JEDDAH, 20 May 2006 — “Pakistan’s Consul General Masood Akhtar came under fire in the Senate, Pakistan’s upper house of Parliament, on Tuesday for his remarks at the Indo-Pak “mushaira” held in Jeddah last week,” so read our Pakistan bureau chief’s report from Islamabad on May 16. What were those controversial remarks? “If the Berlin Wall could be razed to the ground, current boundaries between Pakistan and India could also be softened,” the report quoted the consul general as saying.
This report was like a bolt from the blue. As someone who was present at one of Jeddah’s finest “mushairas,” attended by some of the diehard lovers of Urdu from both Pakistan and India, it is beyond comprehension how the consul general’s statements could be so blatantly quoted out of context. Clearly, his comments were completely misreported to the Pakistani parliamentarians.
The consul general did indeed say that if the Berlin Wall can come down despite such hostilities between the two Germanys, there is no reason why the two peoples of India and Pakistan cannot come together. He recalled the initiatives that he took, along with his Indian counterpart, to promote peace between the peoples of the two communities in Jeddah. His points were resoundingly applauded by everyone in the audience.
The Berlin Wall reference was in no way a suggestion that the consul general was questioning the raison d’etre of Pakistan. That was completely far-fetched.
The event itself was very successful. A capacity crowd waited till three in the morning to listen to the well-known Pakistani poet Dr. Peerzada Qasim. Quite a few Indians in the audience were displeased that the Indian poet Dr. Rahat Indori had abused their attention. Everyone was restless to hear Dr. Qasim’s pathbreaking poetry.
Dr. Rahat Indori himself faced the ire of the audience and his fellow poets for taking up an issue with Pakistani poet and satirist Professor Inayat Ali Khan. Eventually, Dr. Indori apologized profusely to the elderly Pakistani poet. To this there was huge applause. Dr. Indori was also castigated in the media for reciting couplets that were offensive to the Pakistani people. And, as reported in this newspaper, it was the Pakistani poets who stole the show that night.
But what appeared in the media in Pakistan was quite distressing. This was not what the “mushaira” was meant to be. The truth that the event had successfully brought people from both countries together had been thoroughly ignored. Urdu is seen as a unifying force. Poetry they say dissolves all differences. Masood Akhtar is himself a poet and he did recite a couple of poems which underlined the values of peace and love. He was well-received.
If India and Pakistan are to bridge the political divide, then it is essential that journalists play a positive role. This is not to suggest that we should overlook something that is against the interests of our countries — of course we are proud nationals. But journalists have a certain responsibility. It is not their business to stretch the metaphor and to twist the tale.
If some of us had not been present at the event we would have believed what was dished out in the press.
Obviously some Pakistanis may have issues with their consul general, but in their bid to malign him they should not trample the truth.
Saudi Arabia is seen by Indian and Pakistani expatriates as a neutral ground to foster good ties with each other. In India, there is so much prejudice that it is very difficult of think anything positive about Pakistan. There must be similar jingoism in Pakistan. Thankfully, this is not the case in Saudi Arabia.
A couple of years ago, Gopal Sutar who works in SABIC’s media department in Riyadh wrote a very touching article in this very newspaper.
He said he had a totally different impression of Pakistanis till he came to Saudi Arabia. In the Kingdom, he found them to be very, very warm people, full of hospitality, a fact that was confirmed when the Indian cricket team visited Pakistan.
Reading between the lines can have disastrous consequences. It is unthinkable that a Pakistani would ever question the integrity of his own country. That is too ridiculous. Masood Akhtar called for dissolving the differences not dissolving the borders. The animosity between the two countries should end.
Pakistan is a sovereign country and so is India. Both are proud nations. They should continue their march to prosperity and friendship. As the Urdu poet says: “Un ka jo kaam wo ahle siyasat jaane/Mera paigham muhabbat hai jahan tak ponhche. Roughly translated it means, “Let those whose business is politics indulge in politicking. My message is one of love, let it spread far and wide.”
