اردوEnglish

Assault on Journalists in Pakistan: Terrorist’s New Bloody Frontier

It is a widely held belief that ‘terrorism is theatre’, which among other things entails that terrorism thrives on publicity. This publicity, insofar as terrorism is concerned, is often for the sake of it and does not necessarily have to be positive. Terrorists are generally aware that the popular sentiment is against them and are usually immune to any kind of criticism and disapproval. They care essentially about people watching and the more people watch, the greater publicity they will get. This begs the obvious question: Why would terrorists deliberately target journalists who report on their atrocities and provide them with their lifeline- namely publicity?

 

“Why would terrorists deliberately target journalists who report on their atrocities and provide them with their lifeline- namely publicity?”

As odd as it seems, lately TTP and the likes have started targeting journalists and media personnel. This departure from conventional terrorist modus operandi is visibly odd and peculiar. Terrorists typically are only concerned with grabbing headlines, not the content or the personnel delivering it. Targeting the journalists and media personalities deliberately is therefore a break from convention and in some ways even self-defeating.

It could of course be argued that targeting journalists would have substantial theatrical value and hence even greater publicity for terrorists. This argument would make sense if such attacks were indiscriminate and random and the victim journalists were just in the wrong place at the wrong time. However, recent events demonstrate that the journalists attacked were carefully selected and singled out. The brutal assassination of the journalist Khalil Jibran, is a case in point.

On June 18, 2024, former President of Tehsil Landi Kotal Press Club, Khalil Jibran, was mercilessly dragged out of his vehicle and shot at point blank by ‘unidentified assailants’. While the assailants were allegedly unidentified, the strong presence of TTP in Tehsil Landi Kotal, District Khyber hardly leaves any doubts about the identity of the attackers. This targeted assassination of a respectable and honorable journalist is the sixth of its kind in 2024 alone.

It is important to note here that Khalil Jibran and the other journalists who were targeted before him were all notable critics of TTP, AQIS and the likes. These brave journalists had set out to expose the savagery and barbarity of such terrorist organizations by objectively reporting on their heinous crimes and offenses.

Selected targeting of journalists demonstrates that TTP and the likes, unlike other terrorist organizations, are not simply concerned with gaining publicity. By brutally targeting their critics and warning all others, they have optimistically set out to gain, the ‘right kind of publicity’. Their heinous but calculated atrocities are clearly intended to deter other journalists from criticizing terrorist organizations. It is clear therefore that TTP and the likes do not simply want to grab the headlines, they also want to write them. They are not merely concerned with any kind of publicity, but they want to also dictate the contents of the publicity.

 

“TTP and the likes do not simply want to grab the headlines, they also want to write them”

To honor the brave and self-less sacrifices of Khalil Jibran and many others before him, it is crucial that the terrorist organizations are not allowed to suppress and oppress the journalist fraternity. Reality of TTP and their fellow terrorist groups must be duly unmasked. Their crimes against humanity must continue to be exposed unconditionally.