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Media Channels Should Educate
People About Their Rights and Obligations
 If
Geo, ARY, Indus, Aaj, Aag and other private media channels
want to serve people of Pakistan the best thing they can do is
to educate them about their civil rights and obligations, civil
liberties and limitations; limitations of government officials
and agencies; and the right and wrong ways of conducting day to
day affairs between people and people, people and government,
businesses and government, and between other national
institutions.
For this
purpose, media channels should develop a list of peoples’ rights
and responsibilities as citizens of Pakistan and a list for
government officials what they can and cannot do and telecast
these lists several times a day for next few years. If they
advertise these do's and don’ts for people and the government
officials for next few years, it will create awareness among
people and government officials about their rights and limits.
Once they know their rights and limits, it will help them stand
for their rights and act within their limits.
TV
channels should also educate people and government officials
what to do if their rights are violated and if they fail to meet
their obligations. Pakistani social scientists and legal experts
should help media channels to develop mechanism to make people
aware how they can deal with these situations.
Within
last few years, Pakistani civil society has matured to the
extent where it is ready to take off.
At this
critical juncture of civil development of Pakistani civil
society, we need to think about refining and uplifting Pakistani
masses’ social and civil behaviors. It is only possible if each
Pakistani, private citizen and government official, understands
his rights and limitations.
If TV Channels start creating this awareness
in Pakistani masses, we will see an amazing change
in our collective social and civil behavior
in few years.
I don’t see this problem only with Pakistani
masses’ social and civil behavior I see this problem with people
at the highest level also.
I have observed over the years, the high ups
in Pakistani society do not distinguish between “right” and
“wrong”, “legal” and “illegal” “correct” and “incorrect”,
“moral” and “immoral”, and “socially acceptable” and
“unacceptable.”
TV and radio channels and newspapers are the
best way to set a list of “do’s” and “don’ts” for private
citizens and government officials and broadcast them on regular
basis for few years until those “do’s” and “don’ts” start
reverberating throughout Pakistani society.
If these media channels are doing business
with Pakistani masses it is their obligation to help people of
Pakistan, both private citizens and government officials, to
learn their rights and obligations, do’s and don'ts, and freedoms
and limits.
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