Chowrangi

Even though his tenure as the caretaker information minister is short lived and is already drawing near to its end, Mr. Nisar Memon has already threatened media enough, and has more than paid for the favors showered upon him by the big boss.

President General (retd.) Pervez Musharraf earned the esteem of the whole world when he freed the media, and media really blossomed initially, but then the lotas of PML-Q and perhaps the chief executive himself didn’t like what he allowed. Especially after the historic day of 9th March, when the Chief Justice of Pakistan Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhary was deposed, media rallied behind the judiciary, and a huge credit goes to the journalists for creating a mass awareness in the populace in this regard.

But that rallying behind the judiciary wasn’t liked and digested by many, and PEMRA put the breaks on media, and things turned so ugly that alongside with the private channels, international channels like CNN and BBC were also banned from the cable network and the spineless and profiteering-minded cable operators wagged their tails at the beck of the regime.

Then after much ado, PEMRA allowed the channels back but with leashes and locks. Now even this scenario is getting heavy for the memon minister, and it would be unfortunate if this man puts some locks on media on his departure to ensure some space for him in the next setup. Bad thing, this power of rule is.

Other posts by Commoner

• Clear the Dust - November 20th, 2008
• Exactly What They Want - November 20th, 2008
• Punjab Heats Up - November 19th, 2008
• Eyeball to Eyeball - November 18th, 2008
• No Surprises There - November 18th, 2008
• Yousuf Ready to Leave "Power" - November 18th, 2008
• OGRA Website Hacked By Indian Hackers - November 17th, 2008
• Friends Of Pakistan Again Disappoints - November 17th, 2008
• New But Old Dimensions - November 17th, 2008
• After the Loan - November 16th, 2008