Head, PPP media cell
Thomas Jefferson, 3rd American President, wrote in 1787 ‘the government with newspapers or newspapers without government, I should not hesitate a moment to prefer the latter’. His words aptly underscores the importance of the free press and free speech in a state to check government and its institutions’ proclivity to resort to a degree of tyranny against the citizens under the cover of the maintaining law and order and safeguarding security both within and without.
Free press keeps vigil on the government, its institutions and the non-state pressure groups those tend to indulge in inhuman, immoral and illegal activities.
Track record of the use of strong arms tactics by the government and its agents have abundantly proved worthless and counter-productive in addressing the problems those instead aggravated to an extent of intractability. The results of these practices have landed the respective societies in cycle of vulnerability and instability due to the grotesque aftermaths in the shape of downward spiral attributed to stagnation. On the contrary, the states where free speech and freedom of expression is valued in letter and spirit have been thriving under propitious and stable conditions serving the cause of the individual and collectives lives of the people.
The human ingenuity can perform wonders in an enabling environment of freedom and appreciation. The sapping of human talent by the states creates inhospitable environment profoundly prejudicial to an integrated development of the societies. Dictatorship periods in Pakistan can be equated with the latter type of state when talent and merit were brutally compromised at the altar of the toxic ideological affiliations and institutional preferences.
Indeed, no one is in favor of absolute freedom because of its serious and downside ramifications on the societies. It must be kept in mind that freedom cannot be exercised to the exclusion of other citizens without adhering to certain responsibilities. Without responsibility the meaning of freedom loses its general acceptance and indeed practicability. Free for all is like one against all and vice versa. This link between freedom and responsibility has to be established on sustainable basis and must not be subject to decapitation come what may. It is bound to create chaotic conditions acutely inimical to social order. It is well known that freedom of one’s fist to swing ends where the nose of other man begins. It is for this reason that the contemporary democratic constitutions while guaranteeing freedom of expression and freedom of press as fundamental rights of citizens also include the legal framework to exercise such fundamental rights. In our constitution Article 19 while guaranteeing the freedom of speech and expression also contains limitations defined thereof.
Unfortunately, in less developed democratic societies like ours, the state machinery and the extremist groups target the people who express their unbiased views through multimedia perceived at times against the state or its institutions. As a matter of fact, the presence of such people and organizations should be considered as an asset than curse because they help to develop the social set up based on consensus rather than on cleavages. Human rights social activists raise their voice against the highhandedness of the rough and powerful entities whose surreptitious activities pollute the society in all possible ways. But their devilish reprisal comes in the form of picking them up the social human right activists incommunicado. The victims are kept in solitary confinement or sometimes killed on purpose to give the message to their proponents to desist from or else face the similar fate.
Pitiably, they are ignorant of the modern digital age that is quite capable of exposing them to the bones along with their barbarity within no time. It is not difficult to nail down the culprits of abduction of human rights activists when going through the news and views printed/broadcast. The international media and Human Rights Organizations are more vocal in this count and correlate these incidents with similar in the past. Interior Minister’s statement in the House on the subject was frustrating mired in helplessness of the government meaning thereby, ‘that cannot be cured should be endured’ hope for the best. This apathy is preposterous and therefore should be rejected emphatically if the people of this country are desirous of to be known with degree of respect and reverence.
It is heartening indeed that the civil society has been agitating against the abductions of the human right activists since then, and campaign is sustaining and gathering momentum right across the country. Chairman Senate Raza Rabbani, senators, Farhatullha Babar, Taj Haider, Afsaryab Khattak and others have strongly taken up the matter with matching concern urging the government to ensure their early recovery without fail. The civil society’s protest in all the provincial capitals expressing their solidarity with the human right activists is very reassuring. PPP has been playing its active role to ensure that these clandestine tactics of silencing the voice of the dissidents must not be tolerated come what may. PPP being the torch bearer of people’s right will stand up to save and promote the democratic values for empowering the people of Pakistan.
If government quarters consider that human right activists have violated the law and crossed the limits in the exercise of the freedom they should take them to the court of law instead of dealing with them ferociously according to the law of jungle. Let the court decides the culpability or otherwise of the case. Resorting to their picking up and keeping them in solitary confinement is sheer tyranny that casts poorly on the state, the government, and its institutions. The immediate question that agitates the mind is whether the state and its institutions are in collusion or scared of the perpetrators? The context of what has happened suggests that the government has abdicated responsibility to protect its citizens against the anti-social elements. If so, then it has no locus standi to carry on with the business of ruling the country.
The international community and the civil society of Pakistan have put the incumbent government on notice on the disappearing of the human rights activists. The anodyne statement issued by the government on the heinous crime gives the impression of its helplessness, lack of grit and indeed loathsome dithering. Interior Minister’s statement on the subject is analogous to playing to the gallery as his tinkering around the edges will not satisfy the people who are very angry over the incident against the innocent citizens. The perpetrators must be brought to book and given detrimental punishment to address the culture of impunity and going scott free in their all forms and manifestations.
Mujib-ur- Rehman Shami, a highly revered media personality, deserves appreciation for taking up the issue so strongly in the TV programme in which he has questioned the government’ competence and effectiveness in apprehending the criminals. He says, ‘why heaven may not fall and the earth divided into fault lines on the gory crime like this’. It explicitly implied the government and agencies’ tainted intention to nail down the culprits as the kidnapping and killing of human right activists has been continuing sporadically. Such despicable incidents also reflect poorly on the Law Enforcement Agencies and the Security Establishment that may not be hand in gloves with the perpetrators but their failure to arrest them raise disturbing questions of collusion or scared. The image of country gets tarnished both at home and abroad as a collateral damage. Pakistan should be distinct for good reasons at the international level instead of bad ones.
In the contemporary world, the societies those value and religiously guarantee the freedom of expression to their citizens are the societies those are known as model societies. In such states laws are not only held supreme and applied indiscriminately but also seen and applied so. People express their views freely as defined in the legal framework of the respective countries like in the “Free World”. The societies where free speech and freedom media is denied/muzzled are known as backward countries in all domains of their national life. The international studies conducted impartiality has categorized the nations in the category of backward, developing and developed. Their determination as such is largely judged by the indiscriminate availability and practice of human rights.
Our record of human rights is not enviable even during the democratic government of the day. Pakistan government and its institutions should meet their primary obligation of protecting the fundamental rights of the people unequivocally for another important reason as well. Only then, our projection to highlight the human rights violations in Indian held Kashmir at the international level will be respected where Indian security forces have unleashed a reign of terror.
Sadly, our approach of seeking the solution of Balochistan problem through security prism has emboldened India to talk of Balochi rights. If the solution of the province is found through the use of soft power India’s interference will come to a grinding halt. Winning hearts and minds of the people not chopping off their heads should be the preferred strategy of the government and its institutions. Perpetrators should realize this to save them from the pangs of conscience during the evening years of their life. History rewards those are worthy of it and punish those eternally who deserve so. History will neither forgive nor forget the perpetrators’ crime. Take a break and think pensively.
muhammadshaheedi@yahoo.com
