When the international media comes out with a story that affects present day decision making, they sensationalize it. The same was done with the latest Wikileaks ‘leak’ called the Afghan War Diary. The Afghan War Diary 2004-2010 brought about strong actions and reactions from across the world. The so called ‘leak’ exposed the ‘reality’ of the Afghan War in over 90000 documents collected from journalists from all over the world. The report made some shocking revelations into the frail war being fought by the Americans in Kabul and shed light on some secrets that the White House and the Pentagon obviously wanted covered.

There were certain approaches to the Wikileaks report that were clearly visible in the Pakistani media. The Pakistani newspapers in weeks after the leak took a varied stance on the legitimacy of the whistleblower site and its founder Julian Assange. They agreed with reports of American forces having killed many more than were actually reported and the total death count due to the drone attacks being much higher than was recorded. “The revelations provided by Wikileaks” said Rafia Zakaria in ‘The Dawn’, “could well destroy the myth that American forces kill only the definitely evil and rarely take an innocent life.”  However they denied all reports in the Afghan War Diary that the ISI had strong links with the Taliban and that it was further strengthening these links. The Pakistani support for what seems in their words, “their strongest institution”, was a view that was shared across newspapers and journals. 

Zakaria states that, “the American media has done little to expose the grim realities of a war where mistakes cost civilian lives. With media coverage largely devoted to stories of soldiers distributing coats, building schools and digging wells, the revelations provided by Wikileaks could well destroy the myth that American forces kill only the definitively evil and rarely take an innocent life.” He also further attacked the Americans referring to the ‘height of ignorance’ of the region in which they were engaging in one of the most costly wars of all times. With the White House remaining defensive, ‘the Dawn’ alleges that they are simply pointing fingers at the Wikileaks founder, Julian Assange.

Newspapers such as ‘the Nation’ claim that “the leakage of the classified documents concerning US war effort in Afghanistan, at a time when the relations between US and Pakistan have attained new strategic heights and the latter has been showing strong commitment to the war on terror- also repeatedly acknowledged by the US administration; unravels the most sordid aspect of the alliance.”  

‘The Nation’ even ran an article in which was written, “Wikileaks are a hot topic for discussion these days, with Pakistan playing the role for the ultimate whipping boy and ISI as the target of all and sundry from 10 Downing Street to the Rashtrapati Bhawan.” There was much upsetting and angry feelings towards the leak since it came apparently at a time when Pakistan was exhibiting “unfaltering commitment to the cause of war on terrorism” and had “taken an unambiguous stance on the issue.” An article in ‘the Nation’ even dared to question: “Why Pakistan has paid such a heavy price? To endure the humiliation of being dubbed as a double dealer! Certainly not.”

Pakistan seems to take on the rest of the world when it comes to stating the relationship, if any, between the ISI and the Taliban. With the US in a precarious position when it comes to the war, besides denying all reports from various agencies across the globe proving ties between the two groups, Pakistan calls the Wikileaks report, “the most controversial allegation;” something that seems obvious to the rest of us.

The Foreign Office spokesman in Pakistan claims it, “childish to allege that Pakistan’s government and spy agencies are pushing Taliban against American-led NATO forces.” The office further claimed the Afghan War Diary ‘baseless’ and that “the war knew well about the services and sacrifices given by people and army of Pakistan in war against terrorism.”

‘The Dawn’ mocked the United States that they would soon forget about the report and that the government would simply deny it and cover it up. They stated that, “the dwindling American attention span that is constantly assaulted by ‘essential’ issues…the question posed by the details of a disastrous war could easily be forgotten.” This is what was the much awaited American wake up call for American citizens and the Pakistani media seemed to appeal to them to take notice of the harsh realities of the war they think they are fighting in the name of national security.

Little do the Pakistani media realize that they are doing the exact same thing with the reports of their ‘strongest institution’, the ISI. They therefore need to understand that they can either accept the Wikileaks report for what it is, or deny the entire thing and the government can render it baseless. However by being compliant with some part and rejecting the other part, they are showing the rest of the world that they either have something to hide, or that they are simply put- ‘very’ confused.