Wars are being waged not in battlefields but in TV studios, a prominent news outlet in USA had said some years back following escalation of tension in the sub-continent.
The observation was not out of place. As tension between the two nations continue to simmer following the Pulwama terror attack, TV studios in Pakistan have transformed themselves into veritable missionaries, spewing venom against Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and shredding apart the Indian armed forces in all possible ways conceivable. Objective reporting has been thrown out of window.
And in doing so, they have redefined journalism. Their abuses and barbs are hilarious at times, peppering their reportage with skewed poems that are further inflaming passions. The news programmes appeared sponsored shows at best to pulverise India into submission.
Odisha Bytes share some examples:
On Samaa TV, broadcast journalist Kiran Naz begins her scathing criticism of India with a rhyme: “Suna hai sarhadon par tanav hai, haan bharat mein chunaav hai (We have heard there’s tension on the border, yes, India’s headed for elections).”
Further on, she compares the killing of CRPF personnel to the sacrifice of goats, refers to Modi as a “chaiwala”, and calls Khan a “sensible, visionary” individual.
#7se8 #intro #KiranNaz pic.twitter.com/eLu8dsZnLH
— Kiran Naz (@kirannazsamaa) February 20, 2019
Also on Samaa TV, anchor Paras Jahanzeb recites a two-minute-long poem criticising India.
“Modi sahab, aap ko lakh baar samjhaya hai, parr kab samjh mein aaya hai … harr baar aate ho, buri niyat laate ho, har baar peeth dikhate ho aur dum dabake ke bhaagte ho… (Modi sir, we’ve told one lakh times, but you’ve never understood. You come with bad intentions every time and run back scared),” she says.
लगता है मोहतरमा Terrorist ट्रेनिंग कैंप से सीधे न्यूज़ रूम पहुंची है!!???pic.twitter.com/wbobNW1KSO
— Rishi Bagree ?? (@rishibagree) February 20, 2019
Then comes rabble-rouser extraordinaire Dr Fiza Akbar Khan of Kohinoor News.
In a recent video, she lashed out at India for criticising Pakistan’s role in sponsoring and harbouring terrorists, including 26/11 mastermind Hafiz Saeed.
Before raising questions about Pakistan and its jihadi elements, she said, “first repair your toilets”, a purported dig at the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan.
When Indian media follows ur shows and my patriotic speech literally irritated them & forced them to make a package against me. Pakistan ZINDABAAD. Plz retweet my pakistanio?? yeh cheez? #India #Pakistan #Pakistani #PakArmy #PakArmyOurPride #KashmirSolidarityDay #ModiSarkar pic.twitter.com/Xjc0WFJVv4
— Dr. Fiza Akbar Khan (@Dr_fizakhan) February 21, 2019
