Obfuscation is an art and we Pakistanis are the uncrowned kings when it comes to its mastery and command. When anything damaging or damning surfaces, we fail to take the facts at face value, rarely break down the facts objectively and apply our critical thinking skills. From the word go, we rely on nonsensical and hollow conspiracy theories, and start obfuscating by either pointing towards something else or using the “hey look at the worse than this” kind of situation, relevant or irrelevant, as a counterargument to satisfy our overly inflated egos. By any stretch of the imagination, I am no Declan Walsh and this publication is Daily Times, not The New York Times. I am an observer, a bystander if you will, who can see, observe and comment. For that matter, in any society, people must have the right to express their views freely. Borrowing from the lines of Urdu poetry legend extraordinaire Faiz, in my very poor and unworthy translation, “Speak; thy lips are free to do so.” In this day and age, when information flows at the speed of light, you cannot tell people to remain silent. If a story alleging some wrongdoing involving a Pakistani IT company has surfaced, either we act like ostriches and bury our heads in the sand or weigh and analyse the information on the basis of facts. Rather than using the usual conspiracy theory of foreign elements trying to malign Pakistan, everyone needs to analyse the facts. The fact that the newspaper is standing by its story and some very pertinent questions stemming from the information available thus far, one has to at least process and analyse the information with an open mind. From what has surfaced thus far, something leaves a sour taste in one’s mouth. Let us assume all of this is a fabrication and a typical ‘western conspiracy’ to malign a “leading IT company”, it is then the investigation and probe that will unearth all the facts. As a company that is about to launch the largest network in our media, it sure seems like the company needs a primer or two in terms of information. In this day and age, you cannot gag people by sending notices and curtailing free speech, especially when it comes to blogs and social media. The people have a right to express their opinion, whether right or wrong, as long as it is only verbal and within the confines of decency. The allegations levelled by The New York Times are quite serious and the information that has surfaced so far, with utter respect to our desi version of Bill Gates, has been depressing. The terms circulating are “media trial” and “seth media”, “colluding with foreign forces to tarnish the good name of a Pakistani business” and so on and so forth. Very simply speaking, the company is about to embark into the cesspool that it considers to be supposedly filled with dubious characters. When you enter a cesspool do not expect showers of fragrance. This argument is quite emotional and the chairman and CEO’s repeated pleas to the people to be cognizant of mothers and sisters of the organisation also make you teary eyed. Whatever I have been able to gather from his utterings, with utter respect to him, has actually diminished his stance even further. Yes, the otherwise sleepy government has initiated a speedy inquiry into this matter, which may raise eyebrows about its promptness but it still does not wash away what the respected chairman and CEO of the upcoming network has said in his company’s defence on live television. His analogy of comparing his company to Google is quite flawed. Google is a search engine used by millions worldwide. All of those millions do not pay Google to use it. Advertisers advertise on Google and it derives its revenues from that source. Granted, some advertisers may or may not be up and up but try googling the terms of service for Google advertising. It clearly states that Google may review content to determine whether it is illegal or violates their policy. The respected chairman and CEO denied all allegations levelled against his company by the foreign journalist and his publication to his employees in a company address. Yet he admitted on the talk show of a famous anchor that his company provides what he called “back office” services to other businesses. He used the term “caveat emptor” (let the buyer beware) in case of the consumer dealing with the business or its products. What perplexed me was that the same rules apply on business as well. As an ethical business, you have to know your customer as well. What business is your customer engaged in and what products or services do they sell? You do not need to be an expert in IT to decipher that. Furthermore, a company that claims to be the world’s leading IT company, which thrives on information, being so oblivious to the basics of general rule of thumb of any business, or for that matter life, just raises logical concerns. Lastly, freedom of information for the benefit of public interest is a universal truth. The media thrives on scandals as it is in the business of increasing its viewership. There will be digging and mudslinging, and it goes both ways. Sometimes it is your turn and at other times it is theirs. It is called freedom of speech and information. If it is bogus you have the opportunity to defend yourself and refute it with clear and convincing evidence. Again, speak; thy lips are not sealed. The writer is a Pakistani-US mortgage banker. He blogs at http://dasghar.blogspot.com and can be reached at dasghar@aol.com. He tweets at http://twitter.com/dasghar