I Have Set the Press Free! Geometry of General Musharraf’s Gimmicks and Grammar of Pakistani National Press
Abstract
After the well-known 1999s army takeover in Pakistan, General Pervez Musharraf taken the responsibilities of chief Executive. For establishing his dictatorial administration, effective media control was a necessity in accordance with what Aristotle said, "the power of the people's collective opinion enables a king to rule and would a king lose the support of public, he would be a king no more" (Noelle-Neumann, 1991, p. 267). With these reasons in his mind he brought media changes to utilize media as a state apparatus, winning more extensive open help at home and abroad. Since the media can play such vital part, it similarly poses a possibility of being misused by the powerful people to legitimize their wrong doings. This paper used content analysis of three English and three Urdu Pakistani national newspapers on the incident of Lal-Masjid to analyze how newspapers were utilized as official maneuver for getting backing for Musharraf's strategies as head of the state. Lal Masjid action, generally be named as "Operation Silence" during which propaganda-based information was extensively used to legitimize the act. Initiated by General Pervez Musharraf's government the severe clash ran for one and half years & 9 days of negotiations till 2007. In this period, the press seemed to have widespread usage of propaganda approaches formulated by John Galtung's war and peace Journalism that contains, "exposing the untruths of the others and supporting our lies instead of exposing untruth of all sides & supporting all cover up attempts and lies and "we/them" propaganda". The three-fold exclusivity of the research involves that; it analyzed the strategies and propaganda role line with Johan Galtung's Peace Journalism theory. Secondly, it additionally enhances appreciative role of media in severe circumstances. Thirdly, it highlights the counter frames which if would have been used frequently the operation silence and casualties could be avoided.
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