Over the years, I have worked with six different media
groups and always been my own man - never compromising principles over an
employer's petty agenda. There's a list of unhappy management toadies who can
attest to that. In fact, I have been working tirelessly on a project up against
a deadline. The only reason I left that to write this small piece is that I can
no longer put up with that obnoxious, pathetic excuse for a human known by the
name of Mubashir Luqman.
I have never been a fan of the absurdities that morning
show hosts come up with - in fact, I believe who enjoys watching that kind of
crap seriously needs help. But Luqman is not only offending me on a personal
level by calling himself a journalist, but also trying to open a Pandora's Box
- the results of which could be ending up with a pile of more dead bodies in this troubled
part of the world we call our homeland.
The people who own Jang Group are no angels. There is more
than meets the eye behind Mr Jeem’s superficial slogans. But there are more positives
about the group than the negatives. The accusations of being Indian agents or
working with the Americans are as ridiculous as they come.
To fill his pockets with dirty money, Luqman is not just
trying to unnecessarily defame the media group, but deliberately or
inadvertently stirring up a hornet's nest that is oozing with sectarian hate.
The qawwali he is trying to project as blasphemous is performed at weddings in
Shia households. Does Luqman realise that his actions could lead to an
escalation in violence in a country already feeling the heat of sectarian
strife.
What if another loon like Mumtaz Qadri decides to take
matters into his own hands and attacks one of the hundreds of Geo or Jang Group
employees present in almost every part of the country?
Actually from the field of marketing, Luqman somehow
managed to land in the good books of slain Punjab
governor and Media Times owner Salmaan Taseer and impressed him enough to be
given the job of hosting a talk show. As to how he managed to do that… the answer
would be a hit below the belt so I would prefer to avoid disclosing that.
So obnoxious and arrogant is he that the staff of the
Business Plus channel had once handed over a joint resignation to the
management demanding that they be retained or Luqman be fired.
It’s not just irritating to see people believing in this low-life’s
rant, it’s sad. It just dashes any hope that one might be optimistic enough to hold
on to for this nation.
Luqman is just a pawn; it is the people pulling the strings
that would be responsible for what lies ahead if this dirty ploy to use the
issue of blasphemy as a tool to create a balance in the media industry is not
stopped. Those people, also called “angels” for their popular stunt of making
citizens ‘vanish’, consider themselves the country’s last line of defence. Their
every act, they believe, is in the best interest of the country. But they are
doing the country no favours by setting their own house on fire. Manipulating elections, financing sectarian outfits,
creating provincial disharmony, hiring the services of low-lives to disseminate
their agenda… these are not acts of patriotism. However, it might be too late
when they realise that.
