By Ayesha Siddiqa
Modern-day media is a strange animal. It is easily excited, raises expectations quickly and then just as rapidly dashes them.
The excitement focused on the meeting of the Pakistani and Indian prime ministers is a typical example. On the morning of the foreign secretaries’ meeting in Sharm el Sheikh there began a rush of phone calls that increased during the course of the day in which anchorpersons were eager to know what could be obtained from the meeting and why we couldn’t stop talking to India. The tone and tenor of the conversation was similar on the other side as well.
At this point in time, Indo-Pakistan ties can hope to make little movement. Given the highs and lows of our bilateral engagement, there is little that the two establishments expect from each other. They can only try and convince the international community of their eagerness to have a debate and ensure the absence of military conflict.
Socio-politically these are historic days for the subcontinent because the media, one of the most effective tools for lobbying public support for policy, is an active player in the foreign-policymaking debate. The common media refrain in both countries is that their side must not talk to the other. The media is being exceptionally hostile and influencing public opinion and policymaking. Of course, policymakers don’t admit that using the media is dangerous because after a certain point it becomes difficult to roll back public opinion.
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