FM Radio: Effective tool against militancy in Pakistan

Khar: The head of the Swati Taliban, Mullah Fazlullah or Mullah radio as he is popularly called got his bit of fame through FM radio. While his penchant of killing any one daring to question his style of governance also earned him his place in history among other extremist bigwigs, it was the radio that clinched him his deal with fame.

But the use of the FM Radio was not Fazlullah’s innovation. It became an effective propaganda tool in Bajaur by none other than Mullah Faqir Mohammad.

Brigadier Hyder, commander Sector North of the Frontier Corps Khyber Pukhtoonkhwa told Gulf News why the Taliban relied so heavily on the radio. “There is no TV culture here but they have a wide acceptance of FM, because of accessibility on radio. It is the only medium that is widely listened to by the people. Since this is very effective means of communication this was widely used by the Taliban to spread their message and turn the people against the state.”

The government is now using the same means to deter the spread of militancy.

The FM radio station housed in a small building in the compound of the Bajaur Scouts headquarters at Khar now serves as a channel for direct communication with the people. Such is the success of this initiative that even women are now participating in radio talk shows. Having a female doctor as a guest speaker on one such show had a record number of women callers, a first for this highly conservative area. More encouraging are the messages coming in from schoolchildren, especially girls who regularly send letters and drawings depicting life under the Taliban and what they want in response to special programmes on radio geared for this purpose.

While this is heartwarming it also reflects the growing enthusiasm to embrace positive change. And that is where the real success lies.