Participants of a panel discussion at International Islamic University (IIU) have stressed upon establishing an authentic platform of Arabic language keeping in view the news and digital media to portray the true image of Pakistan in Arab countries. The discussion on the topic of “Digital Media in Pakistan: Challenges, opportunities, and strengthening Pakistan’s relations with Arab countries” was jointly organized by the Department of Protocol and Public relations (P&PR) of IIU and Pakistan Institute of Arabic, at the Faisal Masjid campus of the university.
The participants called upon academia to closely work with digital media experts to educate youth on use of social media for positive change in the society. They also suggested that legislative quarters must be urged to establish an official Arabic language platform for news and digital media.
Sharing his thoughts, Dr. Talha Kashmiri , Head of Pakistan Institute of Arabic said that increasing polarization in the digital media landscape is alarming. He said rigidity has swallowed the ethics of difference of opinion. He opined that there is a dire need that people with a sane approach must come forward and play their role in promoting facts instead of hate speech, radicalization and uncertainty. Dr. Talha called for an official platform to be a bridge between Pakistan and Arab countries to manage the flow of accurate and factual news instead of relying upon foreign newswires. He also suggested Pakistan and Arab counters must collaborate in this regard and learn from experiences of each other through mutual cooperation.
Senior journalist and digital media expert Sabookh Syed said on the occasion that knowing the digital media propaganda and tackling it with a positive approach is an art. He also elaborated the terms of misinformation, disinformation and fake news. He also apprised the participants about response to defamatory content such as its frequency and duration. He said there is a need to know the lens of the world, adding that we must know the priorities of the developed world that also can be acceptable according to our values. He also underscored the role of Arab countries specially Saudi Arabia in Pakistani development. He shared his experiences and results of positive social media campaigns in the society.
In his remarks on the occasion, Incharge Protocol and Public Relations, Nasir Farid said that academia and senior digital media experts must come forward to work for the cause of image building of Pakistan. He said the Arab world and Pakistan have a strong connection and Pakistan has time tested ties with the Arab nations but there are few elements who want to dent these relations through negative propaganda on digital media. He called for promotion of social media ethics and formulation of policy to deal with negative elements on digital media.
Senior Arabic language journalist Abdul Rehman Hayat, Assistant Directors (P&PR) Al-Hassan and Muhammad Nauman and students of the university also shared their thoughts on the topic.