The recently leaked audio of Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) Vice President Maryam Nawaz and party leader Pervaiz Rashid may have given the incumbent government another chance to launch its verbal attack on the Opposition, but it also raises many pressing concerns. For one: the manner in which political parties and successive governments treat the media organisations and its personnel. The abusive language used by the PML-N leaders in the clip is highly deplorable. The Pakistan Federal Union of Journalists in a written statement has also condemned the audio and has rightly demanded for an apology from the PML-N leadership.
Secondly, in the audio clip we can also hear Maryam directing someone to send ‘baskets’ to certain journalists. It is pertinent to note that this is not the first time an audio mentioning alleged used of influence to direct editorial policy has been unearthed. Just few months ago, audio of the PML-N supremo’s daughter purportedly scheming to control independent media had also gone viral. Then it was the alleged use of advertisement budget as she tells someone to cut off ads to some channels and now it’s the regrettable ‘baskets’. There is no denying the fact that in the absence of a merit-based system, successive governments have used their ad budgets to influence the media. It is then important for the ruling PTI that has been making tall claims of working towards independent and free media to put a system in place that can stop this ‘reward and punish’ policy when distributing government ads to media organisations. Such a system is not hard to find as they are already in place through rating agencies and media buying houses – often used by multinational companies to determine product placements.
Lastly, what often gets ignored amid these high-profile audio or video leaks is the question that who leaks them. Why are phones of political leaders or government officials being tapped in the first place. It must be noted that illegally recording telephone calls is a breach of privacy. Article 14(1) of Pakistan’s Constitution 1973 grants every citizen their Right to Privacy and states that “[t]he dignity of man and, subject to law, the privacy of home, shall be inviolable.” One must then question how and why phone recordings suddenly come to limelight often aimed at tarnishing one’s public image. We must be asking the right questions if we want to uphold the norms of a democracy. Let’s not let politicking overshadow it.
