ISLAMABAD: Experts and politicians on Monday appeared sharply divided on how to define the parameters of ‘obscenity’ for the media content. But majority of them agreed once a code of ethics was thrashed out it should be adhered to in letter and spirit.
The growing trend of re-enactment and dramatisation of crimes on almost all television channels under the garb of investigative journalism was castigated and some experts wondered why the Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (Pemra) was not taking enough measures to halting it. It was noted with deep concern that under the pretext of entertainment news, indecency and vulgarity was being aired by the media outlets. Pemra held a consultative session here at its headquarters, which took strong exception to the absence of TV owners’ representatives and cable operators, and billed it as non-seriousness on their part as they were (direct) stakeholders with regard to reflection of viewers. Former Amir of Jamat-e-Islami (JI) Qazi Hussain Ahmed, Muhammad Hussain Mehanti of JI, Oriya Maqbool Jan, Lt Gen (R) Qayyum and senior journalist Ansar Abbasi pointed out that Pakistan was created in the name of Islam and the Constitution clearly envisaged that there could be nothing against the Quran, Sunnah and Shariah.
Qazi during his presentation referred to the relevant Surahs of the Quran and some explicit clauses of Indecent Advertisement Act of 1963, which interpreted vulgarity, were also cited in this connection. They specifically criticised news channels for spreading vulgarity in the guise of entertainment news. He strongly objected to showing vulgar (mujra) dances and songs in every headline.
Qazi, Ansar and Mehanti unanimously recommended referring the matter to the Council of Islamic Ideology and parliament to define the terms obscenity and vulgarity. Besides, they called for immediate closure of all illegal channels. These experts were of the view that ‘any content, which was unacceptable while viewing with the family, was obscene’ and urged measures to halt the airing of such content.They also recommended formation of a committee to screen out unwanted content from TV advertisements as well as regulating the rating of TV channels. These experts noted that TV ads contained stuff that could in no way be telecast for public viewing.
Javed Jabbar, Dr Mehdi Hassan, Muhammad Ziauddin, Mazhar Abbas, Kamran Khawaja and representatives of Pakistan Advertisers Society (PAS), United Producers Association and Pemra officials were present on the occasion. The Chairman Pemra briefed participants about various terminologies, connotations and expressions used to define obscenity in different countries. Javed Jabbar and Dr Mehdi Hassan on the other hand defended that the media was not all about vulgarity. There might be 10 percent of total content objectionable but the rest of media in Pakistan was doing fine. They said that technological advancements and cultural dynamism could not be enslaved in a rigid canvas. Cultural ethos varied from passage of time. Javed Jabbar opposed involving the Council of Islamic Ideology in defining obscenity. He said that it was a perplexed matter and would be difficult to evolve consensus thereon. Dr Mehdi Hassan said that if something was undesirable to watch, you have the option to switch over to any other channel or completely switch off your TV. It would be wrong to hamper technological advancements instead of grooming and training our offspring. “We absolve ourselves of the responsibility by not teaching them good or bad and then shed our responsibility by putting iron curtains on media,” he said. Dr Mehdi Hassan further said that obscenity could not be confined only to ill dressed models on TV channels but to him child labour, injustice to minorities, social imbalance, poverty, hunger and disloyal politicians were also obscene. Why the custodians of morality do not account for these issues?
Ziauddin, the veteran journalist, strongly endorsed view point of Javed Jabbar and Dr. Mehdi Hassan. He, however, proposed appointing an ombudsman for every media institution to ensure accountability. Ms Sameena Ahmed, TV artist and producer, from United Producers Association and Aly Mustansir from Pakistan Advertisers Society said that vulgarity was a relative term and could not be invoked by a select group of people.
These experts proposed taking input from entire society on the issue. They were of the view that they reflected public aspirations in their programmes/advertisements and a thorough research was conducted before launching any content. They denied that the advertisements and dramas produced by them contravened Islamic values. They however, agreed to comply with the code if it is unanimously accepted and adopted. Mazhar Abbas, a senior journalist, disagreed to the proposal of censoring media by blaming it for vulgarity. He suggested formulating an independent commission with no involvement of stakeholder in order to deal with the media violation issues. The participants, however, unanimously agreed and suggested Pemra to invoke its laws across the board and desired zero tolerance for violation of Pemra laws particularly the illegal channels and illegal content. The Chairman Pemra thanked participants for sparing valuable time for this consensual and national cause and ensured that all possible measures would be taken within the ambit of Pemra laws to curb violations. The next meeting on the subject was proposed in the mid of September whereby the owners of TV channels and cable operators would also be involved in this constructive consultation process. A senior Pemra official told The News that in mid-September, another consultative session would be held with the representatives of TV channels and cable operators.
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