An open letter to the liberal media artists in Pakistan

Dear media people,

Almost a decade ago, liberty of Pakistani media was a breath of fresh air that was seen as the purest source of information. Today, the image has changed drastically but still it is more watched and discussed. Despite the question on the ethical code of conduct followed (or not followed) by Pakistani media. Despite the criticism of playing with human emotions to cash ratings. Despite being labeled insensitive and inhumane, time and time again. Pakistani media is watched, loved and growing popular day by day.

Today, I am not writing to you to talk about what the ethical boundaries of the competent talk show hosts are. Partly because I know the race of gathering the most eyeballs by being creative has blinded us of much more serious concerns. I want to talk to you about the entertainment that our media is providing. It is no doubt both well produced and well received. But is the purpose of showing these sit-coms, game shows and opinion shows only to entertain? If the answer is yes, it grieves me.

Dear reader, There is a reason why media has been called pillar of a nation. And underestimating, misusing or exploiting its power is both foolish and absurd. If you are portraying a girl dressed in branded western clothes, talking transcendently in a perfect English accent and chewing a bubble gum as ‘cool’, something somewhere is very wrong. Why would you do that? Do not get me wrong I encourage learning English because it is need of time. But my point is our media can also portray a girl wearing nice eastern dress, talking politely in Urdu (Pakistan’s national language) and chewing paan as ‘cool’, also. This is the power that rests with media; they can change the perceptions or even mindsets of nations.

Rather than showing how amazing U.S.A is or Paris is, why does not our TV shows us how beautiful Pakistan is? And trust me the natural beauty that God has blessed Pakistan with is breath taking. To reinforce my point I would like to pin point how much our government is doing for its maintenance. Confused? Do not be they are doing nothing and still we have the highest polo ground in the world.  

Pakistanis are highly emotional; capitalize on it not by arousing rage but by strengthening their patriotism. Show how beautiful Pakistan is through your dramas, show how culturally rich Pakistan is with people of diverse cultures making one Pakistan. It is important to tell what wrong Pakistanis have done but it is also important what much Pakistanis have achieved. Jehangir Khan has a winning streak of 555 consecutive matches in squash. It stands a world rank even today. 

Majority of the news, talk shows and debates broadcasted are spreading negativism. Not much you can do there, reply to your assumed innocent response, “We are only showing what’s happening”. The entertainment area is completely open to changes. Rather than switching to how our neighbor country’s style of dramas, why do not you work on making your own dramas even better? Because even though Bollywood is very developed and popular Pakistani dramas are way ahead of Indian dramas.

Dear reader, I am a Pakistani and I love my country and the only reason I write to you is because I want your help in making other Pakistanis realize that they can change the image of Pakistan by working hard and loving their country. Because I know for a fact that not all Pakistanis can even dream of shifting to another country, if God forbid a war starts. And if things are not changed, the hatred is going to lead us there, eventually. We are Pakistanis whether we like it or not, and we can only improve things in Pakistan because we are the ones who are responsible for things today.

I hope to see TV doing more and better for Pakistan in future.