Letters – September 2021

Media Mischief

The article ‘The Power of Hashtags’ written by Munazza Siddiqui rightly pointed out how hashtags are cast-off and mostly misused for propaganda. The writer mainly focused on the issues such as the TicTok star Ayesha, who was brutally assaulted. iI felt more like a scheme with the aim of targeting the government on the national day and the media had no other topic but to share the story of how a woman is unsafe in the country and how all men in one way or another are harassers, which further gave the opportunity to so-called empowered women to share their hatred and thoughts on Pakistani men. Instead of highlighting how females have to use the power of social media tools to draw attention to such incidents, it is best to restrict the social media from the bombardment of false and incomplete news which leads to disturbance in society.

House of Cards

I enjoyed reading Amir Zia’s article ‘Betting on The Taliban’ in the September issue. During the Afghan Taliban’s victorious march into Kabul, the pro-Western Kabul government and its well-equipped army crumbled like a house of cards.

Many of the United States’ allies and enemies in the area did not expect the US-led Afghanistan operation to fail so quickly and thoroughly. Until the very last minute, the local Afghan collaborators of the US-led NATO troops in Afghanistan hoped that their masters would not leave them so abruptly. The pro-Western Kabul regime’s allies and supporters in Pakistan also lobbied against the withdrawal of US-led troops. Even the Pakistani ruling class was against the United States’ hasty departure from the war-torn nation.

Animation Matters

Khurram Bari Khan highlighted the importance of graphic designing and illustration in his article ‘Framed’. However, I don’t think it’s such a crucial area as there are many others on which the education sector should be focusing, such as technical education. The world is aiming towards creating a more digital society by introducing more and more devices which are replacing human labour and intelligence. Therefore, instead of pushing the youth to enroll themselves in institutes which are highly costly, it is best to invest that time, money and energy in areas where there is more scope and potential for the younger generation to grow and prosper.

Win Win for all?

I read with great interest Amir Zia’s article ‘Betting on the Taliban.’ The Taliban’s future success or failure is determined by how those two terms are defined. Bin Laden described the United States and its citizens as “terrorists” and Al-Qaeda as “freedom warriors.” Either way, expecting the Taliban to govern Afghanistan like a modern state would be foolish. Keeping a semblance of calm with little governance is the most probable scenario for the Taliban, which would be reported publicly to garner international humanitarian assistance and internally play to the gallery (the local warlords).

That will please the Pakistani military as well. They also do not want an Afghanistan that is well-managed. The Pakistani Army enjoys nothing more than a little controlled chaos, both inside and beyond Pakistan’s borders. Their spending continues to be exorbitant. They’re happy with the way things are currently being handled and are having their finest run in a while. Nobody seems to be upset about the Indians being kicked out of the country. In other words, they’ve already lost their $3 billion.

The Ratings Game

Recently I read an article ‘Faith Goes Digital’ in your prestigious magazine written by Khurram Bari Khan on media. The article was highly enlightening and inspirational. An in-depth analysis of historical events and terrorism-based incidents e.g the 9/11 incident, were conveyed to the readers, suggesting they were the cause of a shift in the media industry as well as the increase in views, showing the type of content the audience was interested in. Certain events were also correlated that brought Pakistan under the spotlight to be deemed a dangerous country for travel. These events were then brilliantly shown to be linked with the history and introduction of Islamic and religious channels in Pakistan. The article also  revealed the months and times when normal news channels also broadcast religious content, proving that what the Pakistani audience wanted was the fruitful words of wisdom and religious knowledge as well as guidance from the holy book and our Prophet’s Ahadith to lead their everyday lives. Certain religious topics were also highlighted by the writer which gained slightly more recognition as compared to others such as political topics tied to religion. The writer mentioned the current condition of religious channels in this uncertain time of the Pandemic and provided reasoning and evidence to back up statements. The topic of religious channels entering the digital media platforms and the animated world was also touched upon, which is welcome since it is a trending topic tied with the modern generation.

Unfair Stereotypes

I have been reading Narratives for a period of time, but I have noticed that writers don’t often talk about the role of women. In the mainstream media women are portrayed as the biggest foes of one another. I think the writers should cover how women’s empowerment matters and protest against the stereotyping of female characters in our television series.

Bright outlook for BRI

 I agree with the editor, Ibrahim Sajid Malick, that things looks good for the Belt and Road Initiative, now that Kabul is under Taliban control and Beijing is prepared to pick up its game in the area. I hope and pray that the Taliban will prevent any outside force from using Afghanistan as a staging ground to undermine China’s interests in the region. The Belt and Road Initiative’s cooperation is advantageous to Afghanistan’s development and prosperity as well as that of the region. Afghanistan is expected to embrace and take part in the Belt and Road Initiative enthusiastically.

American officials exploited the plight of Afghan women to justify the 2001 invasion and occupation. In Afghanistan, feminists have been marginalised because of the association they have been forced to make with an invading army. Afghan women must now pick up the pieces and deal with the Taliban independently, with no outside help.

Entertainment Please

I am a regular reader of Narratives magazine. As much as I admire the magazine for its independent editorial line, in-depth analysis, stories and incisive comments, one feels that an entertainment section is badly missing in this otherwise good publication. I request the Narratives team to include a solid entertainment section in the magazine.

Letters should carry the writer’s name, picture, address and phone numbers.

Letters may be edited for purposes of clarity and space.

Email address: letters@narratives.com.pk