Biased coverage of J&K polls in Pakistan

IN Media Monitoring | 30/11/2004

Continuing the series on the coverage of Indo-Pak relations in both countries. A Panos Project on the Hoot.

Shubha Singh

Pakistani newspapers showed a high degree of interest in developments in Kashmir, especially during the general elections in May, also held in Kashmir. As none of the newspapers have correspondents based in J&K, they generally rely on news agency reports for news regarding Kashmir as well as their own "monitoring desk," that picks up news from the internet, radio and television broadcasts from either country. During the pre-election period there were daily reports from Kashmir.

The analysis of the news coverage of the Kashmir elections showed the partisan role of some newspapers in disseminating news about developments in Jammu and Kashmir. It was especially obvious when comparing the coverage of different Pakistani newspapers. The Nation and Nawai Waqt used more stories on the Kashmir elections, but usually the choice of stories used on the same day by the two newspapers was quite different. Dawn had fewer stories on Kashmir as compared to Jung.

On May 1, 2004  the Nawai Waqt, Srinagar carried a news agency report that said that 16 persons were injured in a bomb blast in a mosque in Jammu just before Juma prayers. Another bomb blast occurred in Kolgam, Islamabad town in a building where arrangements were being made for Lok Sabha elections on May 5. At Rajpura, Phulwama a BSF vehicle was attacked with hand grenades. In Mahur, Udhampur armed men attacked a marriage party, injuring eight persons. "In some fresh incidents of India sponsored terrorism in the state at least four Kashmiris were martyred, while in the northern district of Kupwara two persons were martyred," the report said. Jung, Nation and Dawn did not carry this report.

Two days later, (May 3) the Nation carried a KMS report that the All Party Hurriyat Conference (APHC) leader Syed Ali Gilani had denounced Indian state terrorism while addressing a large number of anti-war demonstrators. The report said "APHC and other liberation leaders have stepped up anti-polls campaign in the run-up to the third phase of Indian Lok Sabha farcical elections in Islamabad and Phulwama. APHC teams emphasised that the election drama was aimed at misleading world public opinion. This Indian design, they said, had been totally frustrated by complete boycott of the first two phases of the sham elections." JKLF chief Yasin Malik said "Kashmiris are firmly resolved to stay away from the remaining two phases of the poll ploy."

The reports carried by the Pakistani newspapers were from international news agencies like AFP and Reuters, the Pakistani news agency APP, and smaller agencies like Kashmir Media Service (KMS), NNI, ANN. At times the reports were a combination of several news agencies. The Nation newspaper used multiple terms to describe the elections in Kashmir as fraudulent; it called them "farcical", "election drama", "election stunt", "Indian design" and "sham elections" in the stories on the elections.

An APP report in the Nation on May 8 said that the polling booths looked deserted. "Observers are of the view that these elections in Indian Held Kashmir are a shock for Indian government because it had been claiming that the situation in the Valley was normal," it said. Another item from PPI datelined Islamabad said that India had set a new poll-rigging record in Indian-held Kashmir. Though the Urdu newspapers have carried several stories a day, most of them have been short items, at times even two paragraphs in length under a wide headline.

While it is easy to pick holes in the conduct of elections in Jammu and Kashmir, the use of words like stooge chief minister indicate a clear bias in the mind of the writer. The Nawai Waqt carried a report on May 6 that was a combination of ANN, AFP, and Radio monitoring. "The elections drama in occupied Kashmir in the third phase has badly flopped. The Kashmiris boycotted the elections and observed a complete hartal. Despite threats and use of force by the Indian army, the turnout was equal to nil. In some areas the security personnel unleashed violence against those who refused to vote, in the name of searching for militants. Announcements were made through loudspeakers of the mosques that if people did not come out to vote, they would have to face grave consequences. The stooge chief minister of occupied Kashmir, Mufti Mohammed Sayeed, came to vote at Brijbehara polling booth under the protection of the army commandos. According to eyewitnesses, the police lathi-charged protestors and later used tear gas to disperse them. The mujahideen attacked the polling booth and four police personnel were injured in the attack. The police also attacked another large gathering, people were beaten like animals and thus many people got serious injuries."

On May 7, Nawai Waqt, carried an Online report that said Abdul Rashid alias Ghazi Shahabuddin, chief commander of Hizbul Mujahideen was killed in an encounter between Indian army and mujahideen in occupied Kashmir. IG Police, Rajinder Kumar said that it was a major breakthrough in a joint operation by the army and the local police. The report added, "However, the Hizbul Mujahideen has not confirmed it as yet." It continued to add that according to Kashmir Media Service, the Indian army arrested the martyr from Sopore on Wednesday and he was killed in custody in Gunghoor area in Srinagar on Thursday.

An editorial in the Nation the next day followed a similar line of thought. It said: "The Kashmiris’ sheer apathy to the ongoing electoral stunt, underlining once again their revulsion of India`s forcible occupation of their land, should serve to remind the Pakistani leadership that solution of the disputed state that does not take into account their wishes through a free and fair plebiscite held under UN auspices would be unacceptable to them. Should Islamabad, in its eagerness to patch up differences with New Delhi, be thinking of backtracking from this imperative, its efforts would inevitably come to naught. The Valley would continue to seethe with anger and armed resistance, with people constantly striving to gain freedom from the cruel Indian yoke."

On May 9, the Nation quoted Syed Ali Gilani with the headline `Sham polls totally failed:Gilani`. The report said that Syed Ali Gilani had vehemently dismissed the fictitious poll percentage claimed by India about the first three phases of farcical polling, and said that the election drama staged under siege of one million troops failed miserably.

The two English language newspapers, Nation and Dawn gave much less space to Kashmir related stories. On May 7 both newspapers had similar headlines: `Indian troops kill top Hizb commander` (Dawn) and `Indian forces kill Hizb commander in custody`. The next day, May 8, Nation had five items regarding Kashmir, which said that polling booths looked deserted, 10 killed in Kashmir blasts, clashes, Indian polls totally failed - Gilani. The Kashmiris were suffering as a result of the poll boycott and a J&K Bar Association report painted a grim picture of Kathua jail.

On May 10, Nation had three Kashmir related stories. These were `Solution of Kashmir Vital For Peace in South Asia - Gilani`, `20 Suspended For Refusing Poll Duty`, `Kashmiris Determined to Win Freedom From India`. The Dawn newspaper on the same day carried one item on Kashmir: `One Dies in Kashmir`. The short AFP report said: "A civilian was killed and three others critically injured when freedom fighters lobbed grenades in a market place in (Doda) in Held Kashmir a day before elections, police said."

In sharp contrast to the treatment of Kashmir related stories by the Nation and Nawai Waqt was the manner in which Dawn reported the strongly critical comments made by Amnesty International. `HR Abuses Widespread in Held Kashmir: Amnesty` said the headline. The Dawn correspondent wrote: "Torture, rape, deaths in custody, extrajudicial executions and disappearances have been perpetuated with impunity", says Amnesty International in its latest report on Indian occupied Kashmir. The story went on to add that "armed opposition groups known as Mujahideen also have committed widespread human rights violations, including "torture, hostage-taking, killing of unarmed civilians, beatings and rape to intimidate the civilian population or to punish those accused of providing information to Indian security forces." It also added that in Azad Kashmir, the report said that preventive detention may be ordered without disclosure of grounds or the right to be brought before a magistrate.

On May 11, Dawn carried a story that said: "Ten persons were killed in an explosion and gunfights in occupied Kashmir on Monday but voting in two parliamentary constituencies in the restive region passed off relatively unscathed, police said." A story from ANN in Nawai Waqt said that after the total boycott of elections in occupied Kashmir, Indian army in a revengeful operation had killed six innocent Kashmiris while arresting three dozen people.

As the emphasis was on the boycott of elections in Kashmir, the newspapers mainly reported on Hurriyat leader, Syed Ali Shah Gilani`s activities and statements at the expense of other Kashmiri leaders. Nawai Waqt, on May 13 carried a report of Hurriyat leader, Syed Ali Gilani congratulating the Kashmiri people for boycotting the so-called elections of Kashmir, where less than ten per cent votes were cast. He said the data provided by the Indian government was false. One report had Syed Gilani saying that "organising cricket tournaments and starting buses services could not solve the Kashmir dispute. If you are serious about solving the problem, you have to consider Kashmir as the core issue and solve it accordingly." Castigating the Hurriyat Conference (Ansari group) for not launching an active poll-boycott campaign, Gilani said that the overwhelming response to the boycott campaign has justified the split in the APHC.

Clearly, The Nawai Waqt and the Nation carried more news items relating to Kashmir, especially regarding the campaign for boycotting the poll, than Jung and Dawn.  The coverage was also far from objective and the newspapers were quick to condemn the Indian government for forcing the Kashmiris to participate in the elections against their will. Interestingly, the number of stories related to events in Kashmir showed a sharp decline after the elections were over.