Slacktivists! Gah!

Ah, Slacktivists.

You know who I’m talking about. The Facebook users who ‘like’ every page calling for “Da Peaze in da Pakistan” and “We da true Pakis” and then blog angrily about how angry they are whilst tweeting under a pseudonym name like “Pakiz4Ever”. If I get another, “If you want peace and love in #Pakistan, RT this,” I will go Hulk on someone.

This phenomenon has risen as social media platforms have become increasingly more popular. The Express Tribune recently revealed some interesting statistics related to Pakistan and its presence on Facebook. According to the news outlet, over 6 million Pakistanis now use Facebook, making us #26 out of 213 countries that use the platform in the world. Given that internet penetration is just over 10%, Facebook usage is still relatively small (only 32.86% of the total online population), but the demographics are still significant (18-24 years, English-speaking, educated, “liberal”). Meanwhile, the use of Twitter has also increased significantly, though those numbers are harder to come by (one source noted it was over two million).

While I sometimes look upon Slacktivists with disdain & dripping snark (especially for those who do little more than ‘Like’ a page and feel like they are changing the world), there have been two recent cases for how social media activism can make a dent.

The Maya Khan Episode. Social Media: 1 | Vigil-Aunties: 0

For those of you living under a rock, blissfully unaware of Samaa Television‘s Maya Khan and the subsequent uproar, here is the breakdown. On Monday, Samaa TV fired newscaster Khan “after she led a self-styled moral crusade against dating couples that set off a furious public outcry,” reported the NY Times. These “vigil-aunties” (So p-unny! Ha! Ha!) essentially paraded around a park in Karachi, to ‘expose’ young unmarried couples on camera, even demanding to see a marriage certificate. After the show was broadcast on January 17th, “members of the liberal elite vented their fury on social websites at what they said was intrusion. Pakistan’s English-language media also took up the cause,” reported BBC News‘ Nosheen Abbas. Despite (two) public apologies by Maya Khan, the network dismissed her and her team and terminated the show. CNBC Pakistan (which owns Samaa) head Zafar Siddiqi said the company didn’t “absolve such behavior irrespective of ratings the show was getting.”

The Thori Si Bewafai Episode. Social Media: 1 | A Plus: 0

I first learned about the Thori Si Bewafai (A Little Unfaithfulness) show from Rabayl’s blog Obama Says Do More, in which she wrote about a reality television show on A Plus, a small entertainment channel, which claimed to use hidden cameras to intrude into real people’s personal lives and expose their alleged infidelities. Hosted by Shamoon Abbasi, the show is reminiscent of the ridiculously trashy American reality show, Cheaters. According to an online petition written by the newly created Citizens for Free & Responsible Media (CFRM),

The host of the show Shamoon Abbasi recently announced on his facebook page, that ‘Thori si bewafai’ is actually reenactments and involves paid actors. If in fact, Shamoon Abbassi’s statements are true, then the synopsis on your website and the programme itself, is a clear misrepresentation of the real nature of the show. But even if the programme is based on reenactments, the content of the show is dangerous; it encourages vigilantism and can lead to hate crimes.

Following the online petition and pressure, Abbasi quit the show, stating in a Facebook note, “I would like to clarify one last thing that myself was not comfortable doing this show in the first place and I AM QUITTING IT FOR THE SAKE OF THE PEOPLE WHO WERE OFFENDED BY THE SHOW!! I apologize to any one who I may have offended.”

The show is now off the air. Another win for social media activism?

Yay and…ye-ay. While both the Maya Khan and the Thora si Bewafai debacles were examples of how social media can be used to pressure mainstream media outlets, it is more a means to an end than an end itself. Journalist Beena Sarwar noted that this campaign incorporated a multi-pronged strategy in which social media wasn’t the only tool used to put pressure on these outlets. According to Beena,

Zafar Siddiqi from CNBC Pakistan responded promptly and positively to an email endorsed by several signatories that included some known names. His response may also have been due to other actions that were being taken: a copy of the petition signed by over 5,000 people was sent to him. Many people also sms’d him and called the Samaa offices at numbers publicised by some activists, who also posted links to the Pemra feedback form that people used to post complaints to. The Chairman Pemra said in an interview that Pemra had received over 350 complaints about that particular show. In addition, there was a threat of legal action against Samaa TV and several activists had begun contacting corporations to lobby them to withdraw commercials from such shows (both actions were stopped after Mr Siddiqi’s second email responding positively to media consumers’ complaints, but both remain real possibilities for future campaigns).

Firings and getting shows that encourage intolerance and vigilantism off-air are a short-term fix, but they ultimately don’t solve the greater issue – the need for independent checks and balances on the media. While Pakistan’s electronic media boom has been an important phenomenon, there also needs to be measures to curb that rein, so that it remains (relatively) responsible. Sahar Habib Ghazi wrote recently for Dawn, “My appeal is that we cannot lose steam with the [Maya Khan] parks episode. We have to continue to build pressure for all news channels to realize that they cannot afford to sacrifice ethical standards for ratings and money.”

For those of us who crowed that Maya Khan was a victory for social media, remember that pressure via platforms may help achieve one-off victories, but they do not cut to the root of the problem. Social media activism, while a tool, can’t achieve that end – it’s too simplistic, too microscopic. As long as you are aware of that limitation, then we’re cool. But if you ask me to RT for Peace, I’ll go Hulk.

Filed under: Op-Eds

Raza Habib Raja

Right now I am feeling like holding a video camera which can live telecast to the entire country and follow Ms Maya Khan constantly. Not only that I would like to give nasty spins to her even “harmless” routine conversations with men (such as the grocery store keeper) and project these as sinful affairs. The feeling of being constantly hounded, misinterpretation of completely normal conversations on the national electronic media and the resulting embarrassment will perhaps instil some sense into her otherwise dumb and attention seeking mediocre third class brain.

Frankly I have become quite used to non-sense which our electronic media utters. During the past decade it has spewed hatred, spread cheap sensationalism, knitted mind boggling conspiracy theories and has reinforced delusional hyper patriotism. However, what I have witnessed today on the net ( a snap shot of Ms Maya Khan’s  third class program) was even way beyond all the third class non sense electronic media has been uttering so far.

Ladies and Gentlemen, for those of you who have not seen it, I am posting the link http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BqCRxTkziR0

Now what the hell were those DHA version of Jamia Hafza brigade were trying to do is frankly beyond my comprehension. Hounding people and trying to embarrass them on national TV and yet claiming that their purpose is to show “proper path” to young impressionable girls and save them from being “exploited” from the wolves, is inherently contradictory and borders on third class cheap moralistic hypocrisy.

Now I understand that every society has some generally prevalent norms with regard to mixing of opposite genders. Pakistan by and large is a conservative society where meeting with the opposite gender particularly if it has romantic undertones, is considered socially unacceptable in most of the segments of the society. Parents, since they are afraid of the negative public backlash often try to restrict their daughters with respect to dating or even meeting the members of opposite sex. In case if a girl is “caught” while dating the negative backlash is huge for most of the families and the poor girl is branded for life.

Now due to this huge social stigma around dating, there is a real chance of reputational harm for a girl who chooses to break the taboos. From that social angle (irrespective of whether in absolute sense dating is moral or “immoral’) there are some unfortunately real concerns. It is perhaps somewhat understandable-strictly from “practical” angle- to highlight those concerns and advise young girls to be careful ( though even then there is considerable room for argument as to whether such “advice” merely reinforces the existing negativity surrounding the mixing of sexes).  However, what Ms Maya Khan was doing was to ensure that girls were deeply humiliated and their privacy completely violated. And all of it was being done supposedly to “protect” the respect of their parents. Now how so called respect of parents could be protected by telecasting their daughters in negative light is beyond imagination.

And worse still we do not even know that whether the so called “guilty” couples were actually even dating or not. In her zeal to the so called guardian of morality, Ms Maya Khan did not even exercise basic decency. And as Café Piyala  has made a very good point that parks are generally frequented by people from lower income segments as due to widening income disparities, these are the only avenues of entertainment and relaxation they can afford. The rich and affluent (even when they are as absurd and idiot like Maya Khan) can actually go to cafes and expensive restaurants. All the so called “immoral” dating is occurring there also. Now would Ms Maya Khan and her dumb entourage of Jamiah Hafza poster women go to those expensive Zamzama restaurants to do the same kind of exercise? We all know the answer! They would never dare to do it. All they are capable of is invading the privacy of those who belong to less affluent sections of the society and who made the mistake of going to public parks.

I fully support the move against Maya Khan which is underway right now and I also endorse the view that the buck should not stop at merely sacking her but should extend beyond it to set an example. I think the electronic media needs to some serious soul searching with respect to understanding what exactly freedom of speech is. In a country where legal system is extremely weak and one cannot sue for defamation, media needs to be extremely careful and while censorship is bad and anti liberal, unfortunately there is a case for a powerful media watchdog here.

Here is the link to an online petition as well

http://www.change.org/petitions/to-mr-zafar-siddiqi-ceo-samaa-tv-stop-subah-saverey-maya-kay-sath-vigilantism-like-lal-masjid

Media in Pakistan got its long desired freedom in near past. We saw media excelling be it print or electronic; newspaper publishing houses went in to business of TV news channels with their long journalism experience. So far so good but in recent times we see an extra ordinary activism in this pillar of state particularly on the side of electronic media. Media Anchors seem to put their nose everywhere whether it is in the interest of state or not; they can take up any topic from a dogs fight in a street to embarrassing couples in public parks to road accidents to plane crash to defense strategies to functioning of institutions to failure of governments to toppling of governments etc.

Their claim of being an important player in restoring democracy and of a watchdog on government performance doesn’t impress me much. Let me remind them the Pakistan Movement and Quaid-e-Azam who lead against all odds and won this country for us didn’t had them at all. They have failed in the capacity of a watchdog too as Musharraf Regime had to bow due to their own mistakes and current government is still in power besides all their mismanagement and bad governance.

The anchors talk about moral values and ethics for almost every one else in the society but they have forgotten their own. This attitude unfortunately prevails in entire society i.e. after the successful lawyers’ movement some lawyers thought they were above the law. Someone joins Police thinks he has the immunity against both criminal and civil proceedings. Constitution allows every citizen to take part in politics but when an anchor sits in front of a camera with a mike on hand or collar his role changes altogether but it is unfortunate that some anchors forget this. Further to it the camera or mike doesn’t give the right to insult others in simple words camera and mike doesn’t make you a super human.

I will not name anyone personally but would definitely refer to shows on a lighter note;

Kharri Baat doesn’t mean to be rude, disrespectful and putting your words in to other’s mouth.

Bolta Pakistan where only two persons roar and entire Pakistan remains silent, if someone dares to call is given a shut up call immediately.

Aapas ki Baat should stay as Aapas ki Baat why do they take calls but have anyone watched them announcing the number to call on or even the number displayed on-screen even if someone then for how many fractions of seconds?

Capital Talk impressive as far as promo video is concerned.

Aaj Kamran Khan Ke Saath sounds like a trailer full of thrill instead of end day news review.

Kal Tak yeah all is well but why so artificial expression at the start of show and where does it go during conversation?

Lekin has too many lekins lekin someone needs to prepare well before maligning or favoring someone.

In Session is where everybody else seems to be in session except the host.

Cross Fire starts and one has to find the remote to reduce the volume and it is not a Cross Fire at all but single sided fire to be exactly.

ShahidNama the name says it all, when its Nama why are other participants invited?

Meray Mutabiq is so confusing; I still have to figure out that actually “Kis ke Mutabiq.”

Policy Matters lacks the policy itself.

To the point; the one watching it from start till end remains clueless about what was the point.

News Night with Talat as name suggests needs some news not a topic or a particular situation only.

Nukta e Nazar but shouldn’t it be told once and for all?

Off the record how ridiculous it shows all the shit thrown around and still is off the record.

Besides all the news talk shows the morning shows Jagta Pakistan, Ba Khabar Sawera, Subha Saweray etc. though I am not a regular on these but watched a video on YouTube where a host is running after couples in public parks violating the basic rights of citizens but no one is there to challenge.

Who is responsible for all this mess? Media House Owners, Anchors, PEMRA or ones who watch them? Is there any code of conduct? Is there any check on the biased reporting or ethics to converse? In print media is there check on plagiarism? Does any journo have the courage to clarify allegations of plagiarism, getting plots, houses or other unlawful privileges during different regimes against him or if he cannot then leave journalism forever? Do they have tolerance to be questioned or they are the only ones to have the right to question?

Just when Saeed Ajmal had bamboozled the English batsmen and we were having some English curry for dinner while watching (not so) great former English players moaning about Ajmal’s action we found out this.

Courtesy: Express News

Shakeel Ahmed Shah The second year passed by and the government is sturdily attempting to prove the idiom out of sight, out of mind to be authentic by relegating the issues of Attabad disaster rehabilitation action plan. After being hot news in print and electronic media, the attabad disaster is now shambled to a nightmare. On [...]

On the outside, seems like it may be threatened by the array of inexpensive and convenient methods of on-demand streaming that seemingly hammer in the final nails to DVD’s and Blu-ray’s coffin. While VOD has become very popular, it has a negative effective that disc-based media easily escapes: controversy. Many TV networks, like AMC, are very angry at how quickly VOD services pump out movies that were just in theaters, making AMC and other similar channels all but useless relics of TV history. However, despite how hard the industry is pushing to eradicate disc-based media, and regardless of the high VOD adoption rates according to Netflix and other similar services, DVDs and Blue-rays are still going strong, allowing the three media types to work together in harmony.

The Consumer Electronics Association is an industry that makes reports about electronic media and many other factors of entertainment and electronics, and they have recently released a report detailing VOD and disc-based media. According to their report, VOD has made significant leaps and bounds in taking the market. However, physical distribution is still going very strong. Not only that, but according to their report, it is projected that DVDs and Blur-rays will be around until at least 2021. This is contrary to many reports, which estimate that discs will go away much quicker, but there are many reasons why they still have some life.

According to their report, there are several factors that really give DVDs life. Portability and inexpensive prices make this media still viable, along with DVD duplication being relatively easy compared to other duplication methods. Not only that, but on the side of Blu-rays, sales of Blu-ray players jumped a huge 86% in 2010, which is surprising considering that VOD also became big around the same time. This has lead them to estimate that discs will fade up much more slowly than VHS.

There is also the notion of staying power. DVDs have been around for about 15 years, yet it still continues to be a popular and viable media format used in many homes. This not only bodes well for DVDs, but also for the Blu-ray successor.

While DVDs are slowly becoming antiquated through Blu-ray technology, Blu-rays themselves are doing very well sales wise. Some people have been worried that this media would be unable to meet rising demand for HD video, however Blue-ray has boldly jumped into this role and is largely known as a superior quality product. While prices are still high, they are expected to lower as adoption rates increase.

While this is largely an estimate, many are assuming that DVD rental rates will be close to those of 2008, a large year for DVD rentals. Not only that, but something else worth noting is how much Americans spend on both physical discs and digital VOD services. Digital services, on average, are receiving an annual amount of $2 billion, which is no small number. However, physical media is much higher at $18 billion, which goes to show that disc-based media is going to be around for quite a long time.

About the Author: Victor is a blogger and tech enthusiast with plenty experience. He currently works as a consultant for a dvd replication company.

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Raza Habib Raja

Imran Khan has been generating a lot of buzz lately and consequently a lot has been written about him in the print media and covered in the electronic media. And add to it the social media, where Imran dominates more than anyone else.

Completely in line with our emotional character, the rise of Imran Khan has been accompanied with a strange type of polarization where at one end he is hailed as a Messiah and on the other end he is being called a Taliban Khan, an Establishment tout or someone who is completely naïve.

I have seen extraordinary reverence of Imran by some of his internet “jiyalas” who refuse to listen to any criticism on Imran. They get defensive, emotional and even abusive when someone points or even raises a question. Of course not every one of his supporters is like that.

The fact Mr Khan has no real plan somehow or the other does not matter to his hero worshipping supporters. The fact, that Mr Khan has dubious links with the military and intelligence apparatus also does not matter. The fact that Mr. Khan projects misplaced hyper patriotism  and the fact that Mr. Khan has filled his party with all turncoats also does not matter. Above all the fact that a party is much more than a single chrismatic individual also does not matter. The ardent supporters of PTI will give a justification no matter how unconvincing it is. And yes they know how to abuse and a huge majority of them are expert trolls!!!

Now while the overzealous reactions of the PTI “jiyalas” do provide amusing and at times even  laughable sights, with due apologies some (not all) of his critics also do not lag behind. Just calling someone as Taliban Khan, or totally dishonest or a complete establishment tout without giving credible evidence is hardly convincing. Likewise calling all the supporters of Imran Khan, many of which are highly educated and even moderate people also, as completely impressionable reactionaries and then expecting them to change their mind about Imran is plain stupidity.

Political realities exist in the shades of grey. These are not in black or white and this fact has to be remembered by both the ardent supporters of Imran as well as his fierce critics.

Now there are many diehard supporters of Imran who have made their decision and no matter what, will not waiver. However, a substantial number of people who view him favourably still can change their minds.

My advice for those who think that Imran’s rise needs to be checked because he is a reactionary is that they should try to be credible in their claims. Yes, their arguments will not be heeded by diehard emotional Imran’s fans but a substantial majority has only recently started to look at him in favourable light and will listen to their arguments provided they make credible criticism.

Right now critics are calling him Taliban Khan and expect his supporters to listen to this allegation. The huge problem with this is that while Imran has given apologetic defense to Taliban monsters but has never clearly endorsed their suicide bombings. Yes, the right way to argue is that this kind of appeasement is wrong as an approach to dealing with militancy but blatantly calling him Taliban khan is frankly stretching it too much. And by the way apparently Taliban even denounced him when he called himself a “liberal”. However, the statement given by the TTP denouncing Imran was simply ignored by his critics who want to stick to their black and white appraisal of Imran.

Second is the allegation of using Islam for political mileage. Well here the problem is multifaceted.  First the majority of Pakistanis like references to Islam and considers it a part of their identity. Now I may not like this fact but this is a reality. Second and more importantly almost all the parties (barring very small fringe parties like Pakistan Communist Party or
some regional parties), have whipped up religion.   Unfortunately the critics forget that in Pakistan the so called liberal parties were involved in framing of 1973 constitution which made Pakistan an Islamic republic. Worst they were also involved in passing of the second amendment which declared Ahmedis as Non-Muslims. And during all these years, they have done nothing to repeal it. If the critics are equally harsh on these parties only then they can have a credible case against Imran. However, so far I have not seen that and therefore their arguments are further weakened. I personally think that a better criticism would be to highlight the difference in extent to which Imran whips up religion compared to the mainstream parties rather than saying that PTI is nothing but a good looking Jamat-i-Islami!

The argument that PTI is the one man party is a valid criticism but not something which will find acceptance. The major problem with the argument that “If Imran were to die what would happen to PTI and hence it is proven that it is a cult” is that unfortunately all the parties in Pakistan have risen through the same personality driven trajectory and worst still have evolved into family dynasties. On this basis alone you cannot call any party a mere cult. If a Sharif or a Bhutto is bigger than his/her party then what is the point of complaining about Imran being bigger than PTI. Yes you can argue that this makes PTI no different but unfortunately in Pakistan, at least in this aspect, you cannot be different.

Raising questions about PTI manifesto is important and valid but once again why critics have so much urge to ask for PTI manifesto when they know that majority of the party workers of PPP and PML N also don’t know much about the manifestoes of their parties. When you seldom raise this issue with respect to voting pattern of mainstream parties then in some ways it actually appears strange that manifesto assumes so much importance on the pretext of determining the “difference” of PTI. And why now? Why this question was not asked before?

Most importantly the critics have to understand as to what is the real source of Imran’s surge in popularity. It is  not solely because of “establishment”,  or its manipulated electronic media or due to naivety of his supporters (yes some of them are naïve) but because many people are getting sick of the performance of the two mainstream parties. Yes Imran may not be right choice but in despair human beings have the tendency to clutch at any straw of hope. In their eyes since Imran is financially credible so therefore he wont “betray” them. This emotional expectation may be somewhat misplaced but has genuine basis.

Yes I do not support Imran due to his overall ideological orientation but at the same time his rise cannot be checked unless the mainstream parties do some honest soul searching rather than blaming establishment and ISI for everything under the sun. Yes Imran may be propped up by establishment but at the same time people are also getting behind him. Establishment alone cannot fill in huge venues like Minar-e-Pakistan and Mazar-e-Quaid nor can it produce favourable ratings in polls conducted by reputable international polling firms like PEW research.

And lastly be credible and acknowledge his positive statements when you are ready to pounce on his negative ones. If he is apologizing to people of Baluchistan then have a heart and acknowledge it even if it is “hollow”. If his rhetoric is softening (and it is softening) as more people with eclectic ideological orientation come into his party, then kindly acknowledge it.

Criticism looks appealing only when it is credible.

Raza Habib Raja

It is often alleged that ISI is supporting him. It may actually be true but ISI is not the only one supporting him. It is alleged that reactionaries support him. Well may be true again but once again they are not the only one. It is said that a segment of urban middleclass with passion for Allama Iqbal’s Islam  supports him. Yes it does but here too, it is not the only one. Imran is now being supported by many in ADDITION to the categories I have just mentioned.

Ladies and Gentlemen, urban middleclass alone cannot fill huge venues and as far as almost all the reports are concerned, the massive rallies were attended by people from all walks of life.

Something else is happening here APART from the alleged ISI support. ISI can arrange logistics, can perhaps pressurize or bribe media, but cannot suddenly create mass scale conversion from all walks of life to Imran Khan’s PTI. Hassan Nisar, who by all accounts is a liberal and very outspoken journalist nailed it right that Imran is like a wild cat after seeing whom the opponents have simply closed their eyes. He also pointed out that while it is true that Imran’s party is a one man show even PPP during its rise was like that. Politics in our part of the world takes the same trajectory. And it is that fact which is most tragic.

And it is the time that we realize and acknowledge it: He has the mass support now. As one of my friends aptly pointed out after the Lahore rally that denial is not a river in Egypt.

YES, HIS MESSAGE AND IDEOLOGICAL ORIENTATION IS NOT RIGHT. Sorry Imran Khan supporters, your leader needs to improve his rhetoric. Yes he panders to  establishment narrative and frankly I do not think whipping Allama Iqbal style of Islam is the right thing to do. But the problem is that this is something which almost all have done at one point or the other.

Yes, it is a one man show and as someone pointed out that if Imran were to die, where would PTI go. All these are valid criticisms  but the problem is that  almost all his alternatives are riddled with the same issue. Imran is a one man show but so are other parties who are reliant on dynasty politics. Dynasty politics is also an improvised form of personal politics.

Yes critics are right when they point out that in reality Imran’s party (since it has invited turncoats)  is no different but then this also begs a question: Why vote for his alternatives then? So the voters are looking at just one factor: Imran’s personality. Yes it is perhaps a very narrow criterion but in their heads they have a justification that if all the parties are the same then the sole difference is perhaps the main leaders. So the comparison in their head  is not between PPP, PML N and PTI but between Zardari, Nawaz and Imran. It is a sorry state of affairs but this is what happens when you blindly follow and promote personalized politics. In Pakistan before Imran’s rise began, this is what the supporters of other parties have been doing: just promoting personality and legacy politics. When you do that, eventually you are yourself preparing the grounds for the rise of people like Imran. If a Sharif or Bhutto is larger than their parties, then why complain if Imran is larger than PTI?

Yes, critics are also right when they talk about Imran’s appeasing attitude towards Taliban but his surge of popularity has not come due to his appeasement towards Taliban. And in recent times even his stance about Taliban is changing as now he has to cater to people from a wider ideological bent.

Due to complex interplay of many factors he is becoming larger than life. For someone who has been called a media construct by a host of journalists ( I am also one of those though technically I cannot be called a journalist), the rise is amazing and this fact is difficult to fathom as it runs completely contrary to our earlier assertions. I have myself called him a political minnow and so have some very famous journalists whom I respect a lot.

We have mocked at him, called him a political minnow, a political nobody and have portrayed him as someone whom only some urban middleclass professionals, right wing zealots and a  few crazy internet trolls could like. Well, all of them still like him but now the support base has increased to include many others.

It is obvious that massive rallies have shocked all the political analysts  and consequently the reaction is understandable: It has to be solely the grand conspiracy of establishment  and its mouth piece, the electronic media.

Yes it is partly true but in my opinion it does not explain all the reality.

Well media is not monolithic and has various channels and so to assume that somehow or the other all the channels have been bought over by the army to prop up Imran is stretching it too much. Yes, it is somewhat pro Imran but then it has been pro Imran for many years now and the reasons are generally commercial because media’s main target market, the urban middleclass likes to watch Imran. However, Imran’s surge in popularity is recent and it is no longer just confined to urban middleclass. This is crucial to understand because we can no longer deny that Imran is popular now. In fact for the past many months all the opinion polls conducted by foreign reputable firms have been indicating Imran’s surge in popularity and that popularity cut across the supporters of all the political parties and various income groups.

Of course, at that time I brushed their findings aside (with mocking comments), but was stunned into believing when I saw the Lahore rally and also various snaps taken by my previously apolitical friends showing not only that the crowd was huge but consisted of people from eclectic backgrounds. And yes the crowds included a lot of women and even children.

And then I know that many people with moderate and even liberal orientation were also there and coming out impressed. The new support base has broadened across ideological spectrum also.

So what are the dynamics here?

Well whether we like to admit it or not the fact is that political parties, particularly PPP and PML N have not delivered. Yes, they may like to blame establishment and army and lament that they do not have any power but then if you have excuses then you should not be asking for people to vote at all. I mean why ask for vote when you also claim that you don’t have any power at all. It is common sense, which unfortunately is not common, that saying that we do not have ANY power and still asking for votes ( with promises that we will deliver) is severely contradictory.

Yes army is a meddling institution and THE worst blood sucker of Pakistan but even then political parties have a substantial domain to operate. And if they had not, then they would have simply ceased to exist. And Imran even if supported by military still has to appeal to the people and will be competing for votes.

The point what I am trying to make is that where BOTH the political parties had the leverage, they failed.

Imran’s surge in popularity is the direct outcome of the perceived failure of BOTH the parties coupled with a general perception that he is sincere and has rendered outstanding services to Pakistan. And let me admit here that he has rendered outstanding services to Pakistan. It is public perception of Imran’s personality in CONTRAST to the worsening public perception of the current political lot, which has primarily resulted in the rise. Of course Imran had a positive repute before also but the perception about PPP and PML N leadership had not worsened to that extent. When a particular threshold was crossed, the mass scale conversions began. Momentum once achieved had dynamics of its own. Once sceptics see huge crowds they are ready to join due to increase in electability. Plus Imran has never been into power, therefore many want to give him a chance.

During these four years, whereas substantial progress has been made on constitutional issues, but economic situation has really deteriorated squeezing people. Disillusionment has grown due to worsening law and order situation and constant political fighting between centre and Punjab. On top of it, the nepotism has worsened and severe violations of merit have taken place. In Karachi, we have seen constant bloodshed while money mafia continues to threaten people and exhort money.

Eventually people get sick. GOVERNANCE IS IMPORTANT. It is not merely a middle class cherished ideal which “liberals” allege is divorced from the “real” concerns of life, nor it is a right wing “abstract” propelled by media. It is something which eventually will be factored in. YES IT WILL BE FACTORED IN and HAS BEEN FACTORED IN.

Yes they are right when they say that establishment has tried to sabotage but at the same time their own incompetency has not helped either.

And add to that their selection of media communicators. I am really sorry to say that when your spokespersons consist of people like Baber Awan, Rehman Malik, Firdous Aashiq Awan, Rana Sana Ullah and Chaudry Nisar Ali Khan then you are merely worsening an already hostile environment.

Which parties in their right frame of mind would employ the services of such people?

And constant references to historic struggles (PPP during Zia and PML N during Musharraf times) have outlived their utility. SORRY once again.

In times of despair, it is natural human tendency to clutch at any glimmer of hope. If people are thinking that Imran is the last hope then for God sake try to do some soul searching as to why situation has reached that extent rather than imagining grand conspiracies everywhere.

And finally, be credible in criticism of Imran and learn to give credit when it is due. If he has apologized to Baluch then have a heart and acknowledge it. If he has mentioned about minorities then once again at least acknowledge it rather than complaining as to why no minority was allowed to speak.

Criticism looks appealing when it is credible.

Lots of small, compact posts on WordPress, much unlike my typical 1000 word posts which risk losing peoples attention after the 500th word. I wish brevity were a virtue of mine.

I’ve been thinking of something for a long time now. In Pakistan, the media, and in particular the electronic media, has been growing like anything over the recent past. Thus, we have witnessed not only a growth of TV Channels but also a birth of characters who will, perhaps, leave an indelible mark on Pakistani TV history – for doing nothing. I’m talking about TV Anchors. From the most ridiculously dressed Mubashar Lucman (his attempts to be deliberately rude to guests only serve as making him look more stupid in his satin white shirts and electric blue waist coat and tie) to the carpet-headed Hamid Mir (the day this guy comes in a Shampoo commercial…). Within these, there is a broad spectrum of slick haired gentlemen and some women, with incessant frowns (Read: Sana Bucha), others with a Veena Malik-esque dirty touch about them (Read: Mehr Bukhari). The work they do is, generally, meaningless orchestrated noise. Save for that of a few (like Najam Sethi).

Part  of their job description is, I feel, next-level psychic abilities, the super-human strength of using one guests as a means to an end against the other and towards the end of their show giving two broad potential outcomes out of one is OBVIOUSLY going to be certainty, if not the other. And when one of their predictions comes true they harp on about it, endlessly. In this unremitting exchange, what triumphs is not good journalism, but pointless, baseless rhetoric and sensationalism.

In this, hopefully short(er), blog my question simply is this: What credentials do you need to come on TV as a talk show host and a political analyst? What do those people have that we don’t have, which enables them to supposedly draw reasoned conclusions at the end of every political discussion with the camera focusing on their slick heads and their needless frowns (Read: Mehr Bukhari).

I guess what i’m trying to say is that now is the time to devise a suitable platform where we can bring our individual thoughts to the fore, based on what we read in the news, on the internet, what we see happening – for an individual touch is most important – to show these goons how we think it should be done.

If you think about it, how bad can it be? If it seems like it’s going south, we can always employ two well-worn tactics.

1. You can go all angry, give your head some solid jerks and frown at your guest asking them the same thing they just told you. Just like Mehr Bukhari.

OR

2. You can wear a Barney suit, try to be a full badass, badtameez, make ambitious claims on your show and talk more than your guests. Just like Mubashir Lucmaan.

“Did you hear the echo of slap?” (Is thappar ki goonj suni tumnay ?) was the famous dialogue of Bollywood hit “Karma” when Jailer Vishwa Pratab Singh (Dilip Kumar) slaps captured terrorist Dr. Dang (Anupam Kher).

Following the same fashion Sharad Pawar, the president of the India’s Nationalist Congress Party serves as India’s Minister of Agriculture and the President of International Cricket Council was slapped by a youth named Harvinder Singh after attending a literary function. Pawar is said to be one of the most corrupt politicians in India but all leading political parties in India “apparently” condemned the slap.

On the other hand Harvinder Singh received an enormous amount of appreciation from the commoners. The commentators on Youtube, Facebook, Twitter and various forums made clear in a quite candid manner, that the resonance of “Pawar-full” slap was the need of time which needs to be exercised on corrupt politicians after frequent intervals.

People from all walks of life endorse the slap and call It a desire of masses for swift accountability against all those politicians who while in power – poison the nation by their massive corruption and kick backs.

Earlier incidents of shoe throwing were taken place in Australia, India, Ireland, Israel, Hong Kong, the United Kingdom, Arab World and Pakistan.

Whether the shoe throwing or slaps make difference to political figures or not but they definitely provide a sigh of relief to the attackers as well the “Janta” infected by the corruption and bad governance of politicians.

As far as Pakistani politicians are concerned they seem to be indifferent on Slapgate scandal due to the fact that they are enough experienced of countering shoe missile either during lectures or confronting verbal insults on electronic media — perhaps this is the reason they consider it a routine practice and tolerate such behavior from critiques “in the name of democracy”.

The shoe story seems to have no end; George W. Bush, Asif Ali Zardari, Parvez Musharaff was also targeted with shoe. Indian Home Minister P Chidambram and Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao, too have been the part of this humiliating shoe shower when they made public appearances.

Slap, a more powerful and precise weapon than the shoe

Sometimes when shoe doesn’t hit Pakistanis leaders, their party followers call it a disgrace of shoe that could not avail an opportunity to touch the honorable dignitary — whatever the excuse  is, now the slapgate scandal has shown protestors a new way to lodge remonstration against corrupt politicians.

The beauty of slap could be recognized in a way that it precisely hits the target unlike shoe missile that has more symbolic value than the physical. Though the smashing slap on Pawar’s face may seem to be an indecent act towards an elderly person, it is more of a psychological blow to the entire political fraternity, who have played with the emotions and tolerance of the public and carried on with their gobbledygook for several years.