TV THOUGHTS: Don't call it a 'war': Khalida Ghaus; Zardari's rehearsal telecast live: Kahi Unkahi

Eid Mubarak. But what kind of Eid-ul-Fitr would the country have this time? Would it be peaceful, uneasy or may be calm? On that will depend the mood of the TV channels. What the news and current affairs channels will convey will influence the mood of what has been previously programmed by the entertainment segments of the local channels.
In a way the Eid mood has already begun, now that the Federal Government has announced three holidays, the first of October, through the third of October. Saturday, the 4th of October is a working day.
But this weekend there is not yet the traditional mood that precedes the festival. It is understandable. Besides the last ten days of the holy month are those where the worship is widespread and intense, and where the blessed nights of Ramazan are of highest value to the faithful.
The mood of the country is grim, tense, and the people despite their shopping routines are cautious, anxious and unsure of what lies ahead. It is relevant to mention here that President Asif Ali Zardari said in New York on Wednesday while addressing a press conference that "the people will have to realize that we are at war... terrorism cannot be eliminated by having wishes and hopes."
PM AND MEDIA COVERAGE: And this is what Prime Minister Syed Yusuf Raza Gilani has said of the media coverage following the suicidal bomb blast at the Marriott on Saturday, 20th September. He said, "By and large during the crisis the media played a positive role, barring a few exceptions, which I feel must be taken notice of".
He said, "we all know that such tragedies cause considerable damage to the overall economy and national security. The coverage was not realistic as it exaggerated the overall impact on the national economy by highlighting the negative side of terrorist attacks."
The Prime Minister had hosted an Iftar dinner for senior journalists at the Prime Minister's house, and urged upon the media to play the role of "arbiter between the people and institutions and be an impartial judge of situations, keeping the national interest in mind". Then he asked "And why cannot media play yet greater and better role of mediator among the warring factions, sects, and regions - and I love to see the media play the role of arbiters among people and institutions."
This is possibly among the few occasions that the Prime Minister has spoken of the media's role in the current crisis. He referred to the Marriott blast and said, "Can one declare that the Marriott Hotel tragedy was a Pakistani tragedy. No, not at all as it was by all standards of humanity, a human tragedy." The Prime Minister, said a news report, "demanded of the international media to cooperate with the regional media, including Pakistan to promote peace, stability and prosperity". And he assured the media that the government fully subscribes to the freedom of information and would always work for their betterment".
One may mention here that the Marriott hotel blast and fire were shown live on all the TV channels, and both here and abroad it has been described as the 9/11 of Pakistan. And some TV channels have been referring to the site of the incident as "ground zero".
PRESIDENT ZARDARI'S REHEARSAL TELECAST LIVE: News reports indicate that President Asif Ali Zardari's address to the nation, in the early hours of Sunday morning, which was about six hours after the Marriott hotel blast was messed up by the Pakistan Television Corporation. What apparently happened was that the speech was actually being rehearsed but the PTV accidentally telecast it live, and two other private TV channels picked it up and telecast it on their networks.
According to one news report, it has been stated that when the PTV team reached the Presidency it was decided that the speech would first be recorded and telecast later. The draft of the speech was approved, and the President took a few minutes to rehearse the text, and the PTV cameras were activated to monitor the rehearsal. However, in effect a live telecast took place.
It is reported that an inquiry has been ordered into the "mess-up". The President, before on his visit to the United States asked the Information Minister to undertake an inquiry, after which a team has been constituted for this purpose. And Dr Shahid Masood the PTV chairman and Managing director who was to accompany the president to New York, was ordered to stay back until the completion of the inquiry.
The acting Information Secretary has been quoted as saying that the inquiry committee will submit its report on the President's return from the United States.
One may recall here that the details of the inquiry into problems that arose when the Prime Minister addressed the nation for the first time have not been made public yet.
KAHI, UNKAHI: Given the large number of private TV channels there are it is more than an uphill task to watch them all, even though some of them appear very strong and weighty, as I do my regular channel surfing, stopping at them, one at a time. Some may appear inadequate, but reflect potential for improvement and growth.
Having said this I would like to mention a current affairs programme on that popular entertainment channel, Hum TV. It is called "Kahi Unkahi" which is anchored by a senior journalist, Idrees Bakhtiar, who is also the Associate Editor of the Herald monthly.
Mazhar Abbas who shifted from this channel to the Aryone World was anchoring a similar programme. He now, does a current affairs programme Deadline on the Aryone World, as does Asma Shirazi who has moved from Geo to Aryone World and does a current affairs show called "Second Opinion". I would like to do a comprehensive piece on all the current affairs shows, some time later. In passing I would mention that the Waqt News TV, from the Nawa e Waqt group of newspapers, last week had advertised for at least three positions in various daily newspapers, and one of them is that of anchors. News or current affairs anchors? That was not mentioned.
I would now like to refer to a very absorbing, even worrying current affairs show that I saw in Kahi Unkahi on Wednesday night. (It is a Wednesday night show, I may add) The guests that night were Fauzia Wahab, MNA, PPP, Zafar Hilaly, a former ambassador, Dr Khalida Ghaus, a former head of the International Relations Department, Karachi University and now Managing Director of the Social Policy Development Centre, and Brigadier Rashid Malik (Retd). The first three are familiar faces on the various channels, and fairly outspoken in their own ways.
It was, on the aggregate, an overview of the terrorism canvass in Pakistan, and the predicament that the country finds itself in today. Fauzia Wahab spoke vehemently on the subject of how Islamic militants, and various pro Taliban organisations and the Tehrike Taliban Pakistan were posing a threat to the stability of the country.
Zafar Hilaly a former diplomat and son of the late foreign secretary Agha Hilaly, and nephew of the former Foreign Minister Agha Shahi pointed out that Pakistan was not a "historical state" but that it was "an opportunistic state", and he emphasised this very clearly. He recalled that the Quaid e Azam Mohammed Ali Jinnah had said that the Pakistan achieved in reality was "moth-eaten and truncated". Hilaly further said that in the days to follow much would depend upon the wisdom of its leaders.
Zafar Hilaly underlined that it was imperative that the people released the predicament that Pakistan was in. He said that we have now reached a stage where one wants to know what will happen next.
He suggested that Pakistan now urgently required to have first class intelligence, an appreciation of the people's needs, isolation of the Taliban, a strategy whereby armed forces personnel would be posted alongside the common citizens. So as to give them a sense of security, and protection. Anchorperson Idrees Bakhtiar termed these suggestions as very " appropriate".
Zafar Hilaly, in another context said that Pakistanis should resist the temptation of blaming others, and consider this as a time to look within. And in his view it has to be understood that the demand to de-link from the United States could render Pakistan" dead".
Dr Khalid Ghaus began by saying that she was going to express herself even at the cost of repeating herself. He said that both the US and Pakistan were in a Catch 22 situation, and that this particular visit of President Zardari was meant only to meet and introduce himself top world leaders. She analysed the fears that prevail in the country, and spoke not only of external dangers, but also the internal fractures that have taken place.
She suggested very firmly that the country should stop using the term "war" and eliminate when it came to the Taliban and the other Islamic militants. She said that we need to be very careful with our vocabulary, and realize that the social fabric of this country had undergone a drastic change in the last two and a half decades. She said that there was a need to take the dissidents along, creating harmony, rather than conflict and confrontation, which was going to harm the country.
Brigadier Retd Rashid Malik, spoke of the American fears that the next attack on their country could be from the Federally administered Tribal Areas in Pakistan, and that was the reason why there was so much emphasis on this in recent days.
I would to mention here that retired members of the armed forces are conspicuous with their presence on the various TV channels expressing themselves, and also those who can write are also writing regularly in the print media within the country. Whether they are writing abroad is something that needs to be known.
SHAN, TETANUS AND PAMPERS: It is quite interesting to hear the film actor Shan talk when he appears on the small screen. He speaks with confidence, and in an upright manner, and reminds some of us of the forthright style of his father, Riaz Shahid, who was a leading writer and film director of his time in the country.
I am distracted by the somewhat rebellious personality of the late Riaz Shahid who produced some of the best cinema from Lahore and two of his film Zerqa and Shaheed come to mind. In Zerqa it was Neelo who played the leading role, and it needs to be mentioned here that she was also his wife. And that Shan, is her talented son. And in Shaheed, it was another top-notch film heroine Mussarat Nazeer who played the leading role. Both Zerqa and Shaheed were big commercial and thematic successes. Of course I am reminded here of the many movies that I have seen as a teenager in which these two heroines had been cast opposite the leading heroes of those days. But this is no time to be nostalgic.
Young Shan has a rich history in show business and evidently is a father of three children - triplets. He is a popular hero both in Urdu and Punjabi cinema and a director as well.
He speaks English also, fluently. I saw him briefly on Wednesday (24th September) on two channels for short periods. First it was on the Ary Digital in the Good Morning Pakistan show that Dr Shaista Wahidy does, and then he was seen on the Kiran Aur George Show (Aaj TV) and his principal theme appeared to be that of emphasising the need for tetanus vaccinations for children. It is supposed to be a UNICEF supported programme, wherein the sale of pampers is linked to the number of tetanus vaccines that will be made available for children. And Shan has extended his support to this UNICEF project.
I would like to believe that because it was Shan expressing his co-operation to this project, and stressing the value of these anti tetanus vaccinations for vulnerable children, that must have made TV viewers stay on to watch as much of the programme as was possible. Is that not the way it is with so many of our programmes, wherein we do not use the remote control for numerous reasons.
In the Ary Digital morning show, Shan also stressed the significance of show business people advocating such causes as this one, and said that it helps hugely, because of the star value that gets associated with the programme. And in the Kiran aur George show too, the young actor was conversing with the couple about the advantages of buying pampers to promote anti tetanus vaccines. In passing I would like to mention that some very simple but vital themes have been discussed in this show keeping in mind the mood of Ramazan.
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