Pakistan has problems with the way it has been depicted as a military-dominated, terrorist-infested hellhole in the American television drama “Homeland”. The Emmy Award winning drama, a weekly hour of each episode watched by millions concluded its session final this weekend. It centres on the adventures of an unstable but stubborn and courageous female CIA operative who goes to Islamabad as the station chief in the fourth session of the drama (the first three were set in the middle east), to hunt down terrorists. The 13 episodes in the fourth season were loosely based on real-life incidents, including references to the US nailing of Osama bin Laden in Abbottabad, Raymond Davis shoot out, the Camp Chapman bombing that killed several CIA operatives and other instances reflecting US-Pakistan mistrust. The Pakistan intelligence agency ISI is shown as a devious, double-dealing entity whose fostering of terrorist groups costs American lives, including from the bombing of the US embassy in Islamabad that results in the rupturing of ties between the two countries. In reality though, US officials have directly accused Pakistan of fostering terror groups, a policy that has been well-chronicled and well-established over the years, just as Pakistan’s constant denial of facts has led to it being dubbed ‘Denialistan’. In fact, hundreds of reader comments in response to reports of Pakistani protests on the serial ridiculed the country, pointing out that Osama bin Laden was found hiding there. Even Pakistan’s own liberal, progressive commentators are shaming the country’s establishment for its un-ending spin of conspiracy theories and self-deception. Surveys and polls have also shown that contrary to Hotiani’s assertion that Pakistanis embrace American values, they are virtually anti-American. David Nevins, President of Showtime network that produced the drama, has said the series won’t be set in Pakistan when it returns for session five.
Posted on: Sat, 03 Jan 2015 14:52:26 +0000
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