Ugly, bloody, complex and intriguing issues are racing around in Pakistan, each grabbing the attention of the media. For personal reasons, the issue most bothering me is the threat to journalists by terrorist groups. These are not empty threats; Pakistan last year was declared one of the most dangerous countries for journalists. This year, there has already been an attack on the soft-spoken Raza Rumi in which his driver Muhammad Mustafa was killed. I would count even the killing of his driver as the killing of one of us as he took the bullet instead of Raza. That is every enlightened person’s nightmare but terrorists do not care what the collateral damage is. They issued death threats to ardent peace activist Imtiaz Alam last week. This is not the first time: as a warning, his house was fired upon a couple of years ago. Terrorists planted a bomb outside the house of Express TV Peshawar Bureau Chief Jamshed Bhagwan. They also attacked Shahab Khattak of the Awami Workers Party in Peshawar but, luckily, he was saved.
The common thread in these attacks on journalists this year and two deadly attacks last year is that they were all either Express Group employees or journalists working as part-time anchors for its channel. Now these cannot be just a series of co-incidences. Baffled by the attacks and out of concern for its staff, the editor of Express Tribune issued a circular to its employees not to be harsh in their criticism of the Taliban and their political associates like the JI and PTI. I am not sure if such advice was also given to the group’s television anchors. One of the anchors had assured the TTP spokesman that they would be careful in future while reporting or discussing them. All these efforts to appease the fascist forces have not worked. Many journalists, including myself, in private sittings, criticised the circular issued by the Express Tribune editor but, to be fair, one has to concede that their action shows helplessness.
Though it is said that the media is all-powerful, it is too weak to defend itself against physical, violent attacks. Another major group insider told me that they have used some journalists who have good ties with the jihadi groups to buy a truce. Otherwise, they had open threats that their offices would be blown up. Again, all this shows helplessness as the state continues to appease the militants.
One Peshawar television journalist told me that the TTP’s media people are communications savvy. “They even dictate to us that their news should be given as ‘Breaking News’ using the ‘red’ bumper as they know it is of alarming optic value,” she pointed out. “If the focus was on news before, now it is on views,” Mushtaq Minhas, the co-anchor of Bolta Pakistan said. “The Taliban want to dilute the growing state and society narrative against them and want to impose their own narrative.” Minhas claimed that the growing sophistication of the Taliban’s media operations — both in terms of putting out their own message and closely monitoring the electronic and print media in Urdu, English and regional languages — has meant that the Taliban are alert to growing public and media criticism of the TTP and the possibility of an impending military response by the state against the TTP.
The terrorists have categorised the journalists who are ideologically against them. “Murjif is someone who engages in propaganda against Muslims during a war between Islam and disbelief,” explains Sheikh Khalid Haqqani, deputy chief of the banned TTP and one of the main authors of the fatwa against journalists. “Muqatil is someone who incites disbelievers and their allies to act against Muslims, while the third category includes those who corrupt Muslim society through different means such as replacing Islamic ideology with secular ideologies,” he pronounced.
Why are these militant groups so concerned about what the media says? It is obvious that they want each terrorist activity to be amplified through the media so that they can terrorise the people of Pakistan. This is not a peculiar tactic of Islamist militants and is also not specific to Pakistan alone. Such extremist fascist groups resort to terrorist activities because they cannot win over the people’s support by using rationale arguments. Recently, in a congratulation message to the new JI amir Maulana Sirajul Haq, a leading TTP leader said that the only way to impose sharia is through armed jihad and not democracy.
This shows their ideological weakness. Another weakness of the jihadi desperadoes is that they are out of tune with 21st century values and are fighting a losing war against the march of progress. Their fascist ideology cannot silence the journalists who are enlightened and want the people to progress, not regress. History has shown that no ideology could sustain itself on coercion.
Thus, the issue before journalists is whether to abet with the terrorists by amplifying their messages or censor them prudently. At present, there is no consensus on this open issue. Some of the footage and coverage glorifies the terrorists. We have seen the media airing and publishing statements of terrorist mentors and spokespersons’ threats given to democratic forces. Even the announcement of head money for killing an alleged blasphemer is given publicity, which amounts to abetting in murder.
A question can be raised here: is it not the media’s job to inform the people and present all points of views? Agreed, but in the name of so-called balanced journalism is the media not giving too much time and space to those who do not believe in the democratic value of freedom of expression? Is it not true that the media boycotts assembly sessions and press conferences for much smaller grievances than their colleagues being killed? The media today is harsher on sitting governments, elected politicians, agencies and the military, but many are trying to appease those who hold a gun to its head. Tragic, but true!
Journalist associations should take the lead as journalists are the one who have always struggled for freedom of expression, not the media owners who have succumbed to much less pressures. How will the fractured media organisations rise to censor terrorist organisations without compromising the journalist code of ethics? Let us hope they do – the journalist’s only weapon against blazing guns and bombs is his/her pen and the power to decide which messages should go out.
The writer is the author of What’s Wrong with Pakistan? He can be reached at [email protected]