Taliban sets new media trends

The killing of Baitullah has made Taliban new chief Hakeemullah Mehsud celebrity of the local and international media. Hardly any Pakistani or Indian film star has achieved such fame and projection overnight as this young Mehsud has hit headlines during the last few weeks. Even he has left far behind his late mentor Baitullah in fame and is being glorified as a legendary guerrilla leader.

A German magazine has termed Hakeemullah 'charismatic, emotional and brutal.' Online edition of a British media organisation wrote about Hakeemullah’s spectacular 'driving skill, ability to handle AK-47 rifle, aggressiveness and cheeky smile.'

Another newspaper said that Hakeemullah was commanding 8,000 fighters operating in Kurram, Orakzai and Khyber tribal regions while his predecessor had some 30,000 armed supporters in South Waziristan. But it did not specify how and where this accurate data was obtained. An Indian writer has mentioned the same figures in his article published in Daily Mirror.

Controversy prevails in media about Hakeemullah’s name and age. He is carrying three different names in media: Zulfiqar, Jamshed and Hakeemullah. Which of these names is real, nobody knows.

Hakeemullah introduced himself to the media when a group of journalists from Peshawar and Islamabad was facilitated to visit his base in Orakzai tribal region in November last.

During interaction with the media he (Hakeemullah) demonstrated his firing and driving skills. His firing skill highly impressed media corps.

But, he has no experience of guerrilla warfare in Afghanistan, a tough battle ground for the ‘holy warriors’. He has been credited for making some 300 soldiers hostage in South Waziristan and disrupting supplies for Nato forces in Afghanistan.

History only will reveal the truth about the hostage taking or other spoils of Hakimullah. Like late Commanders Nek Mohammad and Baitullah, Hakimullah has also a passion for media. Nek and Baitullah had paid heavy prices for regular interactions with media by telephone.

Stories about Hakeemullah show the level of sensationalism in print and electronic media. War on terror has set new trends in media. Monetary benefits and sensationalism have become dominated factors in journalism during the last few years which have largely affected accuracy of news. Stories are created for monetary benefits.

For example, a freelance journalist was arrested making a fake documentary on Taliban for a foreign TV channel in Balochistan in 2004.

Attribution of quotes in stories related with war on terror to so-called unnamed intelligence and official sources is another phenomenon in media. Deepening nexus between militants and journalists has affected quality of reporting.

A journalist showing his close association with militants recently wrote that a militant spokesman regularly approached him when he needed contact numbers of other journalists or even some militant commanders.

Journalists don’t have obsession for reporting on social, economic, judicial or investigative stories.

For instance of total 250 members of the Peshawar Press Club hardly two or three journalists have know-how about commerce and economic reporting. Only five or six reporters know court reporting while few journalists may have understanding about parliamentary reporting. But every third journalist has full command and authority on terrorism and militancy. Situation at district and tribal agencies level is more alarming.

A senior journalist once said that Afghanistan was like the elungar of Ajmair Sharife for journalists. Coverage of Afghan war at that time did not require accuracy, verification or confirmation of events. Whatever journalists wanted to report, they did.

Most of the stories reported on Afghan issue and Al Qaeda were based on hearsay only because there was no telecommunication facilities at that time.

For example after 9/11 media had portrayed Tora Bora as huge caves complex comprising conference halls, networks of tunnels, power generation system, boarding facilities for Al Qaeda fighters and special accommodation for Osama bin Laden etc.

International and well reputed magazines published cover stories with diagrams about the so-called caves complex. Similarly a foreign newspaper had reported that Osama bin Laden had been provided shelter by a tribal chieftain in the Pakistani tribal area who had 600,000 fighters.

During a training workshop organised by a German organisation for journalists in Bali, Indonesia in 2006 (this correspondent also participated) an expert on terrorism based in Singapore said that Al Qaeda had arranged PhD classes in Tora Bora caves complex. He might have read story about caves complex.

But post 9/11 situation has shifted 'Ajmair Sharif’s lungar' from Afghanistan to the tribal area and Frontier province. Majority of the news stories regarding war on terror are based on single source.

For instance, two days ago on the first day of operation ‘Here I Come Again’ in Bara, Khyber tribal region media quoted the political agent concerned that 40 militants were killed in one day.

The newspapers and TV channels reported the same figures without confirmation from independent sources or local people.

Amazingly press clubs and journalist unions have also become oblivious to their responsibilities to prepare a code of conduct and ethics for working journalists to curb sensationalism in print and electronic media.

The dilemma is that media correspondents particularly from the districts and tribal agencies simultaneously contribute to more than one organisation.

Media outlets are racing after breaking news. Resultantly, the concept of confirmation and accuracy of news or an event from independent sources has almost vanished.