War mongers
On 29 September 2016, Indian military claimed to conduct surgical strikes along the Line of Control (LoC) which took lives of three Pakistani soldiers as reported by the Indian Express
As history suggests Pakistan and India have an unusual relationship which oscillates between a peace hiatus and discord continuity. Tensions between the two neighbours are increasing in light of recent events, from the ongoing violent protests in Kashmir to the attack on a military base in Uri that catalysed the current escalation, creating a war-like situation in both the countries.
The terror attack came a few days before Nawaz Sharif’s address to the General Assembly of United Nations Organisation on 21 September 2016 in which he highlighted Indian atrocities in the occupied valley.
Recently, another attempt from the India further heightened tensions between Indo-Pak as they intentionally pulled themselves out of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) summit 2016 resulting in the Pakistan foreign office cancelling it.
Moreover, India’s act to unilaterally separate itself from the Indus Water treaty signed in 1960 accelerated the grievances between the two nations.
On 29 September 2016, Indian military claimed to conduct surgical strikes along the Line of Control (LoC) which took lives of three Pakistani soldiers as reported by the Indian Express. Director General of Military Operations (DGMO) Lt Gen Ranbir Singh said, “We don’t have a plan to further conduct such strikes. India has spoken to Pakistan.”
To which the Pakistani media military wing, Inter Services Public Relations (ISPR), said that this was ‘to create media hype by re-branding, cross-border fire as surgical strike is a fabrication of the truth.’ ISPR further added that no communication about this was made beforehand.
Amid ongoing tensions, it can be seen that the media caused more problems than they did good.
The representation from the media of both the sides has tended towards aggravating rather than resolving issues.
The Indian media were being accused of spreading anti-Pakistan propaganda and not presenting an unbiased narrative of the situation. Both the Indian and Pakistani media are seen promoting their own agenda, according to their own self-interest.
Similarly, it can be said that ‘media’ is a collective noun and that there are many different points of views projected in a ‘free media’. The coverage of the ongoing events showcase that undue advantage of freedom of speech has been taken, violating media ethics.
Senior journalist and anchorperson Iftikhar Ahmed while talking to DNA said that the media from both the sides need to work hard and get their facts right before reporting a war-like situation. The unnecessarily biased hype created will effectively brainwash each group to dislike/hate the other.
“Elements of maturity will be shown once the media from both sides does its research,” he said.
“Relying on statements from Director General (DG) ISPR or Director General of Military Operations won’t be enough, the journalists, reporters need to get the facts right as well a part of their ethical duty.”
All aspects of a country, directly or indirectly, are affected by the political process and therefore are relevant to the media. Thus, there seems to be a relationship between the government and the media in reporting and commenting on the ongoing tensions with the media largely endorsing the state’s perceptions at any given time, but also influencing it in determining these perceptions. Therefore, the media on both the sides plays an important and influential role in building the political and diplomatic discourse.
According to a journalist, Abdullah Jan, “There is no application of mind and the media, despite reporting the event, does not realise the seriousness of a possible nuclear war.”
When there is a sudden change in policy or when there is a war-like situation, the media tend to be supportive of its government in making such changes.
Ahmed said, “Media in both the countries should act responsibly.”
Both are nuclear nations and if the media keeps escalating the matter and sensationalising it, things could get out of hand.
“In case any miscalculation happens, there is going to be mass destruction; millions and millions of people are going to die. In order to avoid that media needs to act maturely.”
While talking to DNA, Dean of Arts and Social Sciences, Dr Iqbal Chawla said that 80 per cent of the media in Pakistan have been playing a more responsible role in reporting the Pak-India tensions as compared to the Indian media.
“The way Indian media has been reporting the events, there seems to be a strong stance they have taken as they blame Pakistan for the attacks, Uri attack for instance,” he said.
Not only that, Iqbal elaborated that while reporting the uprisings in Kashmir the Indian media has been reporting in such a way that their main objective now is to destroy Pakistan. But when it comes to Pakistani media reporting it, it can be seen that this side of the media wanted to save people and was performing its duty for the greater good. However, this does not mean that Indian media does not have the right to an opinion.
Chawla continued, “Indian media has the right to hold an opinion, but it should be done with responsibility as the people reporting are well-educated and need to follow their ethical duties.”
Iqbal Chawla was of the opinion the surgical strike event shouldn’t scare the people and that the media should continue to play a responsible role that Pakistani media has been playing.
“We shouldn’t play their tune, India is trying to provoke us but we should not be provoked,” he said.
It can be said that there is no independent reporting from both sides of the media and that it has been following the state media policy.
According to a journalist, Abdullah Jan, “There is no application of mind and the media, despite reporting the event, does not realise the seriousness of a possible nuclear war.”
“Media should also take into consideration that the public looks up to them for information, which is why it is their duty to be well educated on the issue and should use the right terminology while reporting,” he added.
Therefore, the responsibility of the media, in this case, is to realise the seriousness of the issue, the possibility of a war that will cause mass destruction needs to be taken into account as it involves millions of people. The Pak-Indo media needs to realise that the reporting of such a sensitive issue is can cause ethical dilemmas. Thus the media people need to be trained in a way to talk about such issues and that sensationalism of such an issue is not a solution rather a problem on its own.