Media besieged by Taliban in Pakistan

By Zafar Iqbal

Throughout the sixty one years troubled history of Pakistan, the situation of media
freedom in Pakistan has never been beyond criticism and particularly under military
regimes media has faced a harsh dealing from its dissidents.

Of late, the situation of press freedom has undergone colossal deterioration. As per recent
global survey about political rights and civil liberties, Pakistan was ranked as ‘Partly
Free’ and ‘Not Free’ in the 2009 version of Freedom of the Press.

The latest inroads on media in the country have certainly worsened circumstances for
local press to play its role freely and impartially. The world media watchdog Reporters
without Borders in its latest fact finding report has said that in a wake of ongoing political
and social mess-up in Pakistan, the northwestern region of the country has become one
of the most precarious zones for working journalists.

In Swat, journalists have paid a heavy price for performance of their professional duties
in a conflict-ridden valley, which has attained extraordinary global media attention due to
on- going war between Pakistani security forces and local hardcore Taliban after alleged
infringement of a peace accord by later, in which Sharia (religious law) was enforced
officially in Swat Valley and its adjacent areas.

The Taliban’s attitude towards media in Swat valley poses alarming threat and terror to
Pakistani journalists. A climate of fear and self-censorship has turned this valley into one
of world’s most dangerous places for journalists. Unquestionably, the prominent reason
behind rising violence against already throttled media in Swat is alarming surge in the
Taliban movement who used every possible instrument of torture and terror to gag
independent and liberal voice of media including the abduction and killing of journalists,
coercion and use of traditional propaganda techniques .

Plainly, the Swat valley has become a ‘no go area for press.’ Besides, the media has also
been stopped by the state authorities to cover the recent military operations in Swat and
neighboring areas. In other words, Pakistan’s newly opened war-front, contrary to the
accepted norms of media coverage, is out of reach of the independent media.

During the complete ‘blackout of information’, claims of losses from both sides could not
be verified from independent sources.

The prevailing situation demands free access of media to war zone, therefore, Swat based
media organizations have justly demanded that media should be allowed access to cover
damages to civilian life by the conflict.

In the devastated valley of Swat, like other parts of Pakistan, the cable network was the
only source of information and entertainment for poor and middle class viewers to access,

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but the Taliban barred cable transmission in Swat, considering it a ‘weapon of infidels to
pollute the minds of believers’.

The Taliban have also circulated their own DVDs and CDs in which their collaborators
and companions were shown and glorified in killing and lashing their opponents.

In April 2009, local group of Taliban in Swat warned media to face disastrous corollary, if
it did not project them positively and asked journalists end their ‘propaganda’ against
Taliban’.

Taliban also warned journalists that they would approach Sharia courts if media refused
to follow their guidelines in such matters. Local Taliban commanders were furious at
journalists that they were taking side of government authorities which, they thought were
‘playing in the hands of West and the US by supporting ‘war on terror’.

Unbelievably, the media has no other option but to absolutely comply with the Taliban
orders as the Taliban has already established vigorously they can go beyond every limit
and can have recourse to use any tactics to realize their ambitions in order to show their
powers.

This atmosphere of terror and intimidation caused by the Taliban against media has led to
self-censorship in Swat. Media has been forcibly advised by the Taliban to portray their
positive impression in the public, though; the slaughter of opponents have always been
considered an un –Islamic act and contrary to local norms in a Muslim countries like
Pakistan.

A section of local media is annoyed against such kind of handling of Taliban against
their opponents and ‘traitors’.

“We may not dare to refute or criticize Taliban’s brutalities in our text messages even’,
laments Saeed- ur- Rehman, a journalist working for an Urdu Daily, which shifted its
publication from Swat to Islamabad after attacks of bombs at his offices.

‘Nobody can imagine how local journalists have been trying to perform their professional
assignments under permanent threats and intimidation of Taliban in Swat’, Rehman says.

Before the surge in Talibanization in Swat, six local dailies were catering to the need of
1.2 million population of Swat. Now, they all are either closed or have been shifted to
cities of Peshawar and Islamabad. The owners of ‘migrated’ newspapers complain that
due to curfew and fight their papers were not being sent to the readers regularly.

The distribution of newspapers being published elsewhere in the country and from Swat
has been stopped owing to clashes between Taliban and Pakistani forces.

A large number of journalists have migrated to Mardan, Peshawar and Islamabad facing
life threats, intimidation and fear like other internally displaced persons( IDPs).

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In this backdrop, it is possible that the ramifications of violence against media in Swat
may trigger to other areas where some of media workers have already received similar
threats from the Taliban.

In Peshawar, two women journalists of a private television channel were issued threats of
their hair being shaved off if they appeared on the small screen again, discloses an article
appeared in a leading Pakistani English newspaper.

In this situation, one can easily comprehend the scene which Pakistani media might face
in near future if these awful incidents against media are not barred vigorously.

The media, government and other stakeholders must chalk out an urgent strategy to
protect life and liberty of press workers.

Sadly, apart from recent boom of electronic media the working conditions of Pakistani
press do not portray a good picture of Pakistani media. Despite the coercion and
intimidation form intelligence agencies, government officials and non-state actors like the
Taliban , political and ethnic groups, majority of journalists are working in deplorable
circumstances.

Disgracefully low wages, without any on-job training, non-availability of life insurance
and guarantee of continuity of employment are major issues. They also lack required
professional capability of working in conflicts. In this milieu, less equipped and
unfamiliar with safety measures Pakistani journalists are bound to perform their duties in
a volatile and professionally perilous country in an enduring danger.

Both government and media owners must initiate some critical measures for the
protection of journalists and survival of independent press.

All Pakistani media organizations must equip their employees with latest Information
Technology and train them how to work in conflicts and calamities-ridden environment.
NGOs and other capacity building media networks should come forward to arrange
training programs for local journalists to familiarize them with safety essentials required
for coverage of conflicts and war. Dozens of journalists and their families, who, like other
victims of on going military operations in Swat are migrating to other cities, need urgent
help of their employers, Pakistani government and other international humanitarian
agencies. It is responsibility of government of Pakistan to provide security to all
journalists to carry out their professional assignments freely and without any fear in Swat
and in everywhere. Indeed, professionally less equipped, underprivileged and unsafe
media professionals can not fulfill prerequisites of an independent, objective and free
press.

(The writer is a freelance journalist and social activist. He can be accessed at:
zafarjournalist@gmail.com )

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