Ban on media was reason for inadequate coverage of Mohmand incident

PESHAWAR: Though the ban imposed by the political administration on the media from reporting the suicide bombing in a mosque in Mohmand Agency on Friday was one of the reasons for inadequate reporting of the tragedy, the other reason was the saturation television coverage of the arrest and subsequent release of the MQM leader Khawaja Izharul Hasan in Karachi.

As the media was kept away by the local administration and the military from the site of the suicide bombing on both Friday and Saturday, the incident didn’t get adequate coverage.

The TV channels sent their crews from Peshawar to Mohmand Agency, but they were turned back.

The local journalists too were denied permission to travel to the scene of the tragedy.

The authorities defended the decision by arguing that the area was far away and dangerous and could only be reached by driving mostly on an unpaved road where an improvised explosive device is easy to plant.

They said the media
was denied permission in view of security reasons
and because a search operation launched in the area after the incident could have created unforeseen circumstances.