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| Peshawar protest: Pakistani journalists hold a rally to condemn the restrictions that were placed upon the media after President
Gen. Pervez Musharraf imposed emergency rule. Mohammed Zubair/AP/file |
Who wants to be prime minister? Try Pakistani reality TV
'Enter the Prime Minister' – a politicized, Pakistani variation on 'American Idol,' aims to find the perfect candidate for the prime minister's office in time for the elections scheduled in January.
By Shahan Mufti | Correspondent of The Christian Science Monitorfrom the December 11, 2007 edition
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Islamabad, Pakistan - Hard studio lights glare down and cameras roll as Arshad Bhatti, the owner of a coffee shop in Islamabad, tries to convince a panel of three sharply dressed TV hosts, through sweats and stutters, that he is the man they are looking for: He should be the next prime minister of Pakistan.
"There's always some creative tension in the beginning," he says from behind a dais emblazoned with the words "PM" in red. "But you'll see, I'll get comfortable really quickly," he smiles.
"Enter the Prime Minister," Pakistan's first reality TV show of its kind, begins broadcasting this month. The show, a politicized variation of "American Idol," aims to find the perfect candidate for the premiership in time for the elections scheduled for Jan. 8, 2008.
But it is also a genuine forum for political discussion for Pakistan's newly politicized and increasingly vocal upper middle class – "a thinking minority" as Mr. Bhatti describes it – that is still on the fringes of political power but has become increasingly active in the streets this year, especially after the military attempted to crush the judiciary and choke independent media. They are the activist lawyers, students, academics, and journalists who have come out in hoards as the traditional political elites appear stumped by President Musharraf's aggressive power play.
DAWN's intervention in the Pakistani democratic system gives contestants, including eccentric businessmen, quirky activists, slick bankers, lawyers, and other working professionals, a free forum to explain to a panel of three judges – one especially hard-nosed – how they, as prime minister, could solve the country's decades-old chronic failure to create a functional civilian government.
"It's a reality TV-cum-game show for an educated audience," explains Azhar Abbas, the news director at DAWN. "The point is really to have an insightful debate between top politicians but also civil society and people from the corporate sector about what kind of leadership Pakistanis expect and need now."
The latest disappointment for Musharraf's opponents has been former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, who had been adamant about boycotting elections ever since he returned from exile last month. After weeks of negotiations, he had finally given up on his strategy on Sunday, and began his election campaign Monday. Many in the street movement hoped that a boycott by Mr. Sharif would severely discredit the election process, which they say will be rigged in favor of Musharraf's loyalists.
Their numbers may be small, but this section of society makes up for that by the disproportionate power they wield, thanks to the important positions they hold in the many social sectors and industries they represent.
"Beyond what they think of certain theoretical issues," says Nusrat Amin, one of the judges on the show, "we also need to see how the candidates plan to deal with the very real internal and external pressures that come with the position."
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