REPORTING ON THE ENEMY

foreign correspondents write. It must be said to the credit of the Musharraf government that it has not put any restrictions on what they write. Only twice I got a polite call from the External Publicity Division. Once it was an objection to the headline of a report and the second time a request to substantiate my comment with `fact`.

The secondary source of information in Pakistan is the print media. Though it is yet to acquire the status of a mass media in any sense of the term, it is fiercely independent. Print media is not a just a mine of information but also provides vast range of views on any given subject under the earth. It goes to the credit of the Pakistani print media it has not become subservient to the State. This is no mean achievement particularly considering the fact that military has been at the helm of affairs almost since the birth of Pakistan.

Pakistani journalists are fantastic. They are very hard working and much more conscious of the world around them than their Indian counterparts. They are paid a pittance and yet most of them take pride in their job. A number of senior journalists are not afraid to speak the truth and entertain no ill-will vis-à-vis the Indian scribes.

The political parties, religious and jehadi organisations and civil society of Pakistan conduct business with us as usual. Most of them have no hesitation in coming on the telephone line and answering your query. Luckily there is no bite journalism in Pakistan and print media is still courted by the netas though they themselves are sidelined at the moment.

I have the best of equations with the jehadi outfits like the Hizbul Mujahideen and the Lashkar-e-Toiba (now banned). They have not only been extremely polite and helpful but also gone out of their way to dispel the impression that they are talking to