The situation in Baluchistan is moving from bad to worse, but just to make sure other provinces don’t feel left out, the _terrorists_ are alse sending a few bombs their way:
bq. A Pakistani express train narrowly escaped disaster in a bombing because it was running late, police say.
>> ‘BBC News: Late Pakistan train escapes bomb’:http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/3598504.stm
Nowshera police chief Mazar ul Haq Kakakhel told Reuters news agency:
bq. “It was a bomb and all the evidence and circumstances suggest it was an act of sabotage.”
Oh really? Perhaps someone had accidently left the bomb on the track? Its a bloody bomb… didn’t exactly fall out of someones suitcase did it… but so far the geniuses are still finding out that it was a ‘act of sabotage’! I wonder how exactly did he conclude that this was sabotage? Maybe the bomber was just making a hole in the ground and mistakenly got the track? So it could be that it wasn’t really sabotage…
Suprisingly enough, I couldn’t find any mention of this on the three main english Pakistani newspapers on the internet. I also checked a few other Pakistani internet news sites, and none of them had this news item. Others also have noticed:
bq. Secondly, If you are a regular internet news reader, you will agree that Indian media is simply the most ubiquitous on the web, in context of news from South Asia (especially Pakistan). It is indeed a pity that a large portion of Pakistan’s news has to be sourced from Indian websites, but that is the reality. I do not wish to sound critical of our media or content, as I understand that given our literacy rates, we still have quite a way to go.
>> ‘Pakpostive faq’:http://pakpositive.blogspot.com/2004/03/faqs-frequently-asked-questions.html
Pakistani news sites are quite a ways behind the times. It stands to reason that the BBC and Reuters have to get their Pakistani news from some source over here, so why can’t the local newspapers do the same?
Now, the Internet is supposed to break down barriers and what not, but the best local news is bound to be from a local newspaper who can devote more time and resources to local stories. Maybe the ‘censorship bogeyman’ plays a role in this lag between events and their reporting?
The way things are going, it is not very unlikely before some important person becomes a target of these things. Then the government will crack down on things. Leading to a whole can of wormd being opened.
Our media is a very special one. About 2 years ago, I came across a website (which I don’t remeber now) by a pakistani journalist. He listed the names of eminent journalists and the editors and sub-editors of famous newspapers, and the amount of money they received from the government.
No wonder the masses have no idea what is really going on in the country.