Pak, Saudi channels beam into Kashmiri homes, stoke rage

[Mikesingh]

Srinagar

Saudi clerics and Pakistani news anchors are being beamed direct to Kashmiri homes, and are stoking the fires of `azadi'.Over 50 Saudi and Pakistani channels, including Zakir Naik's banned Peace TV preaching Salafist Islam, and others indulging in anti-India propaganda are running without necessary clearances via private cable networks in Kashmir.

All this is happening under the nose of the PDP-BJP government, which even subscribes to these cable services in some of its offices and buildings. Although satellite television service providers like Tata Sky , Airtel digital TV and Dish TV , are available in Kashmir, most people subscribe to private cable. A cable operator, who did not want to be named, said that there are over 50,000 private cable connections in Srinagar alone, and only because these broadcast Pakistani and Saudi channels.

Besides Naik's Peace TV Urdu and English channels, private operators air Saudi and Pakistani channels like Saudi Sunnah, Saudi Quran, Al Arabia, Paigham, Hidayat, Noor, Madani, Sehar, Karbala, Hadi, Sehar, Ary QTV Bethat, Ahlibat, Message, Falak, Geo News, Ary News, Dawn News, and many others, which cannot be accessed through satellite television service providers. None of these channels is permitted to air in the rest of the country by the I&B ministry . No cable operator, any where in the country , in cluding in Jammu & Kashmir, can run any channel other than the ones approved by the Union I&B ministry . If it is not in the permitted list of channels on the ministry website, it is being illegally broadcast. Even if it is a free-to-air channel, a private cable operator must get approval from the ministry ,“ director of broadcasting, I&B ministry , Amit Katoch, told TOI. He asked TOI to send a written complaint so that the ministry could verify and take appropriate action.

Some of the Saudi channels broadcast the same kind of rigid, fundamentalist and patriarchal interpretations of Islam and Sharia that invited a government ban on Peace TV .Wahhabi clerics on these channels often sermonise that women should surrender before their husbands and obey their commands completely .

For example, a woman should not step out of the house without the permission of her husband, a cleric preached on Saudi Sunnah.

Most Pakistani news channels refer to the terrorists of Hizbul Mujahideen, Lashkare-Taiba and other groups as “martyrs“ and counter-insurgency operations in Kashmir as “human rights violations“.

People in Kashmir have historically preferred Pakistani news and drama. “Love for all things Pakistan has a political history but love for Saudi religious channels developed in the '90s,“ said Muzaffar, a Srinagar businessman, whose employees are avid watchers of Saudi Sunnah channel.

Saudi channels are one of the biggest media of propounding the Salafist version of Islam in the Valley , Shahid, an Islamic scholar in Anantnag, said. “It is radicalising youth and adding fuel to the violent separatist movement that is being mobilised by invoking Islam. Wahhabism has stoked Islamist extremism and terrorism across the world.“ However, a police officer said there was a wide range of religious channels, including those that preach moderate Islam.

http://epaperbeta.timesofindia.com/...beam-into-Kashmiri-homes-stoke-05052017001045

Oh wow! So WTF have we been doing thus far? Twiddling our thumbs while Kashmir burned? I just don't get it. This is getting to be beyond bizarre. When are we going to wake up and get moving to stop this radicalization and propaganda from Pak and Saudi Arabia? Why are we unable to arrest these cable operators and put them into the cooler for violating broadcasting norms?

This has probably been going on for years and no one knew?

 

[indiatester]

What I don't understand is why the Govt can't take these channels down. We already have digital settop boxes made compulsory. It should be fairly easy to control the few cable aggregators. Wonder what the issue is.

 

[dhananjay1]

They are not being radicalized, they are just being more Islamic. Momins will be momins. Islam is the problem not some Paki-saudi tv channels. If stupid Hindus want to indulge in Gandhian crpto-christian nonsense of equality of religions, they deserve all they get.

 

[Cutting Edge 2]

Srinagar

Saudi clerics and Pakistani news anchors are being beamed direct to Kashmiri homes, and are stoking the fires of `azadi'.Over 50 Saudi and Pakistani channels, including Zakir Naik's banned Peace TV preaching Salafist Islam, and others indulging in anti-India propaganda are running without necessary clearances via private cable networks in Kashmir.

All this is happening under the nose of the PDP-BJP government, which even subscribes to these cable services in some of its offices and buildings. Although satellite television service providers like Tata Sky , Airtel digital TV and Dish TV , are available in Kashmir, most people subscribe to private cable. A cable operator, who did not want to be named, said that there are over 50,000 private cable connections in Srinagar alone, and only because these broadcast Pakistani and Saudi channels.

Besides Naik's Peace TV Urdu and English channels, private operators air Saudi and Pakistani channels like Saudi Sunnah, Saudi Quran, Al Arabia, Paigham, Hidayat, Noor, Madani, Sehar, Karbala, Hadi, Sehar, Ary QTV Bethat, Ahlibat, Message, Falak, Geo News, Ary News, Dawn News, and many others, which cannot be accessed through satellite television service providers. None of these channels is permitted to air in the rest of the country by the I&B ministry . No cable operator, any where in the country , in cluding in Jammu & Kashmir, can run any channel other than the ones approved by the Union I&B ministry . If it is not in the permitted list of channels on the ministry website, it is being illegally broadcast. Even if it is a free-to-air channel, a private cable operator must get approval from the ministry ,“ director of broadcasting, I&B ministry , Amit Katoch, told TOI. He asked TOI to send a written complaint so that the ministry could verify and take appropriate action.

Some of the Saudi channels broadcast the same kind of rigid, fundamentalist and patriarchal interpretations of Islam and Sharia that invited a government ban on Peace TV .Wahhabi clerics on these channels often sermonise that women should surrender before their husbands and obey their commands completely .

For example, a woman should not step out of the house without the permission of her husband, a cleric preached on Saudi Sunnah.

Most Pakistani news channels refer to the terrorists of Hizbul Mujahideen, Lashkare-Taiba and other groups as “martyrs“ and counter-insurgency operations in Kashmir as “human rights violations“.

People in Kashmir have historically preferred Pakistani news and drama. “Love for all things Pakistan has a political history but love for Saudi religious channels developed in the '90s,“ said Muzaffar, a Srinagar businessman, whose employees are avid watchers of Saudi Sunnah channel.

Saudi channels are one of the biggest media of propounding the Salafist version of Islam in the Valley , Shahid, an Islamic scholar in Anantnag, said. “It is radicalising youth and adding fuel to the violent separatist movement that is being mobilised by invoking Islam. Wahhabism has stoked Islamist extremism and terrorism across the world.“ However, a police officer said there was a wide range of religious channels, including those that preach moderate Islam.

http://epaperbeta.timesofindia.com/...beam-into-Kashmiri-homes-stoke-05052017001045

Oh wow! So WTF have we been doing thus far? Twiddling our thumbs while Kashmir burned? I just don't get it. This is getting to be beyond bizarre. When are we going to wake up and get moving to stop this radicalization and propaganda from Pak and Saudi Arabia? Why are we unable to arrest these cable operators and put them into the cooler for violating broadcasting norms?

This has probably been going on for years and no one knew?

We are under a information warfare. Misinformation and conspiracy theories being spread in the minds of masses to divide and create chaos. Its not just Pakis but also many western NGOs who are hell bent on destroying India. They are using all forms of media SM, MSM, illegal broadcasting to spread their jihadi ideology. With help from intelligence agencies, We need a dedicated information cell under military command to counter their propaganda.

 

[raheel besharam]

Looks like kashmir is just ISI's playground. Esp on social media you can even get live info on army movements from jihadi pages.

 

[scatterStorm]

Even if we make a media blackout over there, people specially the tech-savy anti-nationals will use tech to spread information. Like private hosting and VPN, it's cheap and ISI has all the funds made available to them.

Impeachment of dictator in Egypt and rise of the revolution was all carried out by a single guy, hired by NSA to write a simple python application that bounce traffic from Egypt directly to Face book and Google servers in US.

If we want full control, allow the army and government to place a cyber warfare command dedicated in Kashmir region to do the following:

1. Block all ISP in that region except what govt. or army uses.
2. Block all traffic from outside the Kashmir region, as traffic can be bounced form an ISI agent from a state closer to Kashmir such as Delhi, Punjab etc.
3. Completely isolate Kashmir into full media blackout. Only State television and nothing else.
4. Deploy a Cyber-warfare unit to monitor illicit activities and engage when necessary. Best part, they don't have to be in Kashmir, beauty of Computer Networks and free web.
5. Crackdown on all cable networks in the entire J&K region. Only allow sat-tv installation, it can be controlled, but still would require 24/7 monitoring.

But even though we do all of this, VPN or more specifically private VPN and ghost networks(temporary computer networks, that randomly appear and disappear) will pose the greatest challenge. Even if a single mobile app is deployed ... we are looking at a new incentive for anti-nationals to view more content, because watching banned info is thrill in its own.

We would see a rise in trend of Off-line content (CDs, Tapes etc), which again a cheap means to flame the people, it's most effective, cheap and readily available. ISI has factories for this.

Even if we attain 1 of the solutions formerly discussed, it would still be a Challenge to achieve the other.