Indian journalists visit Jang, Geo offices
Karachi: The 14 Indian journalists visiting Pakistan on an exchange programme paid a visit to the offices of Jang group on Monday where they talked at length with their Pakistani counterparts about the scenario of media in both the countries.
The visiting journalists were particularly interested in jingoism and nationalism, claiming it has prevented objectivity when it comes to reporting issues related to the Line of Control or Kashmir.
“We feel that the general perception of Indian media in Pakistan is that it is jingoistic,” said Gurbir Singh, the Mumbai Press Club president. “Do the media in Pakistan face the same sort of restrictions when it comes to talking about sensitive issues?”
Ghazi Salahuddin, columnist and senior analyst, was of the view that there were some problems in both countries, but Aman ki Asha had proven helpful to a great extent. “One has to be mindful, it is a balancing trick.”
Amir Zia, the editor of The News International, believed the press in Pakistan was vibrant. “We are very critical of the establishment. So there is always a counter narrative even when it comes to issues like Kashmir,” he said.
Amir Latif, the Karachi Press Club secretary, called upon the governments of both countries to relax visa restrictions for common men and especially journalists. “The current restriction of placing only two correspondents in Delhi and Islamabad alone is ridiculous.”
Jyoti Punwani, a Mumbai-based journalist, shared that in India they felt that Pakistani minorities were not protected. “But when we met the minority [community members] in Karachi, they told us they were happy.”
Nazir Leghari, the editor of Jang, claimed that apart from a few major incidents like the Peshawar church blast, Pakistanis were generally tolerant. “Extremists are present in both countries. We have our share,” he said. “I celebrated Diwali at Mithi, where the largest population of Hindus lives. Many Muslims joined the celebrations but things like these are not highlighted.”
Punwani asked if extremists like Bal Thackeray made it to the news often. To which Zia replied: “They did a decade ago. But they are not an issue anymore. A good example is in the elections this year where India was not highlighted much.”
The visitors also asked questions related to the future of the print media. Both sides agreed that the younger generation had begun to read the papers online, and this was where the print media was heading.
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