Asia Times: Pakistan: The truth, nothing but the truth


	April 20, 2002	atimes.com

India/Pakistan

Pakistan: The truth, nothing but the truth
By Nadeem Iqbal

ISLAMABAD - In the weeks before an April 30 referendum on giving Pakistani President General Pervez Musharraf another five years in power, the government has been ultra-sensitive to criticism from the press.

It has been infuriated by the newspapers' vitriol over Musharraf's plan to stay in office through the vote, as well as by reports that dubbed his rallies "rent-a-crowd", calling them less than what B-grade political parties could muster.

This tension resulted in a police baton-charge on journalists during a pre-referendum rally in Faisalabad, the country's third-largest city, in eastern Punjab province. Just before Musharraf's address, his right-hand man, provincial governor Lieutenant-General (Ret) Khalid Maqbool, lamented what he called the under-reporting by the press on the size of the crowds at the president's rallies, and he led a chorus of "shame, shame" against journalists.

In protest, journalists covering the rally walked out, raising slogans against the governor. That, in turn, provoked the police to beat them. Later statements from the government show that the governor was irked by an editorial of the English daily The News that was published on the same day.

Criticizing Musharraf for using 200,000 councilors elected under his plan to establish "real" democracy by devolving power at the grassroots level, the paper said, "Our correspondent's report on how the local bodies system is being abused to fabricate a victory for President Pervez Musharraf in the referendum is not surprising as it duplicates a tradition in politics the military regime had sworn to eliminate.

"But what is surprising is that when the time came to bend the rules, it was done without even the least attempt to camouflage the violation. The report details how the newly implanted local bodies system was being exploited to ensure the throng of cheering people at the president's election meetings. But it is another issue that the crowds so far are less than what B-grade political parties can muster for a rally, leave alone a public meeting," the commentary added.

In a later rally, Musharraf advised the press, "They should shun the policies of hypocrisy and must write truth. I do not ask them to write in my favor but to write truth and refrain from lies. They should come and see the public participation in my meetings before terming them as B-grade rallies," argued the president, who is nevertheless expected to win the vote.

Recently, The News has come under government pressure. On March 1, its editor Shaheen Sehbai resigned, saying he had been forced out by the government. Musharraf in a press conference apologized to journalists and ordered an inquiry into the editor's departure. But unconvinced, journalists' bodies have since held protest rallies.

In a statement, the Pakistan Federal Union of Journalists demanded, "The Punjab governor needs to apologize not simply to the journalists, but to the people of Pakistan for having demonstrated such scant respect for the constitution, which ensured freedom of press. A judicial inquiry may provide some pouring of balm on the injuries of the 25 gentlemen of the press," it said.

A "watershed" is how the president of the top publishers' body, the All Pakistan Newspapers Society, Hameed Haroon, called the beatings of the journalists. "Beyond this date, those who expressed reservations with respect to the military government's policy towards freedom of press have found their worst fears apparently justified."

He said that not only was the national press publicly denounced for its reporting on Musharraf's referendum, the governor also threatened the press with "public" retribution as a consequence.

Dismissing the notion that the very nature of military rule threatened press freedom, Information Minister Nisar A Memon said this perception might have been created by the propaganda by some of the opponents of the government.

He said, "The present dispensation, despite being a military government, has not put undue curbs on the press and has generally been tolerant of dissenting opinion."

Media reports said the government had geared up its media managers to counter the negative reporting, mainly through the officially controlled electronic media, restructuring the official news agency and commissioning more favorable articles in newspapers. Likewise, the cabinet has been ordered to hold more rallies in the run-up to the referendum.

The official press information department has sought an additional Rs27.1 million (US$410,000) for a two-week publicity campaign running up to the vote, news reports say.

But criticism of the referendum is not restricted to the media - it is also coming from civil society. The intelligentsia, once supportive of Musharraf for his anti-extremism policies, is annoyed by his use of the official machinery of government and other blunt tactics to win popular support for another five years in office.

Last week, about two dozen civil-society organizations in a joint statement vowed to oppose the referendum. "Musharraf's announcement to hold a referendum to confirm his presidency is a flagrant violation of democratic norms. In the name of continuity and genuine democracy, his plans to consolidate power promises to completely thwart whatever is left of the political process in the country. Any individual wishing to become president must be elected in a manner consistent with the constitution, after elections," they said.

Musharraf added more fuel to the fire when he told a news conference that he had not decided to step down if he loses in the referendum. "I have not thought about it so far, to continue or step down in case I do not win this referendum. But I would say that I have taken a calculated risk and I am sure that I will win," the general said.

Almost all lawyers' groups have condemned the vote. At least five political parties and lawyers associations have filed petitions in the Supreme Court to stop it, and the court will start hearing the cases next week.

The president of the Supreme Court Bar Association, Hamid Khan, says the referendum order violates the constitution, which stipulates the process of the election of the president. Also, he said, the Supreme Court in an earlier ruling had in effect set Musharraf's stay in power when it gave him three years until October this year from the date of his bloodless coup in 1999.

(Inter Press Service)