The blood cost of a Pakistani Journalist.

By.Imran Ali Teepu

Cameras flash, reporters with mikes in their hands run for the first glimpse and the exclusive news while video camera men fell on each other to cover the shot but who they are covering? No, one instead religious beard students who were coming out of Lal Mosque (The Red Mosque) it’s the media boom as watched by the nations viewing and listening (VL) folks on many national channels on their cables making the view possible through

the electonic media.

During the 11 days stand off between the extreme forces of the nation versus the government security forces; many lives were lost from both sides.

The dispute ended but the major sufferers were the journalist disposing professional duties as on that day one killed, one paralyzed for whole life and two injured critically later recovered.

The Pakistani government after the crisis handed over the financial compensation to the bereaved journalist family member and injured ones.

The rising number of conflicts in Pakistan making journalism tougher like same as in war zone coverage.

The on and off suicide bombings, military operations and much more the channels run towards the coverage while the nation glued to TV sets to know the latest.

As the VL nation which is hungry to know the latest as the addiction given by the media lessening their ire and ending street power show. During this whole saga some journalists killed and many were injured whose blood is this at all the less costly.

Is the coverage matters or the man? Ask a owner of media news paper or the television it’s the coverage. But whose blood and body is at stake the journalist in the field, the camera man and the team on to cover the conflict.

Pakistan’s media boom occurred at a time when conflicts are more to cover. The new channels couldn’t get the time to fix the training matters more accurate and excellent instead the sudden media boom twisted the media owners more towards the coverage rather than the training.

While I my self was covering the Lal Mosque incident from a national daily based in Islamabad, I stood more than 500 meters away from the chaotic seen. It was anarchy as one of the journalists fell down from hitting a stray bullet in the head and lost his life. The journalist community then moved back but how to cover renowned channels stand as much as 50 meters away from the conflict zone so to give the best footage.

Poor, pathetic and embracing as I saw a foreign journalist covered with a full protection glare for the conflicts with helmet on the head, bullet proof chest jacket, a satellite set, a tear gas mask, it seems he is techno sexual journalist moving like a technology gadget among his Pakistani counter parts who were just look like a 1940’s model car against the foreign journalist.

He stood near the calm security officer’s and observers ask them for comments and then move away from them towards a more safer place a wall of the building. Watching every thing from a kilometer away from the mosque he was getting more insight then the vulnerable and low paid local journalist of the capital city Islamabad as some of them may not even able to by line in the next day news paper.

Why this is and what we are missing? The answer to this was given by Secretary General of Pakistan Federal Union of Journalist Mazhar Abbas “their must be full protection glare, insurance cover and a proper training for the journalist so to save them from being vulnerable in conflict zones”.

He added that journalists must be trained by the media institutions so they know how to cover the conflicts and what the ways to cover these conflicts professionally.

Tough times are ahead for the nation as well as for the media the deteriorating law and order condition in the country on one side force the media men to cover while also increasing the risk of their life threat.

So the ball goes into the court of the media house owners and also to some extent to the vulnerable journalists to get their right of professional coverage and trainings.



ENDS.