By Shazia Anwer Cheema
“Our relations with the United States were pretty stable. Despite the ups and downs, which were not initiated by us. There were just exaggerated expectations from (us) that did not materialize. There were attempts to influence our political life. Attempts to finance political opposition – direct financing, either directly or through proxy NGOs – everything has been clarified here. Despite all those ups and downs, we always looked at this relationship as strategic and important and tried to be as helpful as we could. When they needed us, for Afghanistan and for many other reasons, I remember how many times high representatives of the U.S. visited (us) and expressed gratitude for our help. But after the mission in Afghanistan ended, what did they do? They started introducing and passing resolutions and sanctions bills. That’s how they repaid us for being a good partner and friend. And what do you think the people can think about working with this administration? When they need you, you are the good guy, and they come and say good things. But when they don’t need you, they not only ignore you, they impose sanctions on you. For what? So, of course, it is very disappointing”.
You can think that the statement mentioned above came either from the prime minister or from the president of Pakistan. No, it is not true and this statement did not attribute either of them although it is 100% true to what Pakistan is facing today. This statement is the golden words of the President of Azerbaijan during his talk with foreign media at the Second Shusha Global Media Forum held on July 20-22 in the mountainous region of Azerbaijan that President Ilham Aliyev liberated from Armenian illegal occupation.
The title of this forum was “Unmasking False Narratives”. His comments about Western media were with references and fake news items Western media published broadcast, and aired about Azerbaijan and following sessions addressed by media experts coming from 50 countries exposed how big names like BBC, CNN, Fox News, NYT, Washington Post, etc played havoc with developing countries by establishing false narratives against them and of course Pakistan is not an exception.
President Ilham Aliyev believes it is important that the narrative is truthful, and reflects reality and it must not be biased. Because if it’s biased, it is pre-organized especially when it is part of a coordinated campaign. He calls this situation “a media attack”. President Ilham Aliyev rightfully indicated that media attacks coincide with important geopolitical developments. There are many other mechanisms of influence. For example, NGO financing, and various other interventions in the internal affairs of sovereign nations. But media is the most visible and sensitive, especially when it comes from big and famous media outlets.
The question is why is this with both countries? The answer is simple both the countries wish to live independently and wish to have independent foreign policy based on a multipolar world instead of accepting the hegemony of foreign powers.
“Unfortunately, it mainly comes from the West. As I already said, it has become part of our day-to-day life. In the first stage, we were surprised. At the second stage, we were disappointed. At this stage, we are absolutely indifferent. Because the main decision-maker here is the people. Whatever the government is doing is for the benefit of the people and the country. Of course, we would prefer the coverage of events in our country to be objective. If it is not objective due to some misinformation, we don’t mind, but if it is a deliberate media attack, a deliberate attempt to discredit what we’re doing, of course, the question is, why it’s happening”, commented President Ilham Aliyev.
The message brought from this three-day Forum was that Western media is a weapon against developing countries and against those who do not follow instructions from Western countries and Media should not be used as a weapon. Another important observation was that Western media works on a communication model of creating false narrative building based on syndicated, coordinated, deliberated moves to attack certain developing countries like Pakistan and Azerbaijan. What Pakistan has faced and continues to face is coordinated media attacks.
I have already mentioned President Ilham Aliyev exposed Western media by providing pieces of evidence, examples, and data, let have a look at how Pakistan is being targeted. Evidence of the support of Western media and foreign lobbies is already in the open, but now it is being intensified as foreign figures tweeted in favor of a particular political group in Pakistan. Previously a systematic campaign was conducted during elections in Pakistan, in which a particular party was shown as oppressed and the state of Pakistan as oppressor. The Western world has done this thousands of times with Azerbaijan also so countries like Pakistan and Azerbaijan face the same treatment because they believe in multipolarity in international relations.
Several US Congressmen through their respective X accounts have been messaging that a particular party is popular and Western media is heavily publicizing anti-Pakistan statements of this particular party. This is the same party that attacked military installations and sensitive buildings on May 9, 2023, as the prime target of this party is Pakistan’s military. As mentioned by President Ilham Aliyev Azerbaijan had been the victim of attempts by Western powers who tried to launch ‘color revolutions”, Pakistan has been facing the same situation for the last two years. There are so many similarities between Pakistan and Azerbaijan when anybody reviews the treatment of the Western world, particularly Western media.
As mentioned by President Ilham Aliyev the Western world injected funding among social and political groups in the past to destabilize Azerbaijan, Pakistan is facing the same situation and the ‘foreign funding case’ exposed huge foreign funding to a particular party in the last 10 years.
The question is why is this with both countries? The answer is simple both the countries wish to live independently and wish to have independent foreign policy based on a multipolar world instead of accepting the hegemony of foreign powers.
Shazia Anwer Cheema is a Prague-based author, analyst, and freelance writer whose articles appear in international media outlets. She did her M.Phil in Cognitive Semiotics from Aarhus University Denmark and is completing her Ph.D. in Semiotics and Philosophy of Communication at Charles University Prague.
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