PESHAWAR, Dec 4: There was a general consensus among speakers at a seminar on Wednesday that due to growing commercialism, media had not been playing its role in highlighting the problems of nonMuslims and promoting inter-faith harmony in Pakistan.

The speakers were also in agreement that intolerance was on the rise in the country and that people were confused about who their real heroes were, the militants who didn`t recognise the Constitution and national institutions or the people, who fought them.

The day-long seminar on `Role of media in promoting inter-faith harmony and minority rights` was organised by Punjab Lok Sujag and was attended by politicians, journalists, lawyers, social activists and representatives of minority communities.

Leader of Awami National Party Mian Iftikhar Hussain said the people were having a lot of expectations from Media but without real-ising the problems faced by media persons specially working journalists who had to toe the line of the owners of media outlets mostly opened for commercial purposes.

`When newspapers and television channels are opened for earning money they would publish and produce only those things which would help getting advertisements.

`Elements using religion for their own vested interests play major role in creating hatred among different segments of the society.

Same elements create division in the society by saying a killed terrorist carrying head money was a martyr and those scarifying their lives while fighting these terrorists were not,` he said.Mian Iftikhar regretted that they had been leaving a barbaric society to their coming generations, which was full of violence of different nature.

Unfortunately, he added the parliament had also become a hostage to these terrorists where the members had been eulogising militants and trying to outscore each other in showing how much aggrieved theywere with the death of Hakimullah Mehsud. `This is the mindset which was also evident in the media as media persons were part of this society.

Member of World Council of Religions Haroon Sarab Diyal said members of non-Muslim communities were not given representation in key policy making bodies especially the curriculum reforms committees due to which the presence of hate material continued in text books.

He said there were several misconceptions related to Hinduism given in textbooks, which were contrary to their religious beliefs.

Mr Haroon explained discriminations meted out to non-Muslims and said even the mechanism provided for election of non-Muslims to the national and provincial assemblies was flawed as it was basically selection by the political parties in which real representatives of the minorities were ignored.

He claimed that several of their places of worships were turned into commercial entities by leasing orrenting it out by the government and in certain cases hotels were set up there.

Naumana Bashir of Peace and Development Foundation said the society had been divided on religious, ethnic, gender, social and cultural lines and intolerance on the rise with each passing day.

Representing the Christian community, she said members of religious minorities had to assure rest of the population each and every day that they were as patriotic Pakistanis as others.

`The moment we talk about our problems people start doubting our patriotism,` she said.

Ms Naumana said the state should play role like a mother, who treated all her children alike irrespective of their deficiencies.

Media specialist Adnan Rehmat said the electronic media boom started in 2002 and presently 147 private radio stations and 47 current affairs television channels had been functioning.

He said media was part of corporate sector and that when therewas clash between two of its roles of safeguarding rights of people and earning profit, it would prefer the second one.

Mr Adnan regretted that the media had turned viewers into consumers and sold them out to advertisers.

`As the media was urban based, therefore, they have not been highlighting issues of rural areas and instead focusing on issues keeping in view commercial interests,` he said.

Senior journalist Shamim Shahid said electronic media was passing through evolution and would need more time to reform.

He said the civil society had to build up pressure on media to play a positive role in creating interfaith harmony and addressing the plight of minorities.

The seminar was also addressed by PPP leader Zulfiqar Afghani, religious scholar Allama Fakhrul Hassan Kararvi, provincial chief of National Party Mukhtar Bacha, Malik Mustapha of ANP and others.