Media in India, Pakistan must play responsible role in cementing ties

AMRITSAR - An eminent Pakistani journalist has said “the media can and play a responsible and vital role in cementing worthy relations between India and Pakistan.”

Raza Rumi, News and Features Editor of The Friday Times, which is published from Lahore, further said, the standstill in the composite dialogue process between the governments of the two countries, could be ended through more “people to people contact”.

Raza was in Amritsar on Tuesday on his way to New Delhi, where he will taking part in a conference being arranged by Jawaharlal Nehru University on December 9 and 10.

He expressed his lament over the fact that a large section of the media, whether in India or in Pakistan, preferred to chase and highlight sensational news items rather than news related to common causes.

He said: “We have many things in common, from good to bad, that affect our societies. So, the media should also concentrate on the issues that it really needs to.”

He said it was unfortunate that the media, which was earlier known as a profession of passion, has now converted itself into a corporate entity that understands the language of economics only.

“The media and politicians must realize that if we want to establish peace in the region, we have no option left other than to address our common problems from poverty to climate change,” he said, adding that both countries have skilled and hard working people who can jointly convert developing nations into developed ones. By Ravinder Singh Robin (ANI)