The Beyond Boundaries II Pakistan Afghanistan Joint Committee (PAJC) delegations met with Managing Director GEO News, Mr. Azhar Abbas, at Geo Head office in Karachi, on 09 January, 2017. The meeting was arranged as part of the agenda to explore joint media cooperation between leading Afghan and Pakistani private TV channels.
Mr. Aized Ali, Project Director Beyond Boundaries, CRSS, gave a brief on the project including previous eight track II dialogues between Pakistan and Afghanistan groups, and the current one in Karachi, aimed at possible partnerships between the civil societies of the two countries in the fields of media, education, sports, trade and commerce, and arts and culture, in a bid to address the misperceptions, negative narrative, bitterness and mistrust by creating and enhancing people to people contacts.
Mr. Azhar Abbas welcomed the PAJC delegations and assured full support and cooperation of his organization to reduce the bitterness, misperceptions and distrust between Afghanistan and Pakistan and also suggested to involve other media groups for the cause. He remarked that besides the social issues, the real issues of concern may also be discussed. He suggested that there can be a small segment in the Geo morning show, which could be a cooking segment or could be a complete show on cooking with chefs from both countries preparing their respective specialties. He also highlighted the importance of digital media as means for mainstreaming the content of mutual interest. Mr. Abbas said that there can be debates and cultural programming on the digital media. He said that the Geo would record the sound bites of the visiting PAJC members for that meeting and then they can see their impact; uploading on the digital media. He was joined by Director Input Geo, Mr. Zahid Hussain, and Senior Producer Digital Media, Mr. Mohsin Abbas.
From the Pakistan side, Dr. Suddle suggested possible collaboration between Geo and Tolo TV channels to play a positive role in addressing the trust deficit and bitterness.
Mr. Imtiaz Gul, Execuitve Director, CRSS said that cooperation is critical for mitigating grievances and reducing animosity. “We are here to see if Geo can really do something to disseminate the commonalities. We should keep politics out of discourse and explore the avenues of cooperation in the areas of health, trade, media and education. Therefore, we should do something self-sustainable”.
Ms. Elay Ershad, Member of Afghan Parliament said that through collaboration between the media organizations in both countries, there should be joint ventures for dramas and films and also where singers can collaborate. Bilingual and Trilingual songs (Dari, Pashto, Urdu) may be recorded in collaboration to promote culture and reduce bitterness.
Ms. Wazhma Frogh, Advisor to Afghan Defense Ministry said that the Pakistani TV channels, mainly Geo and Hum are widely watched in Afghanistan. She suggested working together to create a roster of Afghan analysts who can be contacted through Skype or other means of communication. The youth debates may also be considered as a potential idea for collaboration. She also suggested that a Geo reporter may also be deputed to cover the Beyond Boundaries next meeting in Afghanistan. Geo may also consider the possibility of broadcasting live sports matches either on Geo Super or Facebook.
Mr. Mozammil Shinwari, Afghan former Deputy Minister of Commerce & Trade suggested that the Roster/ Joint list of experts can be shared with Geo as Beyond Boundaries Roster/ Joint List of Experts.
Following the discussions, the two PAJC delegations visited Geo News Room, and three delegates from both sides were interviewed by Geo reporter, Mr. Qaseem Saeed. The sound bites were aired on Geo News and the write up on the meeting was shared through the Geo digital media and facebook page: https://www.geo.tv/latest/126730-The-Durand-Debate-Beyond-Boundaries-afghanistan-pakistan
