The media should join hands in creating a policy to minimise airtime for the sinister acts of terrorists
ISLAMABAD: This is in response to the editorial entitled “Purpose of terror” published in The Express Tribune on February 5. The editorial has correctly pointed out that the purpose of terror is to scare the civilian population into submitting to the demands of terrorists. The damage inflicted is vastly out of proportion to the severity of the incident. If terrorising one school can lead to closure of all schools in Pakistan, then the terrorists can definitely paralyse our educational system with minimal effort. A crucial missing link in the editorial was the effect of the media. By providing millions of rupees worth of free publicity to all incidents of terrorism, and the incessant harping over tragedies caused, the media is extremely helpful to the terrorists in achieving their goal of scaring the entire civilian population. Media projections lead to grossly exaggerated perceptions of the level of the threat, thereby greatly aiding terrorists in achieving their goals.
Karachi is often labelled in the Western media as the ‘most dangerous city in the world’. But if you were to do a Google search of the top 50 most dangerous cities in the world, you will not find Karachi’s name on the list. The rate of violent crime in Detroit, and Michigan is seven times greater than that in Lahore, Pakistan’s second largest city. The media should join hands in creating a policy to minimise airtime for the sinister acts of terrorists.
Asad Zaman
Published in The Express Tribune, February 12th, 2015.
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