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