Deceiving tactics of the Enemy.

Opinions :  By Sohaib Mengal Propaganda has existed as ancient as there has been any record of reliable evidence in history. Religions, dictators, priests, governments and almost everyone, who has tried to influence its immediate target, have used propaganda for the good and the bad. Propaganda is a systematic form of persuasion that is intended to transform or strengthen the emotions, attitudes and opinions of people towards an ideology or cause. Propaganda was initially used for the propagation of faith and religious ideas. It was later adopted by businesses in their advertising and subsequently modern businesses started specially hiring public relations departments that used propaganda to spread favorable opinions about companies. It took momentum with the introduction of printing press in the sixteenth century but the political sense of propaganda widely strengthened during World War 1, when various countries tried to persuade people for the justness of their cause as well as to hide the horrors of front line. Many stories, which never existed in actual, about enormous atrocities were used as entry cards in World War 1. Warring nations conducted propaganda operations on large scale. The major US propaganda agency, Committee on Public information, distributed more than 100 million posters and publications to increase the support for the war in public. In 1933 Hitler realized the potential of propaganda and appointed a particular minister for that reason. But it is the dictators and occupiers that have taken the most effective use of propaganda. Several famous dictators used propaganda to achieve power. The effective use of education, motion pictures, press, and radio by Hitler is considered the most famous example of propaganda. Recently there has been enormous use of propaganda by both sides in Afghan and Iraq war. The wars today have four dimensions, which is a combination of military, economic, political, and propaganda pressure against the enemy. The war is fought on all four fronts at once. With a very strong media and various reasons, the Pakistani propaganda like any other occupier is very organized and institutionalized. Deceit has always been the trait of this Frankenstein state and it has reasons to do so – illegal occupations and the brutalities perpetrated against minorities. Spiced up with more than 100 TV channels, it has got all the necessary tools to fed anything in the minds of its public and, to an extent, international community. It is not confined to this simplicity; the dishonest tactics are beyond comprehension to any ordinary person. The education system, judiciary, bureaucracy, economic institutions & media are fully crammed with deceitful and fraudulent tactics. It is through this strong organization of deception that this double standard nation has kept its occupation of the Baloch land intact. The major Pakistani propaganda tool, which has been successfully used since many years, has been through its so-called education system. Though called education but in reality it is a technique to propagate false history enriched with false values. The true educators in democratic societies teach people how to think, but here we are told or rather forced what to think. Baloch children are exposed to Pakistani propaganda and lies at a very young age through schooling. These forced feeding of so-called “Pakistani Ideology” based on religious hatred and lies ceases the skepticism of Baloch children throughout their lives. If we critically examine the Pakistani education system it is only making slaves out of us. The most a Baloch can get out of this system is to be a cleric or a government servant, who will do anything to serve his master and strengthen occupier’s illegal rule on Baloch land. The other Pakistani organizations are also full of such pretense and cheating. The Judiciary is one of these organizations, which is working; in such a professional method that no one is realizing its deceitful devices. Even the Baloch leaders are seen applauding the role of judiciary in missing persons’ case. But if little skepticism is practiced and the background of what basically happening is monitored a smart lot of things get vivid. Baloch sons are being abducted since long but the honorable chief justice of Pakistan never paid any heed, while at the same instance he wasted no time in taking suo moto notices on similar cases of Army backed Jihadist organizations. The bodies of Baloch youth started falling, in what is called “Kill and Dump” policy, since June 2010 and nearly 500 activists, which were the cream of Baloch society, were killed since then. But nothing was said or done by the chief justice. When it was already too late and all the famous and sincere activists were killed, which also drew an enormous amount of international pressure, the judiciary came in to rescue the Pakistani Army and Intelligence agencies by hearing the Baloch plight in Supreme Court. Few missing Baloch were produced on the orders of the court. The question here arises that why was it so that similar steps were not taken when the first body of an activist fell or in fact when the first Baloch youth went missing? When the court has enough power to produce 11 Baloch missing persons then why cannot it order to produce all Baloch missing persons? The reality is that Pakistani judiciary is being portrayed or in fact it has gained, that too through lies, an image of a sovereign and independent entity in front of international community. To deceive the International community and thwart the international pressure, nothing is more appropriate for Pakistanis then to take the help of Judiciary and Iftikhar Chahudary. Now they can easily save their skin in front of international community by taking the excuse of Judiciary’s intervention. The Media, the most active of all, is not an exception. Though portrayed independent, it is directly being controlled by the Pakistani state. No doubt private bodies own the channels but the anchors and agents are implanted in such a manner that media is totally under state’s control. Whatsoever the state wants to propagate, it does that through these anchors and paid pseudo-intellectuals. The channels fail to report any brutalities inflicted upon the Baloch people but promulgate any killing of settlers through out their programs. Any news that involves brutalities by Pakistani Army is completely censored whereas they waste no opportunity to portray the security forces as pious and innocent. A recent example is that of Chahudary Aslam, a criminal that holds a police office. Whole Pakistani mainstream media was portraying him as a hero, indirectly appreciating him to kill more Baloch in lyari. There lays no doubt that along with the state the contempt against Baloch lies even in the Pakistani public. The whole Pakistani nation cherishes when Baloch are killed in any part of Baloch land. This has only become possible through the forced injection of news in the minds of public. Ways to Counter it: What is happening really needs to be countered or the Baloch struggle for its independence can fail badly. Propaganda can only be countered through making available the true facts. The Arab spring is a big example and an opportunity to learn for the Baloch nation. Organized campaigning through social media has done wonders in Arab spring and can do the same for Baloch nation. The key is getting organized and forgetting the pity differences amongst us. Citizen journalism needs to be promoted. The Baloch activists should make videos or take pictures of military activities or movements of Pakistani forces as much as it is possible. Organized measures then need to be taken to make it viral on Internet. Though it sounds complicated but a little effort will be of enormous benefit. The most complicated problem is of Pakistani education that is intruding the minds of our children. Unfortunately there is no immediate solution to this problem. Barring people to get education will be the most criminal and harmful thing one can do with its nation but establishing alternatives can ease up the situation. Strong alternatives to teach the reality to Baloch children need to be introduced on urgent basis. The writer is a CC member and international representative of BSO-Azad. He can be reached atmirsohaib7@gmail.com. He tweets at http://twitter.com/mirsohaib