Pak govt to reorient its media to not glorify terrorists or their terror acts

Islamabad, Sept 26 : The Pakistan Government is said to be planning a reorientation programme for the print as well as electronic media to encourage them to avoid publishing, airing or telecasting reports glorifying the acts of terror or those behind them.

A request to the media would be made to conduct an exercise on its own to see how to discourage reporting and comments that glorify terrorists and portray them as heroes, said Farhatullah Babar, the official PPP spokesman.

"Of course the media needs to be careful as far as glorification of the terrorist and the harassment of people by reporting and commentaries is concerned," he added.

Some quarters of the government have been suggesting that a clampdown on certain sections of the media that "refuse to listen to reason" in this connection be planned. "However, the saner element in the government prevailed and sought permission of the president and the prime minister to first launch an in-house exercise by print and electronic media and ensure that such reporting and commentaries are avoided," The News quoted Babar as saying.

Besides, according to the paper, the federal government also plans to step up information and prevention of the extortions made on behalf of the terrorist outfits like the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan and others.

In Karachi, Lahore, Rawalpindi and Islamabad extortions was being made by certain elements from traders on behalf of the terrorist organizations the same way as in Swat, Waziristan and Peshawar.

Sources in the country's Interior Ministry said that such reports were under compilation and a final report would soon be presented to the interior ministry high-ups for further action.

On how such acts would be prevented, a Pakistani official said that reporting and follow-up action by security agencies could stop this practice. He added that the police and other agencies might launch surveys to collect first-hand information from shopkeepers.

ANI