Toxic radio

Once again, broadcast radio has reared its head as a tool of hatred being used to instill fear into a minority community. This has happened before, when in the run-up to the Taliban’s takeover of the Swat valley, the atmosphere was infamously poisoned by a radio station under their control, spewing hatred against sectarian minorities. They were adept at manipulating the minds of those who listened to the radio station, which led a mysteriously peripatetic existence, moving from location to location in order to stay ‘on air’. No such mobility is required of an FM station that has been broadcasting to the Chitral valley, where a religious channel, licenced by Pemra, has been pushing poison into the ears of its listeners.

The activities of the FM station came to light after the Supreme Court took suo-motu notice of the serious threats that had been made by militants to the Kalash community. The secretary to the commissioner of Malakand division submitted a report to the Court that drew attention to the provocative speeches on the FM channel that was then warned to broadcast only pre-recorded material and not live discussions. Two issues stand out — one is the safety and security of the Kalash, the tiniest of religious minorities, and the second is the power of radio as a medium that reaches the farthest corners of the land and is open to being abused as much as television — if not more so. The Kalash are a threat to nobody, yet are under constant threat themselves. They are part of our cultural heritage, and must be preserved and protected. The Malakand commissioner has sought to reassure them that this is the case, and it is to be hoped his actions speak as loudly as his words. The FM station has not been shut down, only directed as to the content of its broadcasts. There is nothing to stop the owner from flouting those directives, or any other operator of a radio station from disseminating hatred and fear. The power of radio as a medium should never be under-estimated, neither should be the power of those that misuse it.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 15^th, 2014.

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