Minorities in Pakistan: Role of Pakistani Private TV Channels in Highlighting Minorities’ Rights

Amber Mubeen 1 *, Rabia Qusien 2
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1 University of the Punjab, Pakistan
2 University of Lahore, Pakistan
* Corresponding Author
Online Journal of Communication and Media Technologies, Volume 7, Issue 2, pp. 96-113. https://doi.org/10.29333/ojcmt/2593
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ABSTRACT

Religious minorities in Pakistan “are believed to be much more than the estimated figures of 5 percent of Pakistan's 160 million population”. Minorities were enjoying good relationship with Muslim community but since few years some violent incidents resulting in destruction of the life and property were reported by media. Being a forth state of a society, media is expected to present all marginalized groups within it and to give an account of all incidents in a responsible way. This study finds out the role of Pakistani TV Channels to highlight minorities’ rights in Pakistan and to create harmony among all groups residing in the country. With mix methodology of qualitative and quantitative, data (N=456) was taken from students of five different universities of Lahore to know their perspective about the role of the Private Television channels to highlight minorities’ rights and their contribution in presenting the stories related to minorities. Data analysis shows that respondents find private TV channels quite vocal to give them awareness about minority rights and to share the incidents in a neutral way but respondents do not find private TV channels active in creating harmony among different minorities ‘groups.
Keywords: Minority rights, Private TV channels, TV coverage, Muslim Christian relations, social responsible media

CITATION

Mubeen, A., & Qusien, R. (2017). Minorities in Pakistan: Role of Pakistani Private TV Channels in Highlighting Minorities’ Rights. Online Journal of Communication and Media Technologies, 7(2), 96-113. https://doi.org/10.29333/ojcmt/2593

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