Even though Prime Minister Imran Khan is exercised about obscenity, to the extent that the recent Cabinet meeting was devoted to the subject, the recent PEMRA issuance of a directive on dramas was hardly to be expected, though the main objection, its manifest lack of effectiveness, may not be a negative for Mr Khan. After all, his other bugbear, corruption, has not led to any signal recoveries, just a string of politicians getting bail from the courts. However, PEMRA does not seem to have learnt from NAB, and is doing Mr Khan’s will.
The problem is that his will is not clear. The directive against showing any display of affection or intimacy, even between couples supposed to be married, is not clear.
For a start, it should be remembered that the Pakistani media is already both conservative and cautious, and sponsors have always preferred to err on the side of caution. Pakistani dramas have been venturing into edgy territory of late, and been dealing with the sort of subjects which apparently cause people like Mr Khan discomfort, like sexual abuse and domestic violence.
Mr Khan’s own government has a poor record of handling the rising tide of abuse of minors, crimes against women and instances of criminal assault. That there is a problem is not denied, but this is not the solution. Any pimply-faced youth with a mobile has access to pornographic websites which leave Pakistani dramas far far behind. In the face of that, PEMRA, and with it Mr Khan, are like nothing so much as the little Dutch boy of legend, who stuck his finger into a dyke to stop a flood. He was unsuccessful. It is unlikely that Mr Khan will have better luck. It seems as if Mr Khan is trying to satisfy an urge to do something about an issue of which he has very little understanding, because he has not studied, merely picked up some clichéed opinions.
