitter, facebook and youtube to express their views and get their views across. Although in countries like Pakistan, internet access and social media usage is still limited, it is good enough to send a few shockwaves across the country. True that social media doesn’t have the access to reliable information some times and anything can get viral without authentication; the problem is not as severe as traditional media which feeds in sponsored news and deliberately corrupt the mindsets. Anything wrong if gets viral on social media, immediately a rebuttal is launched and most of the time people correct themselves.

But why do we need to speak against Muslim genocide in Mayanmar (Burma). The reason is simple, we need to speak up against all oppression, or we can be the next target. If I don’t speak against drones today, a drone can bomb my house tomorrow. Its not a matter of choice now, its an obligation.

Will merely highlighting the issue stop these atrocities? Of course not! But raising our voice is the first and least we can do, so let’s do it. It may not be enough to stop the genocide, but surely its enough to gain the momentum, pile up the courage and cry halt. It will give us strength to do more and definitely will weaken the oppressor.

It is a legitimate question that we should not be silent over the problems prevailing in our own country. We have lawlessness, bombings and target-killings coupled with economic crisis in our country. Therefore when people say that lets sort out our own mess first, it sounds logical. But my take on this is that we need to have a collective approach. We cannot address issues one by one because a long list of issues will pop up when one is resolved. This is a continuous battle, between the oppressed and the oppressor. We have to choose on which side we are standing and then continuously play our role in a collective manner. Cherry picking selective items won’t serve the purpose.

Another question which is asked by our liberal elite in same context is ‘what’s this fuss called Muslim Ummah’ ? Well Muslim Ummah doesn’t mean a bunch of rulers or a few traitors. It’s about the masses of Muslims whose hearts beat together. If any Muslim anywhere in the world is suffering, all Muslims feel the pain and if someone claims to be Muslim but not feeling the pain he should recheck his belief.

So, if Bangladeshi government led by Haseena Wajid is not feeling the pain of displaced muslims of Burma, it doesn’t mean that Muslims of Bangladesh or the world are not concerned. If OIC is silent, it is because most of the people sitting in OIC are not true representatives of Muslim Ummah. The role of UNO is also shameful. It has multiple standards for different religions and regions. Muslims being killed never get their attraction unless ‘oil’ is involved.

So in short, Buddhists, who are known to be peaceful so much so that they won’t crush an ant, are killing muslims, raping women burning villages. Thousands have been displaced so far and forced to live in concentration camps. The military of Burma is fully involved in ethnic cleansing of Muslims. The numbers are not important, what’s important is that Muslims are being oppressed and we should raise our voice at least; therefore, raise it now as its already too late.

Pseudo-liberal Trends of Pakistan

It is extremely sad to admit that the profession of journalism in Pakistan has suffered nightmares and moral atrocities for decades now.

• Biased reporting, twisting the history for vested interests and igniting hatred is on the timelines and news of the hour.

• The volume of biased reporting upon the educated masses has increasingly damaged the ideological frontiers of Pakistan.

• Regular criticism (for the sake of it) on decisions which hold strategic value of national interest is prevailing. Criticism is accorded to diminish the unity amongst races and ethnicities.

• The writ of monitory authorities is lost in the name of freedom of expression.

• Sarcasm and mockery regarding Islamic values is performed with pride which further wages intolerance and sensitivity amongst the masses.

• Conspiratorial attitude has poisoned the nurseries of upcoming talent to the profession.

• The conduct of pseudo-liberals is aiding to the level of extremism in our societal thoughts. The element of neutrality is no more seen as the value of profession but a taboo instead.

It is now a challenge to raise our voice against the ultra elite who pose to be the deciding majority however in reality they enjoy terms with those who are known to the masses as enemies.

Change is always gradual and the recent spring in the Middle East has endorsed to the effect that the final battles of the struggle happen on the streets. The aspiration for an Islamic Welfare State shall be realized as it is driven by real men with no benefactions and defects.

A liberal elsewhere in the world is defined (according to Oxford Dictionary) as:

“someone willing to respect or accept behaviour or opinions different from one’s own; open to new ideas, favourable to or respectful of individual rights and freedoms”

But in Pakistan, a liberal (a ‘pseudo’ I’d say) is defined as ‘extremely’ intolerant, proudly abusive, Islam-bashing, Muslim-ridiculing person and who prostrates in front of the West. If you are a religious person or talk about upholding decisions in the interest of state, no matter how sensible and open to discussion your are, oh no! how dare you called yourself a liberal?

Where are all these gates leading to

Our nation is obsessed with ‘gates’, be it Watergate or Bill Gates; (though the latter is considered a plural by many). Thus, it has become customary to associate the word gate with every scandal, whether it is Memo-gate, Mehran-gate, Veena-gate or the latest Bahria-gate; the word ‘gate’ is there as a symbolic representation.

Do these gates open a gateway to somewhere? What is the impact of all these scandals on a commoner’s life in the country? Take Memogate, for instance. A lot of hype was created about it but with the passage of time, the dust settled down. In the end, it was considered as a political gimmick to divert the attention from critical issues. Many talk shows were conducted and costly airtime was used for discussions on every aspect of the memo. Even if memogate was critical and a matter of life and death for the country, what was the outcome of the whole hue n cry? Similar questions can be raised about other scandals in which nothing tangible is infront of the nation which can be called a ‘result’.

Now, consider the recent hype about Bahria Gate. Malik Riaz did a press conference while holding Quran in his hand. He raised some serious questions regarding judiciary and the Chief Justice. It became a breaking news immediately and all channels started running marathon transmissions discussing the pros n cons of every uttered word and gesture of Malik Riaz’s presser. Social Media didn’t stay behind. #BahriaGate started trending on twitter. Everyone with or without an opinion participated. In fact, even I personally tweeted a lot. It was immediately the talk of the town. Malik Riaz tried to prove that he had interaction with the Chief Justice. It turned out that during lawyers movement the interaction was there and Malik Riaz tried to bargain on behalf of the rulers and CJ never agreed on NRO and meeting Zardari and hence no deal was reached.

Apparently, this scandal is perfectly timed to divert the attention of people from the corruption of current government and issues like poverty, inflation, energy crisis, lawlessness and target killings. Media has created a hype and serious issues of daily life have gone on the back burner.

But in hindsight, when I reflect now I feel that this issue is indeed important. This single scandal shows the reality of our society and unveils the nature of our social fabric. Virtually everything and everyone was bought and confessed about. For me, ‘confessing a crime with pride’ is a bigger issue. Malik Riaz openly admitted that he bribed and offered favours. His intentions cannot be judged, but his actions surely tell that he wanted to influence the judicial system.

Bahria Gate should not be looked upon as ‘just another corruption scandal’. It shows that how a person earned fortunes and on his way up the ladder, he tried to purchase everything that came along. He had contacts with major political personalities, military junta, media tycoons and famous anchors. He had a say in crucial political affairs. He utilized all these deliberately established contacts for his purposes. In some cases, he gave a lot of charity to the poor and deprived people. Thus he used all means to establish his significance. This mentality is not rare. When I joined my first job, a senior told me to ‘oblige’ everyone by giving favours. He told me that’s how I could make my roots stronger in the organization. This culture of influencing others and then taking undue favours is ruining the very essence of our society. So very few were able to resist the fortunes offered by Malik Riaz and in the process Bahria town developed into an empire estate which had its own rules of the game.

Another important aspect of this scandal is the role of journalists. They are fighting each other and exposing themselves on this issue. Their fight has revealed a lot about the unscrupulous internal affairs of media. It also shows how people from media are manipulated. Malik Riaz is investing a lot in mainstream media by ads which clearly influences the opinion of media.

One significant thing is the deplorable trend of holding Quran during press conferences. Altaf Hussain and Zulfiqar Mirza did the same before and now Malik Riaz repeated it once again. Seriously, it shows ill mentality of our so called ‘leaders’. The sanctity of the Quran should be maintained and it should not be used in ‘political mimicry’.

This scandal should be taken to the logical and fair conclusion. All the holy cows should be unveiled and slaughtered once and for all. Only then it can bring long lasting peace in the lives of ordinary citizens. It can decide our future if we punish all the culprits and prove that our nation is not for sale. However, if the history of previous ‘gates’ repeats itself then our society will loose its belief on justice. It will bring more downfall for the morality in our society which is already touching its lows. This scam is a test for our nation and I believe that if we successfully cross this bridge, we will come out as a better nation inshaALLAH.

Why Don’t They Leave Then?

As if multitude of problems facing us; war, poverty, terrorism, unemployment, power cuts etc; was not enough, our buffoon leaders grasp every opportunity to embarrass the whole nation in front of the whole world. The nation which has produced best doctors, engineers, physicists and world record holders IT professionals, has to face further humiliation of becoming a laughing stock because of cowardly decisions and goofy viewpoints of the ruling elite. I wonder why we are condemned to be ruled by worst of the lot which leaves us humiliated time and again.

Mr. Prime Minister (my heart sinks while addressing you by this title), your latest interview to CNN was one of the many examples of the above. The body language, selection of words, and irrelevant and weightless answers would annoy anyone, let alone the interviewer. And when a Prime Minister of a country is spoken to, by an interviewer as to ‘Look me in the eye and answer me’, there is surely something seriously wrong in stance and policies of the state that he is representing. The lady should understand that this part of the world does not know what resigning on moral grounds mean. That is only why you had to rely on generalised patent answers. Every time this issue of resigning on moral grounds arises, it reminds me of David Blunkett the British Home secretary, who resigned by taking full responsibility of defaming his government due to his action of only fast tracking a visa application. But here, Mr Prime Minister you are actually standing firm as a scapegoat of an already defamed corrupt government like a stubborn child protecting an evil ‘friend’.

Your answer ‘Either choose democracy or dictatorship’, is a patent, prewritten formula for these interviews and talk shows. If one even thinks that this government is dysfunctional and corrupt, they are blasphemers, backed by the army, wanting big boots to intervene in the civilian territory. Oh no, Mr Prime Minister, not every question befits this answer. Not everything and anything is a ‘conspiracy’ against democracy. If the leading lot is corrupt, if the President has heavy accounts and properties outside the country the legitimacy of which needs to be looked into, it doesn’t mean we want dictatorship. Trust me, we hate it. That only simply means this is NOT democracy where people do not have the right to object and demand trials on corruption. You remind us of the will of people when you are told that according to a Gallup survey, 80% of the nation is frustrated and fed up with the dysfunctional parliament and civil institutions? Nothing can be more naïve than that. And you ask, why don’t the one third of the nation who wish to leave the country, leave then?

Let me answer you why. Remember the flood victim Mohammad Akram? A 30 year old man sick of his life who torched himself in front of your residence as he was frustrated to death because of unemployment? Remember, Kamran Ijaz Gul a child who topped his Class-VII examination and committed suicide because his poor parents could not buy him new school uniform.

Remember, only a few days ago in Multan, a one year old child died due to extreme heat in a bus stuck in a traffic jam caused by people protesting against loadshedding.

These people whose ‘will’ you talk about would leave the country if they had money and opportunity. But they haven’t seen a few thousands of rupees together, let alone millions of dollars that the leaders of this country have and deal with every day. Of course, your question, ‘who’s stopping them depicts your ignorance and apathy towards the nation you claim to lead. And of course, you wouldn’t know how painful it is to stand under the scorching sun at a bus stop with a hungry child in lap as you have millions of pounds to spend on your lavish and luxurious ‘Limousine’ tours. You wouldn’t know how a parent feels to see their child commit suicide. You wouldn’t know what it feels like to see your children prepare for an exam with no fan, no bulb and still shine. You wouldn’t know what it feels like to receive a bad news about a loved one, dying in a clash created for political/personal interests. And you wouldn’t know how it feels to see your loved one having a cardiac arrest in an ambulance when the traffic comes to a halt because of PM’s or President’s motorcade of Mercedes passing by. But trust me, Mr. Prime Minister you and your company are answerable for the herd of donkeys that you are leading. (16 crore, yeh gadhay jink a naam hai Awaam).

The country has already suffered from the worst brain drain and your indifference is making it worse. The lady asked you, ‘Who is running the country in your absence?’ We really want to know, who runs the country even in your presence? The nation is struggling to survive on its own with nobody to look up to for help and hope in your team. My question to you Mr. Prime Minister and company: you have money, properties, palaces, and friends outside Pakistan and you have the opportunity more than anyone else in the country. If we are going to Stone Age even after your ‘country friendly’ policies and getting nothing from you, why don’t you and your team leave the country alone? And your question, ‘who’s stopping them (to leave)’ further disconnects the tie, so let’s do it. No one would stop you, I promise!

PM conviction – the battle will go on!

Though the much awaited detailed verdict handed down by the seven-member bench in the contempt of court case against PM Syed Yusuf Raza Gilani fell short of the expectations of many, but the verdict has at least cleared the mist of confusion on the political horizon, putting the Prime Minister in the irreversible process of disqualification.

However, the PPP would be getting their planned design of lingering the legal course till final conclusion of the on-going legal battle is successfully executed, courtesy the lengthy and tedious legal process. But the detailed judgment in the contempt of court case had sealed the fate of the Prime Minister who would hardly avoid disqualification as member Parliament.But the Prime Minister’s “sacrifice” surely would buy some more breathing space for the ruling coalition to sail through the troubled waters by successfully presenting the fifth and final budget, which would be the only constitutional obligation to be met by the ruling coalition.

The decision of going in appeal against the judgment was already made by the PPP leadership, even much before the handing down of the short order of the court on April 26. Some senior party leader, who did not want to disclose their identity, said that the conviction of Prime Minister in the case was obvious and that was the reason they had already decided that they would exhaust all legal and constitutional remedies in the on-going battle with the superior judiciary.

Some insiders in the party said that the legal brains of the party would file appeal against the verdict in the case for which right now the court has not requisite strength to constitute a larger bench to take up the appeal. At present out of the nine available judges apart from the seven members who had convicted the Prime Minister in contempt of court case, three had expressed their inability to sit in the larger bench leaving the court with just six judges. So in given circumstances the court would be requiring at least two more ad hoc or additional judges to constitute a larger bench to take up the appeal of the Prime Minister.

The determination of the Prime Minister to go into appeal could be judged well from the fact that he did not even wait for landing of his plane in London and gave statement on-board his special plane that he would file appeal against the court judgment for which instructions had already been given to his counsel Barrister Ch. Aitzaz Ahsan.

Under the law, the Prime Minister could file an appeal against his conviction, which could ultimately lead to his disqualification as member of the Parliament, till May 26 as the 30-days time would be counted from the day of handing down of the short order by the court. In the meanwhile, the Supreme Court would initiate the legal process of getting the court order implemented by sending the copy of detailed judgment simultaneously to Speaker National Assembly and Chief Election Commissioner.

Speaker National Assembly, under the rules of business and procedure, is bound to forward the reference against Prime Minister to Chief Election Commissioner within 30 days period for action while the Chief Election Commissioner would have 90 days at maximum to de-notify him as member of the Parliament which would automatically remove him for the slot of Prime Minister.Pakistan People’s Party wants to have breathing space for another couple of months to successfully present the fifth and final budget and then the Prime Minister could even resign portraying that the PPP has great respect for the judiciary and try to mould the public opinion in their favour.

Anyone from the party would step in his shoes as Prime Minister to again defy the court’s direction in the NRO implementation case and could drag the matter till the holding of next elections and establishment of the caretaker set up. By the time they would successfully exhaust the premature campaigns being launched by some of the political parties with Pakistan Muslim League (Nawaz) as the forerunners. Political and legal analysts watching the situation were of the view that Mian Nawaz Sharif had made some hasty decision after the handing down of the short order of the apex court convicting the PM and should have waited till the detailed judgement. Similarly Pakistan Tehreek-I-Insaf and Jamaat-I-Islami have to follow PML-N and as they were not prepared for it their shows in support of the superior judiciary were off-colour or they could not leave some marked impact, which would definitely have some sort of impact on the judiciary as well.

These analysts were of the view that contrary to the political players the judiciary was playing safe and were not in haste in getting their orders implemented and that was the reason the judges of the superior courts were adopting judicial restraint in their decision and handling of various cases. Even in the detailed judgment in the contempt of court case against Prime Minister the seven-member bench could have given some clear-cut direction to Chief Election Commissioner for disqualification of the Premier but the court had once again showed judicial restraint, leaving the matter of Prime Minister’s disqualification to be executed through the laid down legal and constitutional process.

The legal and constitutional experts are of the view that despite the provocative statements and sarcastic remarks coming from PPP leadership the Supreme Court of Pakistan has not taken any hostile posture against the rulers while dealing with cases of sensitive nature and adopted judicial restraint to avoid clash-like situation to save the institutions as well as the on-going political process.

With all this battle and political tug of war going on the masses remain an irrelevant entity, busy in sorting out load shedding, protesting in the streets, committing suicides, selling their children while the convicted Prime Minister is on a lavish and luxurious ‘official’ trip to UK with a big team on Tax Payers’ money representing a poor and war stricken nation.

Twitter trend #ShutUpClinton and what it means to me

Hillary Clinton talked about possiblity of presence of Amyn-al-Zawahiri in Pakistan and demanded Pakistan to do more in interviews and Press Conference in India. She immediately received a powerful ‘shut up’ call from Pakistani social media. Hashtag #ShutpClinton started trending, showing the unity of Pakistanis across the board on this sensitive issue. Hillary clinton was shown the real face of America in various tweets, highlighting the reasons behind the anger. A video containing confession statement of Hillary was also virally tweeted in which she confesses of USA being responsible for a lot of mess in the area. Mainstream electronic and print media also took notice of the twitter activity and reported it accordingly.

For me, it signifies that Pakistani people on social media have responded quicky and forcefully to the accusations and allegations (without evidences). It showed that despite our differing political opinions, we stand united as a nation, which has been hit hard by drones, loss of civilians and soldiers, casualties terrorism brought home by US war on terror, and corrupt puppet rulers bowing to the neo-colonial forces. It shows integrity of the people and their commitment with the homeland. Twitter especially has given voice to everyone and it was a pure display of public sentiment which showed the love of people for Pakistan. Our youth is awake and these words can be translated into actions if appropriate guidance and platform is given to them. Social media is indeed proving powerful and it can bring us closer and grow us stronger, if used properly.

While some tweets only displayed rage, a lot of tweets (opinions) were based on logical arguments. People pointed out the double standards of US policies, committing genocide in Japan, Afghanistan, Iraq and turning a completely blind eye to Indian and Israeli atrocities. Clinton was told to look into her home country first and clean the mess up. Human rights abuses and repeated lies of US government were tweeted vigorously. Even in United States, #ShutUpClinton became a trend which shows that the sentiments crossed the borders. The message was loud and clear, that USA should not interfere in the internal matters of Pakistan and any threats to the sovereignty of the country will unite the people.

Some people might term it as a ‘on-line lip-service’ of ‘keyboard jihadis’ but it certainly showed a spark in the nation which will be converted into a flame if these double standards continue. ‘Word of mouth’ is very important tool. Even marketing professionals consider it extremely important to have a positive ‘word of mouth’. People have started talking about the US atrocities and these words can transform into actions just like Arab world. Important thing is that all those who are using social media are literate and educated people. The common perception was that educated people remain aloof of the problems of the country especially pertaining to the foreign affairs, but this was proven wrong by the whole activity. People today are more aware of the injustices and double standards done by super powers. Gone are the days when you were to blamed as conspiracy theorists if you were to expose the lies of the powerful. For me, not only Muslims, not only Pakistanis, but the whole world is now exposing the hypocrisy of the US government and the terrorism trend, it has introduced to the world due to its unjust policies.

“Every truth passes through three stages before it is recognized. In the first, it is ridiculed, in the second it is opposed, in the third it is regarded as self-evident” ~Arthur Schopenhauer German Philosopher (1788 – 1860)

Are you following #ShutUpClinton on Twitter?

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, at the end of her visit to India stressed that Pakistan should ‘do more’ with US to fight terrorism, just a day after she hinted that Aiman Al Zawahiri might be hiding in Pakistan. Pakistan Social Media had already went outrageous on these irresponsible statements from her and the fact that US was working closely with India’s help to pressurise Pakistan on her insignificant role on War on Terror.

Twitter trend with hashtag #ShutupClinton started trending as soon as the news broke on the media, showing rage and anti-American sentiment with Pakistani and other tweeps joining in reminding Mrs Clinton about the terrorised world evolving every day because of American policies. Hillary Clinton was shown the real face of US government policies and lies in various tweets. It is still the most popular twitter trend in Pakistan.

“Combating violent extremism is something we all agree on. We look to the government of Pakistan to do more…. There are several significant leaders still on the run. (Ayman al) Zawahiri who inherited the leadership from (Osama) bin Laden is somewhere, we believe, in Pakistan. So we are intent upon going after those who are trying to keep Al Qaeda operational and inspirational,” Ms Clinton said in the interview. “The US is cooperating closely with India regarding the threats that emanate against them.” ” Clinton said during a press conference in India.”

Top Tweets:

anjum kiani ‏ @AnjumKiani

What did this Mother & 2 Daugters do to the USA, that you killed them in their sleep with Your drones? #ShutUpClinton http://pic.twitter.com/YQx1rRQq Retweeted 201 times

Knowledge Is Power ‏ @Mari_NewYork

#American actions [military, rogue, covert & otherwise] are the #1 cause of global terrorism #ShutUpClinton

ranjith ramesh ‏ @TheRnjith

#ShutupClinton You have more problems to solve on your own soil!

Saad Khan ‏ @M_Saad_K

Why can’t Hillary see the state terrorism of USA in Afghanistan, Iraq and everywhere in thee world, #ShutUpClinton

Naveed ‏ @naveedpti

#ShutUpClinton Your game is exposed, pack your bags and take your mummy daddy army back with you #ShutUpClinton

Umer Sarwar ‏ @Revoluti0nist

#ShutupClinton “Your negotiations with Taliban are justified while it is wrong when Pakistan does so”

The Sufi Soul ‏ @TheSufiSoul

#ShutUpClinton | …you’ve done so much damage to the Afghan people that a thousand lifetimes of repent will not rid you of this burden.

Salman Javed ‏ @FortressMSJ

What about #TarekMehana why was he taken in the prison? speaking for #Muslims is a crime for you? #Doublestandards #Cowards #Shutupclinton

Salman Javed ‏ @FortressMSJ

Wht about #AfiaSiddique U think a girl can kill your soldiers? Shame on your #Marines and #Shameonyou and oh yes you bettr be#Shutupclinton

IrfanTariq Javed ‏ @irfantariq

Pakistan paid highest price of your war on terror & still you blame pakistan for your own failures #shutUpClinton

Maria Memon ‏ @Maria_Memon

The best way to #ShutupClinton is to make sure that Al-Zawahiri is NOT in Pakistan.

Ambreen Ejaz ‏ @ProudPakistanii

You martyred our soldiers, you bomb drones on our people every other day. You have no right to call anyone else terrorist.#ShutupClinton

Hamza Baloch ‏ @H_Balouch

#America to OK 1 billion $ for #Israeli missile projects #ShutUpClinton!

Shahmeer Khan ‏ @DaDemagogue

Over 50,000 Pakistani Civilians & 5000 Armed Forces martyred in #USWar &Hillary wearing garlands to #INDIANS? #ShutupClinton #ShutupClinton

Sarah toxicos ‏ @unByanAble

Clinton are u not going to ask Singh about the 2000+ Mass graves of#Kashmiri Youth & their bullet riddled bodies? if not #ShutupClinton“

Ghazanfar Ali ‏ @ghzanfar

World is tired of lies now…. #ShutUpClinton

Pakistani youth thinks they have found a voice on social media which lets them show their ‘writings on the wall’ and make it visible to the world.