Pakistani Dawn TV reporter gathering soundbites and footage at the Kabul Conference. Photo: Jeppe Matzen/IMS

Although Pakistan and Afghanistan have interwoven pasts with strong cultural and economic ties, the media relations between the two neighbouring nations are surprisingly scarce. Report from Kabul, where media professionals from the two countries met to bridge the gap

By Jeppe Matzen, Kabul

At present, the leading TV-channels and newspapers in Pakistan and Afghanistan do not have correspondents in the capital across the border, and coverage of events of grave importance to the public in both countries mostly rely on international news services. The coverage of developments on the other side of the border therefore often lacks details and human interests stories, and tend to enforce a discourse that hinged on security policy and regional political agendas.

This formed the background for the conference held in Kabul in February, when 40 editors, journalists and other media professionals from Afghanistan and Pakistan met to discuss joint intiatives for collaboration.

Misconceptions

Truth is always the first victim of war. This goes for journalism as well. And even if the journalists in both countries do a great job in trying to unravel the Pandora box of propaganda and misinformation that originates from the war-faring parties of the region, they too are influenced by patriotism, political myths and lack of access to information. Myths and misconceptions about the next-door neighbour are present in the population in both Pakistan and Afghanistan. After all, the present government of Afghanistan does have its roots with the Northern Alliance that for many years fought a Pakistani-backed Taliban enemy.

Although the two countries have now moved, some of the old animosities or painted perceptions still linger on among the public, and even with the media, of Pakistan and Afghanistan. The only way to overcome these is through stronger relations between the media of both countries and improved bilateral media coverage.

- Certainly there are problems. Certainly we need peace in this region. We need security and development. People need basic requirements. In all these situations, the role of media, especially in this region, is very important, says Mr. Muhammad Riaz Khan of Associated Press, Peshawar.

Shouldn't be left to governmets alone

The editor of Kabul Times, Mr Abdul Haq Waleh backs him up:

- I think, that this people-to-people link and contact between the professional journalists communities and other areas of life will give better results in terms of improved relations. If we just leave it to the government of our countries, then there are certainly ups and downs in their statements and their political attitude towards each other, which ultimately effect very badly the cultural and historical links between the two people.

The conference in Kabul was the first step in the three-year IMS-program that aims at overcoming the media gap by strengthening the working relationship and cooperation between journalists, editors and media organizations across the border. IMS’s partners, The Killid Group (TKG) and Pak Institute for Peace Studies (PIPS), will in the course of  the next three years facilitate co-productions between media in the two countries, and thereby create bi-national media relations and set a new trend for improved cross-border coverage.