Pakistan boat, Indian media's fodder for sensationalism

In the latest that created ripples across the national news media were the reports about the Indian Coast Guard foiling an alleged 26/11 type terror attack in the Arabian Sea. Almost every well-known national and regional daily made sure that the hottest development finds space on its front page. No stones were left unturned to pronounce it as an emphatic win by the Indian Defence Ministry soon after the news was delivered to the press. And expectedly, considering the incumbent norm of the country’s news media of buying without any questions whatever comes its way, nearly every newspaper/ news website played to the tunes.

However, some very important questions went missing amid this all. There linger some very important questions which still remain unanswered - no one even bothering to analyze the entire episode with an eye for fine details.

First of all, looking into how the headlines were played across some of the major newspapers on 3 January, almost 2 days after the incident to have occurred.

Times of India: “26/11-type terror attack foiled”

The Hindu: “Explosives-laden Pak. Boat intercepted”

Hindustan Times: “India foils Pak terror on sea”

Mail Today: “Alert Intel Foils 26/11 Return”

The Indian Express: “Pak boat bows up in a cloud of suspension”

Now take a look at what official release from Ministry of Defence says:

Coast Guard Intercepts Suspect Boat Carrying Explosives in Arabian Sea

“An intelligence based midnight operation was conducted on the intervening night of Dec 31 and yesterday by the Indian Coast Guard ships and aircraft to intercept a suspect fishing boat in Arabian Sea near Indo-Pak maritime boundary, approximately 365 km from Porbander.As per the intelligence inputs received on 31st December, a fishing boat from Keti Bunder near Karachi was planning some illicit transaction in Arabian Sea. Based on the input, Coast Guard Dornier aircraft undertook sea - air coordinated search and located the suspect fishing boat. Thereafter, the Coast Guard ship on patrol in area was diverted and intercepted the unlit boat at about midnight of 31st December in position 365 km West-South West of Porbandar.The Coast Guard ship warned the fishing boat to stop for further investigation of the crew and cargo; however, the boat increased speed and tried to escape away from the Indian side of maritime boundary. The hot pursuit continued for nearly one hour and the Coast Guard ship managed to stop the fishing boat after firing warning shots. Four persons were seen on the boat who disregarded all warnings by the Coast Guard ship to stop and cooperate with investigation. Soon thereafter, the crew hid themselves in below deck compartment and set the boat on fire, which resulted in explosion and major fire on the boat. Due to darkness, bad weather and strong winds, the boat and persons on board could not be saved or recovered. The boat burnt and sank in the same position, in early hours of 1stJanuary. Coast Guard ships and aircraft are continuing operations in area to search for any possible survivor. Coast Guard and other security agencies are maintaining high vigil in maritime and coastal areas since last couple of months due to several inputs on threat from the sea.”

Now here are a few imperative questions which were very much left unreturned in most of the papers:

Q1. There is no reference about an alleged “26/11” type attack in the official release. Then what made the editors of most of the well known newspapers to arrive at such a termination about a planned terror attack?

Barring The Indian Express, almost everyone else toed the same line. Why is media mindlessly buying what Defence Ministry has to offer? Shouldn’t our journalists/editors solicit appropriate substantiation from the Ministry in this regard before coming to some sort of conclusion? Even if it was fact, isn’t the responsibity of scribes to corroborate what they pen down rather than sensationalizing the entire matter?

Q2. The press release clearly mentions that the boat from KetiBunder near Karachi was planning some “illicit transaction” in Arabian Sea. Then, why are some of the newspapers and TV news channels stressing that the boat carried “explosives”? Although, header of the press release used the word explosive, the word goes missing inside the details which followed.

The Indian Express once again doesn’t articulate the popular version, and kudos for doing such. The paper in fact has cited that the boat may have been smuggling liquor and diesel. The paper writes, “…… victims of the operation might have been small-time liquor and diesel smugglers, ferrying booteg cargo from Gwadar port to other fishing boats which were to have carried it into Karachi’s Keti Bandar harbor.”

Q3. The press release clearly calls the vessel to be a “fishing” boat. If this was the reality, why major part of national news media missed the information?

Q4. If the incident occurred on the night 31 December, last year, why did the ministry take two long days to update the public (through news media) about the whole occurrence? Shouldn’t this query put across the ruling government, considering it to be a sensitive matter related with the national security? Or something is deliberately getting cloaked here?

Although, The Indian Express managed to put across a better and more analytical view than the rest, it too committed a mistake in the run. It forgot that the prime objective of the press is to present information in the most neutral way possible in front of the public devoid of any personal views. The paper did everything to mix analysis, views and news in its reportage. It wouldn’t have taken much to come out with an op-ed and put the matter entire analysis. However, it decided to ignore the need.

Nevertheless, when sensationalism starts buying you easy profits, why should one bother to cross check the easily available data?

By Ashish Pandey