Worrying About
Pakistan's Image Telecast by PTV
By
Ahmed Quraishi
ANYONE
SEEKING to measure how fast we are drifting apart from our natural
allies need only to watch the two official mouthpieces of Pakistan
and China: The Pakistan Television (PTV) World service and the
CCTV. The two state television networks reflect the official policies,
thinking and management styles of the ruling bureaucratic elites
in both capitals.
A sufficient review of CCTV will
show that the Chinese elite bureaucracy is flexible and bold.
The channel reflects dynamism and innovation normally found in
the privately owned broadcast media of the United States and Europe
and not in a state-controlled media outlet of the world’s
only country ruled by a Communist party.
This shows that the Chinese leaders
recognize creativity and don’t let red tape stand in the
way of national interest, which in this case is the projection
of a livelier image of China to the world.
PTV,
on the other hand, is moving but far too slow for the world’s
pace. The state-run channel is still monotonous. Bureaucratic
traditions stand in the way of change that can deliver creativity
and enhance Pakistan’s global message. (In 2001, a small
foreign private channel called Al Jazeera generated millions
in revenues by selling to world media exclusive footage from Kabul,
a city closest to Pakistan and accessible to PTV. Lack of creativity
and initiative at PTV resulted in big losses in money and a wasted
opportunity for global recognition.)
The
lesson from this is that Pakistani bureaucratic leaders might
recognize creativity but no one is really bothered to improve
the country’s national television network because, in true
bureaucratic thinking, why should anyone care when everyone is
comfortable with their piece of the cake?
Far from being concerned for reform
at PTV, I am more concerned at the growing gap of style, thinking
and management between our officials and those of our close allies
such as China, Saudi Arabia and Turkey.
How
can Chinese bureaucrats – bold, creative, and receptive
to the changes of globalization – be expected to feel comfortable
in the long run dealing with rigid Pakistani bureaucrats who are
change-resistant and, frankly, simply don’t care because
no one at the top is willing to question them for their vision
deficit?
India has been infamous among management
gurus for having one of the world’s slowest-moving bureaucracies.
But even they have adapted their image to the demands of global
change. In a world where first impressions are shaped by the media,
perceptions matter more than substance. China has been increasingly
promoting those bureaucrats who think globally, and in an economic-driven
state policy many of the new recruits in government positions
are relatively young Chinese professionals with world exposure.
It is only a matter of time before this emerging Chinese ruling
class will find more things in common with India than they will
with Pakistan, simply because our official media handlers can’t
creatively convey to the Chinese how innovative and hard working
the Pakistani society is.
The same is true for Saudi Arabia.
Contrary to the image peddled in the western media, the Saudis
have changed tremendously in the past decade. In a nation of fifteen
million people, there is a Saudi middle class of at least five
million. The country’s scores of universities and educational
institutions have spawned an intellectual class of men and women
very well in tune with the world. In the Arab media and literature,
Saudi men and women are some of the most creative contributors;
there are several Saudi female fashion designers making their
mark in Cairo, Paris and New York, and many of this enlightened
class are gradually seeping into the upper echelons of the Saudi
government.
With the accelerating pace of reforms
in Saudi Arabia, Pakistani bureaucrats will soon be facing a new
kind of Saudi official. Gone will be the traditional talk of shared
religious values and the usual Saudi sympathy for Pakistan because
of cultural bonds.
Some Pakistani officials got their
first taste of this new Saudi development in the fall of 2001.
As the war raged against the Taliban next door, a big contingent
of Saudi officials was camping in Islamabad for close consultations
with Pakistani officials. A member of that contingent was a Saudi
adviser to a senior royal figure in Riyadh. Sitting with a group
of Pakistanis and Saudis, the adviser basically said that his
new policy thrust is “disengagement with ideological allies
like Pakistan and seeking our selfish national interest with anyone,
including India.”
Such ideas have resonated in the
international Saudi newspapers based in London, increasingly promoted
by enlightened Saudis. Of course, the visit of the Saudi crown
prince to Pakistan affirms that, fortunately, this line of thinking
has not gained momentum in Riyadh, yet.
But
in the absence of any significant educational exchange programs
with the Saudis and the Chinese and other allies, and with no
efforts to bring together Pakistani and Saudi/Chinese/ Turkish
thinkers and media men, and coupled with the ineptitude of the
Pakistani official broadcast media in conveying an attractive
image of Pakistan to the world, chances are that Islamabad will
be outpaced by reformers in Beijing and Riyadh and elsewhere.
Anyone who doubts this scenario should
only do an analysis of where things are going with our allies.
To do this, just check out two places. One is the Saudi-financed
international print and television media outlets operating now
from London, Beirut, Dubai, Cairo and Rome, where one can see
progressive Saudi thinking in action.
Or
simply watch CCTV. It’s watchable even if you didn’t
understand the language, and that’s more than one can normally
say about state-controlled channels.
ahmed.quraishi@pakistan-zindabad.com
