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JournalismPakistan.com
December 19, 2014
Aamir Saeed
ISLAMABAD: In recent times, social media has become a vibrant platform for many to express outrage and opinion on taboo subjects and different socio-political issues.
Members from civil society and media persons turned to Twitter and Facebook to express their anger against Taliban and other extremist groups after 132 children were massacred Tuesday in an army-run school in Peshawar. The social media activists are also pressuring electronic media to deny airtime to Taliban apologists and extremists like Lal Masjid cleric Maulana Abdul Aziz.
The hashtag #ArrestAbdulAziz is a top trend on Twitter and people are asking the government to arrest him for not condemning the attack on Army Public School by Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan.
The outrage ensued after Maulana Aziz denied condemning the Taliban in an interview on Waqt TV, saying both sides (army and Taliban) are doing wrong.
A petition with the hashtag #NoAirTimeforTaliban has been shared on Twitter and social media geeks are urged to sign it to raise their voice against electronic media in Pakistan.
“Despite more than 130 being shot dead or burnt alive, we saw the Pakistani media giving air time to apologists and supporters like Mullah Aziz of Lal Masjid who refused to outright condemn the brutal murder of our children,” it says.
The petition also says the government must empower Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (PEMRA) to regulate and take action against news channels if they allow supporters of the enemy that the nation is currently fighting a war against to come on television.
“We must stop them from spreading their venom, confusing the nation and hurting the sentiments of the thousands of families who have sacrificed their loved ones in this war,” it says.
“The petition will be given formal shape, forwarded to the government, Ministry of Information, PEMRA and brands that advertize on these TV shows,” tweeted Alena Sadiq, who has apparently started the campaign.
Some top television anchors and media experts also suggested on social media to deny airtime to Taliban apologists and extremists but no one of them expressed the resolve to actually do it on their shows.
“#Media friends (should) deny airtime to preachers of sectarian strife, hate mongers, abusive, terror sympathizers-#UnitedWeStand to #WipeOutTerrorism,” Nadeem Malik, Samaa TV anchor, proposed in one his tweets Friday.
Fareeha Idress, anchorperson for Waqt News, tweeted, “Media should stop their cameras for coverage of those who thought our soldiers were not shaheed and who read namaze janaza of terrorists.”
Indeed, the outrage is justified and suggestions not to give airtime to Taliban is the need of the hour to combat terrorism and extremism. It is hoped the media will play its role in shaping a much-needed powerful narrative against the militants instead of giving them airtime.
(The writer is an Islamabad-based journalist)
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