Sarah Mughal
With the political showdown in the capital, activities in other parts of the country seem to have come at rest. At least that is what media has been portraying. The marathon coverage of apparent Sit-in by the head of PTI Imran Khan and PAT head Dr.Tahir-ul-Qadri, along with their workers has shifted the focus from IDP’s. Since the launch of the operation Zarb-e-Azab, media had been trying to shed light over various aspects of the change that the operation had and would bring in the society, during and after the operation. The plight of IDP’s highlighted by the media resulted not only in the heads up from the government, but also many concerns were dealt by the authorities. Unfortunately, the imbalanced coverage of sit-in by the political parties has only diverted the attention from many other important issues. With the onset of Azadi and Inqilab march, many important issues such as the recent destruction brought by the rains and the energy crisis have been overshadowed. Apart from the air time dedication to these marches, media channels are each other’s throats due to evident political partisanship.
In past few years, we all have observed the media playing an important and decisive role in many issues of social and national interest. Media must not forget the role it is expected to play and come up with a mature and sensible outlook in the testing times. That’s exactly what Pakistan needs, every institution playing the role what it is supposed to play.