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The effects of terrorism on Pakistan’s media

The threat of terrorism has been severely affecting the lives of the people of Pakistan since it first fully surfaced in 2003. Acts of terrorism have claimed the lives of hundreds of citizens, many of whom were journalists killed in the exercise of their profession.

The risks faced by Pakistani journalists, especially those covering incidents of terrorism and those reporting from areas where insurgency has erupted, are far greater today than in the past.

The widespread apathy of media organisations and government authorities in providing proper training opportunities for journalists is not helping matters either. 

Amid this situation, Pakistani journalists and media professionals are facing frequent criticism for their sensationalist coverage of incidents of terrorism. In the absence of any code of ethics however, reporting news related to terrorism and extremism becomes a challenge. 

Insecure environment

Pakistani journalists are working in one of the world’s most insecure and hostile environments. The threat to Pakistani journalists is manifold especially in the volatile areas of Pakistan’s Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province.

In a typical incident of terrorism, tribal journalist Nasrullah Afridi lost his life last May 10, 2011. Afridi had been receiving death threats from militants since 2007 and had escaped many murder attempts in the past.

Another assassination took place earlier this week, when the dead body of Syed Saleem Shahzad, Pakistan Bureau Chief for the online service Asia Times Online, was recovered on Tuesday in Mandi Bahauddin, nearly 130 km from the capital city Islamabad. Shahzad had gone missing in Islamabad on Sunday evening, two days after publishing a story about Al-Qaeda’s attack on Pakistan’s naval air station.

The situation has become so critical for Pakistani journalists that press clubs, which were used as meeting points for journalists, are no longer considered to be safe. As a point at hand, the Peshawar Press Club situated in the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province (earlier known as North West Frontier Province) was hit by a suicide bomber in December 2009.

Press clubs are now under a tight security watch and many events, such as the annual elections of the Lahore Press Club, are now organised at different venues, due to security concerns.

In the recent past, a number of media organisations have had to evacuate their offices after receiving bomb threats. Fortunately, these threats turned out to be mere hoaxes, but one cannot ignore the psychological impact that such pranks can have, especially taking into consideration the deteriorating law and order situation in the country.

In January 2010 my colleagues and I were forced to rush out in sheer panic when an unknown caller called our media office and threatened that a bomb was planted somewhere in the building.

Bomb attack on public bus in Karachi, Pakistan, August 24, 2008
(photo credit: [sic!]ut.at, Flickr, some rights reserved)

Today, besides government offices, head offices of multinational companies, foreign restaurant chains, hotels, and almost every media house, are operating under tight security.

Pakistani journalists, especially those working in electronic media, are becoming more exposed to threats because of the competitive race among media houses to publish the latest news.

A cameraman of Pakistan’s ARY news channel was killed and several journalists were injured when several blasts hit the motorcade of Pakistan’s former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto during her homecoming parade in the country’s largest city, Karachi.

Over the years professional bodies representing journalists have been demanding for more safety, especially for those reporting from conflict zones. In the province of Balochistan, aside from the threat of terrorism, armed separatist movements have made the environment even more dangerous for journalists.

Lack of training opportunities in covering terrorism

It is regrettable that journalists over the years have not been able to receive proper training in reporting terrorism related issues, neither by media organisations nor government agencies. Sadly, the response of non-governmental organisations (NGOs) has also been quite dismal in this regard.

The worsening situation has been recognised by foreign journalists and they too are demanding necessary training for Pakistani journalists covering the ongoing wave of terrorism. 

Press Freedom in Pakistan 2010, RNTC Media training centre, Radio Netherlands International

Except in some big media houses, Pakistani journalists are not being provided health and life insurance coverage despite repeated demands of the Pakistan Federal Union of Journalists (PFUJ).

However, as per latest development, the Pakistani government has assured that measures will be taken to improve the working conditions of the vulnerable community of journalists. Some of the recently promised measures include the introduction of life insurance and the establishment of an endowment fund for journalists. The money from the proposed endowment fund could be used to ensure the welfare and training of Pakistani journalists.

Ihsan Dawar is a journalist at the North Waziristan Agency (NWA) in the Mir Ali area, which falls under the Federally Administered Tribal Area. Dawar, who is also the president of the Tribal Union of Journalists (TUJ) of NWA, is critical about the role of media organisations, the government and NGOs with regards to the protection and welfare of journalists working in conflict zones.

“Journalists are under regular threat for their lives, kidnapping and blasts near or even at home in conflict areas like NWA, but sadly nothing concrete has been done for the safety and welfare of the tribal journalists”, Dawar says, adding that many journalists have migrated from FATA to settled areas such as Peshawar, Dera Ismail Khan, Bannu and Islamabad.

Dawar calls for a comprehensive survey of the situation and long term training of journalists covering issues related to terrorism. 

Ihsan Dawar, president of the Tribal Union of Journalists (TUJ), is critical about the role of media organisations, the Pakistani government and NGOs with regards to the protection and welfare of journalists working in conflict zones

Debate on code of ethics

Despite the peril to their lives, Pakistani journalists and the media are often accused of glorifying terrorists in their coverage of terrorism and extremist related incidents. Digital media platforms in particular are blamed for playing an irresponsible role.

This has led to a heated debate among Pakistani journalists, parliamentarians as well common people about the need for a proper code of conduct for media and journalists in Pakistan. 

Pakistan’s Federal Union of Journalists, the highest professional body for Pakistani journalists working in print and electronic media, has also recognised the urgency of the matter and has, by and large, adopted a self designed policy in this regard.
Media professionals from different electronic media houses gathered in November 2009 in Pakistan’s capital Islamabad and agreed to regulate the coverage of terrorism related incidents after television news stations broadcasted images of mutilated and dead bodies at the site of terrorist attacks.

Since then media organisations especially electronic media houses have been more cautious in covering news related to terrorism though many of the small newspapers still publish photographs showing mutilated corpses.

This aspect highlights the need for training in order to avoid sensationalism in the coverage of terrorism related issues. 

One can hope that with the increasing focus on the need of special training programmes and the adoption of proper safety measures for Pakistani journalists will bring about a positive change in the coverage of terrorism related news.

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