Good to Great: Media expansion in Pakistan and its challenges http://t.co/qtdDGxuOGv

Good to Great: Media expansion in Pakistan and its challenges http://t.co/qtdDGxuOGv

Let’s be honest- Is criticizing #national #army justified or the misuse of the term #Freedom of #speech Why we are not discussing the issues of public health: #Polio, #Ebola?

Let’s be honest- Is criticizing #national #army justified or the misuse of the term #Freedom of #speech

Why we are not discussing the issues of public health: #Polio, #Ebola?

By Imran Ghaznavi

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One of the renowned journalist posted the link of Mrs. Asma Jahangir‘s television program on facebook, in which she has been seen criticizing  #Pakistan #Army and hitting the institution left right and centre.

“Watch Rare Video of Asma Jahangir Insulting and Abusing Pakistan Army http://www.zemtv.com/2014/11/13/watch-rare-video-of-asma-jahangir-insulting-and-abusing-pakistan-army/”

My argument here is very simple, #Pakistan is the only country where everyone can speak against its own army, can anyone dare to speak against its national army in US, India, UK, Russia, and China etc. I doubt. There must be national laws protecting the sanctity of the national institutions, moreover civil society do understand the importance of their defense establishment and refrain to pickup unnecessary criticism. Issues come up everywhere in the world but those are handled without bringing them out in public and in accordance to the law.

Yes, there may be issues with Pakistani defense establishment in past and will come up in future as well but those have to be resolved in the light of prevailing laws, constitution and norms, most of all in national interest.

#Pakistan army presently is engaged in all dimensions and need national support to crush hostilities on national boarders and international support to eliminate the menace of #extremism and establish peace in terror hit areas.

We have to be honest in criticizing the national institutions, must have valid justification and before going ahead should first answer the question, “are we misusing of the term #Freedom of #speech“ or justified in our maligning of the army. We must understand that the misuse of liberty can have serious consequences for liberty itself.

We all believe in democracy, respect democracy and understand that effective progress and development can only occur in #democracy, but how?,

The democratic philosophy to its core is that the representatives of the citizens honestly and whole heartedly works for the betterment of the public; decide what is good and bad for them on their behalf.

Politician’s primary mandate is the law making in public interest and not to protect their own pity interests. Interest groups or powerful lobbies should not win over or influence the representatives of the public to serve their agendas. It is feared that any form of governance other then democracy can be easily influenced by interest groups and public interest is harmed, so very true.

Now let’s analyze the present political scenario in Pakistan, can we honestly say that the pubic representative or the #government is serving the public in true sense of democracy, you can answer it, better than anyone else, from law making to infrastructure development, to the hiring of professionals for key government positions, to general public sector employment, to disbursement of youth loans, to laptops scheme, grant of transport vehicles etc., nothing is transparent nor in public interest neither government has any business plan or any mechanism to gauge the return on investment (ROI). Has anyone questioned where the money is coming from? This is public money and public ultimately has to foot the bill, we all must understand this.

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Another matter of serious concern is that where were the politicians, civil society, media, top TV anchors or the opinion makers in raising concerns over the spread of #polio virus and what are the reasons and issues in vaccination.

Can anyone feel the agony of the parents of more than 250 “children of lesser God*” suffering from poliovirus recently reported? Why the matter was not taken up by relevant authorities of the government in time to avoid this breakout. There are so many other health issues which are killing people every day like “Dangi” “Neglaria” and most recently the “Ebola” – which has yet to cross the boarder – but my question remains there, are we prepared, did our law makers asked the government to declare health emergency. NO

Regarding polio the government should get into the root cause, debate the issue, develop consensus among the political leaders, religious scholars, scientists, opinion makers, highlight what other Muslim countries like #Egypt, #Indonesia, #Malaysia, #Bangladesh etc are doing about #Polio vaccination. What are the issue here and how to overcome them? The recipe is very simple and practical but who will bring wisdom, will and ability to preempt problems affecting the general public.

I am neither favoring the vaccination nor against it, I am trying to put forward the public health issue and someone in the name of #GOD must seriously look into it. 

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Dear parliamentarians, #National #Assembly and the Senate is the forum to point out and debate on the public issue and issue a wakeup call to the sleeping government to do good for public instead of asking it for quotas in jobs and development funds, making public appeals for the protection of democracy. What a joke. We all know how reserved seat parliamentarians sell their development funds on 15% to 30% commission.

I think National Accountability Bureau #NAB should immediately conduct an enquiry and make example of those who are or were involved. Anyway let’s not beat about the bush as we know nothing will happen.

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The #politicians have to be above board and #honest, must show their true ability to govern in a #transparent and righteous manner, must have heart for poor and downtrodden, feel their pain and serve them with true spirit. They must not bow down on national interest; believe me they will be respected by the Army, world and the common people.

So called liberals criticize army and its role in politics to get space on media or favors of interest groups, have they every realized what is the root cause of theses interventions. My humble advice to them is, in spite of flushing out personal venom and towing the line of interest groups, must realize the situation and understand the need of the hour.

 Strengthen the democracy by dissecting public institutions which are built to bring change and relief in common man’s life, media and civil society must become the watchdog on the performance of public institutions and raise the flag whenever and wherever “wrong” has been done.

If media start picking up social issues effecting general public and stop discussing politics half of the problem is solved.

“Let’s raise our voice for general public and their real issues, expose the wrong doings in the public sector. You can forward the scandals with supporting documents. Can reach me through twitter @ighaznavi, and facebook public profile or email:  ighaznavi@taxpayer.com.pk , LinkedIn profile : Imran Ghaznavi”

Key words: #freedomofspeach, #Pakistanarmy, #democracy #Media, #civilsociety, #publicinstitutions #politician #Pakistan

*Children of a Lesser God is a 1986 American romantic drama film directed by Randa Haines and written by Hesper Anderson and Mark Medoff

** References: Photographs are open source and are obtained from the internet. Video footage source Zemtv

Accomplish Great Things at any age

Accomplish Great Things at Any Age

BY LOLLY DASKAL  

Here are 41 reasons to get out there and make it happen, no matter how young or old you are.

 

Many of us think that to be successful, you have to be at the right place, the right circumstance and the right age.

But we can learn from those who have come before us, who achieved at every age and in every circumstance of life:

At 5, Mozart was already competent on keyboard and violin.

At 6, Shirley Temple starred in "Bright Eyes." (After her career as a child star ended, she became a diplomat.)

At 12, Anne Frank wrote her wartime diary.

At 13, Magnus Carlsen became the second-youngest grandmaster in the history of chess.

At 14, Nadia Comăneci became the first female gymnast to be awarded a perfect score of 10 in an Olympic event.

At 15, years old Tenzin Gyatso was recognized as the 14th Dalai Lama.

At 17, Pele led Brazil to a World Cup victory.

At 19, Elvis Presley became a superstar and was later known as "The King"

At 20, John Lennon performed at his first concert as a Beatle.

At 22, Jesse Owens won four gold medals in the Berlin Olympics.

At 23, Beethoven was already known as a piano virtuoso.

At 24, Isaac Newton wrote Philosophiæ Naturalis Principia Mathematica, setting the foundations for classical mechanics.

At 25, Roger Bannister broke the four-minute mile.

At 26, Albert Einstein wrote the theory of relativity.

At 28, Michelangelo created his sculptures David and The Pietà.

At 29, Alexander the Great had created one of the largest empires of the ancient world.

At 30, J.K. Rowling finished the manuscript of Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone.

At 31, Amelia Earhart became the first woman to fly solo across the Atlantic.

At 32, Oprah Winfrey launched her first talk show.

At 33, Edmund Hillary became one of the first two people confirmed to have reached the summit of Mount Everest.

At 34, Martin Luther King Jr. wrote his iconic "I Have a Dream" speech.

At 35, Marie Curie (along with her husband, Pierre Curie) was awarded Nobel Prize in Physics.

At 36, Wilbur Wright, together with his brother Orville, built the world's first successful airplane.

At 37, Vincent Van Gogh died virtually unknown after creating the paintings that would later establish him as a major artist.

At 38, Neil Armstrong walked on the moon.

At 40, Mark Twain wrote The Adventures of Tom Sawyer.

At 41, Christopher Columbus made landfall in the Americas.

At 42, Rosa Parks refused to obey a bus driver's order to give up her seat.

At 43, John F. Kennedy became the 35th president of the United States.

At 45, Henry Ford manufactured the first Model T automobile.

At 46, Suzanne Collins wrote The Hunger Games.

At 50, Charles Darwin published The Origin of Species.

At 51, Leonardo da Vinci painted the Mona Lisa.

At 52, Abraham Lincoln became the 16th president Of the United States.

At 53, Ray Kroc bought the McDonalds franchise, which then comprised eight restaurants.

At 54, Theodore Geisel wrote The Cat in the Hat under the pen name Dr. Seuss.

At 57, Chesley "Sully" Sullenberger III successfully crash-landed US Airways Flight 1549 in the Hudson River with no fatalities.

At 61, Colonel Harland Sanders granted the first Kentucky Fried Chicken franchise.

At 62, J.R.R. Tolkien published The Lord of the Rings.

At 69, Ronald Reagan became the 40th president of the United States (and the oldest to date).

At 70, Jack LaLanne--handcuffed and shackled--towed 70 rowboats for a mile against strong winds and currents.

At 75, Nelson Mandela became president of South Africa.

Whether you're blessed with the energy of youth or the wisdom of age, whatever your circumstance, you can make success happen. The time to get started is now.

Voice

Voice

Small minds

#Media, #Army and the #Government in #Pakistan

I am not surprised to see front page stories in one of the leading news paper today and both are the statements of the #Pakistani #Prime #Minister #Mian Muhammad #Nawaz #Sharif, what amazed me is the lead is about the “No plan to ban..”  Story filed from #London and one column story captioned “Nation stand behind #troops (#Army) for #defense of country” story filed from Islamabad. I am hinting towards the importance given to both stories.

Yes, we all agree that #media is very important and crucial part of the civilized societies and #freedom of #speech is the essential part of #democracy, however we should not forget that the #media houses are owned by businessmen or business groups not the working journalists, of which we have only one example of Mr. Zia Shahid.  So all businesses are run on the philosophy of profit maximization and principally believe in commercialism.

In a country like #Pakistan, where media, I mean business houses sponsoring the media business have become the movers and shakers of the system through their employees, whom even they do not pay reasonably, except few, let’s face the fact. 

So first of all let’s talk about freedom of speech and expression. Pakistan is among very few countries in the world, where the freedom of speech is exercised freely. Interestingly till today none of the defamation cases has been decided by honorable courts, which reflects the power of the media versus common man.

Coming back to the recent conflict between media, army and the government, it is very interesting to note that government is playing safe, few quarters in the government are siding the Army’s point of view and few media’s, as they know they cannot annoy both, but in this case both will be annoyed and doubt the sincerity of the #government, which is unfortunate.  Knowing the mindset of the Prime Minister and the way Mian Shaib is taking decisions in promotions of civil servants, appointments of the heads of public sector institutions and other strategic matters, as we know he himself is calling the shots, very rightly so as he is mandated for it and no one around him can dare to disagree. The point here is that during the recent developments and conflicts, his one phone call to everyone could have been more than enough.

I still give Mian sahib benefit of doubt and hope that things will unfold in an amicable manner, however taking safe position is actually no position, which has put the government is in catch 22 situation. If they side media the #army will be annoyed and if they side #army, the media group will flare-up, both will have serious consequences,  one in short term the other in long term.

Very soon a big scandal will be  showcased through the formal media especially media group under fire, as last night it was hot the topic on social media (if anyone wants to see just have look at tweet from @ighaznavi last night). Though the incident is five months old and lot of hush up was done but few upcoming events in next two weeks again created insecurities among important people and this gamble is being done to avoid the consequences of those events.

I personally think this will be another fiasco and will further increase the gulf between major stakeholders. So, after this breaking news in the media it will be clear who is behind whom and lines drawn today will further deepen till the point of no return.

I sincerely wish that this story should not come in the media and things should be resolved amicably and wisdom should prevail but unfortunately the bullet has been fired and let’s see where we go from here.

In the recent scenario, what I believe that media groups strategy will be; they will try to mend their relationship with annoyed  side and turn their guns towards the #government, which again will be unfortunate but we no commercial interest (in long term) always dominate.

How events unfold is very important, moreover Army Chief’s today’s speech on “Youmia Shohudia is certainly crucial, must read between the lines.

Next three weeks are important, how Imran Khan and Allam Tahir ul Qadri moves ahead, how the media group strategies their actions, what will be the government stance and the Taliban talk’s status along their response to May, 11 calls and attacks on army or civilians. I think this is enough to digest for time being.  

Politics and the Pakistan Army

PMLN’s government very successfully managed to see through the critical issues like installing big 3 i.e. The President, Chief Justice of the apex court and the Chief of the Army Staff.  Moreover the economic issues are put on the right track , the World Banks, Asian Development Banks, IMF and other donor agencies are appreciating the efforts of the government on the economic front. The recent Pakistan development update launched by the World Bank on April 10th says, “#Pakistan’s economy is gradually improving.  GDP growth is expected to reach 4% this year driven by dynamic manufacturing and service sectors.”

It is very encouraging and Nawaz government deserves a pat on back but it was quite disheartening to see the recent exchange of the statements between ISPR and the Politicians and how media added fuel to the fire. Now the debate has been picked up by the social media and one can imagine how things can shape up in societies where tolerance level is negative.

Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif in this tenure appears to be a changed man and it has been observed that all major and critical issues are handled exclusively by him. This is good because ultimately, he is the leader and face of the PMLN and responsible for good, bad and the ugly.

It is very important that the perception of Government –Army rift should be dispelled by PM Nawaz Sharif himself and he should pay a ceremonial visit to the GHQ on his return from Boao, China.  

Our political leadership should understand that Pakistan is passing through a critical phase on one hand the talks with Talibans is underway and on the other hand  economic development has shown positive signs of recovery and at this moment opening of another front could be disastrous specially with army.

It is quite evident that important circle in Pakistan Army are not happy the way political leaders are handling the Musharraf case and Taliban talks, in recent television interviews General (Retired) Athar Abbas former DG ISPR  in ‘Aaj Kamran Khan kay Shat “ at Geo TV  on April 10^th 2014 and  Air Marshal (Retired) Shahid Latif  in ARY program on April 11^th 2014  clearly expressed their concerns, moreover Pakistan Army Retired Officers Association has just issue the press release pin pointing the General Musharraf  trail.  The situation is not that simple as it looks and must be dealt carefully.

Let’s look at the example of the Egypt, how Arab spring swept away everything and then the way Morsi has been treated later.  We have to evaluate where Morsi went wrong and its repercussions. 

It has been believed that social media was the catalyst in shaping up the Arab spring and now keeping in view the present  situation in  Egypt, where the Army Chief has become the President – how  is not important here – where is the social media now, as well as free independent local and international media. Has anyone noticed this, has this situation been discussed in TV talk shows globally. These are the serious questions one must take note of.

We all love democracy and support the rule of law, we also love our brothers and sisters in armed forces let’s show respect to all institutions and avoid confrontation for cheep publicity.  

The onslaught on Musharraf by the political leadership of PMLN may be right from their or political point of view but why PPP, PTI, JI etc are  not supporting this argument and hence the perception derived from this situation is that PMLN politicians want to target the army and ensure that they never ever think of taking over. 

 Army takeovers can be stopped forever in a very simple way, that is  if the political government can ensure good governance, economic stability, rule of law, respect for the institutions and sincere love for the country.

Prime Minister Nawas Sharif is heading on the same path and sooner or later it will be achieved, so no need for insecurities especially by the courtiers. 

It will be heart breaking to see if the system fails just because of insecurities and nothing else.