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2015 Public Diplomacy or Propaganda: A Case Study of Voa Deewa Pashto Radio Service for the Tribal Region of Pakistan and Afghanistan Mehnaz Gul

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COLLEGE OF COMMUNICATION AND INFORMATION

PUBLIC DIPLOMACY OR PROPAGANDA:

A CASE STUDY OF VOA DEEWA

PASHTO RADIO SERVICE FOR THE TRIBAL REGION OF PAKISTAN &

AFGHANISTAN

MEHNAZ GUL

A Dissertation submitted to the School of Communication in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy

2015 Mehnaz Gul defended this dissertation on November 10, 2015.

The members of the supervisory committee were:

Stephen McDowell Professor Directing Dissertation

Lance Dehaven Smith University Representative

Jennifer Proffitt Committee Member

Patrick Merle Committee Member

Jay Rayburn Committee Member

The Graduate School has verified and approved the above-named committee members, and certifies that the dissertation has been approved in accordance with university requirements.

This dissertation is dedicated to my husband Zia, our son Faiz and daughter Malina, to my parents, parents in law, brothers, sisters and their families for their enduring love and support.

iii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS This onerous yet rewarding journey of pursuing a PhD would not have been possible without the guidance and support of many people and organizations. I owe my gratitude to all those people and organizations that made this dissertation possible and because of whom I will always cherish this achievement. Foremost, my parents, for encouraging me to get higher education, for confidence in my abilities and for their unconditional love and support that made it possible for me to reach where I am today. My parents in law, for their support and prayers, who spurred me to pursue my dreams.

I am deeply grateful to Dr. Stephen McDowell for agreeing to be my supervisor and to guide me in this arduous journey. He always listened to me patiently, helped me refined my ideas and transformed my ideas into meaningful and presentable words. His invaluable insights and constructive criticism immensely helped me in completion of this dissertation. He has been my big supporter, always backed me in dire straits. I am thankful to him for guiding and supervising me in earning number of scholarships and helping me in presenting my work in leading conferences.

I am obliged to Dr. Jennifer Proffitt for agreeing to be on my committee, and for her insightful and detailed comments. Her constructive criticisms were always thought provoking that helped me focus and hold me to high research standards. I am grateful to Dr. Patrick Merle for being a valuable member of my committee and for helping me in writing my literature review by providing many research articles. I am very grateful to Dr. Jay Rayburn, for accepting my request to serve on my committee at a very last moment. His contribution is valuable for this study. I owe my deepest gratitude to Dr. Lance Dehaven Smith for agreeing to be on my committee and he guided me in this journey with his valuable insights that helped me improve my knowledge in this area.

I am indebted to the Graduate School at Florida State University for awarding me with an International Dissertation Semester Research fellowship in 2014 that helped me in visiting Pakistan and conducting interviews and audience analysis for my study.

I am grateful to the Institute of Management Sciences, Peshawar, Pakistan and the University of Peshawar, Pakistan for arranging focus group interviews with students of the Tribal

iv region. I am indebted to Ms. Corinna McCarthy for assisting me in transcribing the data, and to Mr. Fawad and Mr. Salman for assisting me in collecting data in Pakistan.

I am indebted to Mr. Nafees Takar, VOA Deewa chief program officer and Mr. Arbab Ali, VOA Deewa staff, for arranging my visit to VOA Deewa, for helping me in collecting data and for their generous hospitality. I want to pay my deepest gratitude to all the participants of the study for agreeing to participate in this project. I am grateful to them for their valuable time and candid responses that helped me achieve the study objectives, and for providing the crucial human element required for the study.

I am also thankful to my employer, the University of Peshawar, for granting me the study leave to pursue my PhD degree. I owe my deepest gratitude to my teachers in the School of Communication, Florida State University and back at home in Pakistan for guiding me throughout my student life and helping me achieve this degree. I am thankful to friends that I made at the School of Communication and elsewhere who helped me stay sane through these difficult years. I am grateful to my friend and office mate, Youngsun Lee, for her love, support and precious friendship of sharing joys, sorrows, and secrets during all these years.

Lastly but definitely not the least, I would like to express my heart felt gratitude to my husband and our kids. My husband Zia Obaid has been my pillar of strength and supported me through all the ups and downs. He believed in me and has been a constant source of love, support and strength all these years. The credit for successful completion of my degree goes to him. My son Faiz and my daughter Malina I thank for their love, patience and understanding through out this journey.

v TABLE OF CONTENTS List of Tables ...... vii List of Acronyms ...... viii Abstract ...... ix

1. INTRODUCTION AND OVERVIEW...... 1

2. PUBLIC DIPLOMACY AND PROPAGANDA: ORIGINS, DEFINITIONS, CONCEPTS, PRACTICES & CHALLENGES ...... 11

3. RESEARCH DESIGN & METHODOLOGY ...... 31

4. SENDERS’ PERSPECTIVE: WHO SENDS WHAT, WHY, HOW, & TO WHOM ...... 60

5. THE MESSAGE ...... 126

6. VOICES OF LOCALS ...... 198

7. CONCLUSIONS...... 245

APPENDICES ...... 269

A. HUMAN SUBJECTS IRB APPROVAL ...... 269 B. INFORMED CONSENT FORM SENDERS ...... 270 C. INFORMED CONSENT FORM RECEIVERS ...... 271 D. INFORMED CONSENT FORM RECEIVERS (ILLITERATE, CANNOT SIGN) ...... 272 E. EMAIL TRANSCRIPT ...... 273 F. FOCUS GROUP/ INTERVIEW GUIDELINE FOR AUDIENCE (LOCALS)...... 274 G. INTERVIEW GUIDE FOR VOA DEEWA WASHINGTON STAFF ...... 276 H. INTERVIEW GUIDE VOA DEEWA STAFF PAKISTAN ...... 277 I. LIST OF DRONE STRIKES 2013 IN PAKISTAN ...... 278 J. CONFIDENTIALITY CONTRACT ...... 282

REFERENCES ...... 283

BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH ...... 293

vi LIST OF TABLES

Table 2.1 Comparison of Similarities and Differences of Public Diplomacy and Propaganda .....28 Table 3.1 News Hour - 8pm to 9pm ...... 38 Table 3.2 Morning Show – Saher Pa Khair ...... 39 Table 3.3 Hello VOA ...... 40 Table 3.4 VOA Deewa Staff ...... 44 Table 3.5 Regular Listeners (Telephone Interviews) ...... 46 Table 3.6 Internally Displaced People (Individual Interviews) ...... 47 Table 3.7 Students of Institute of Management Sciences, Peshawar (Focus Groups) ...... 52 Table 3.8 Students of University of Peshawar (Female Students, Focus Groups) ...... 53 Table 3.9 Codes and Meanings ...... 55 Table 6.1 Yes, Propaganda ...... 237 Table 6.2 Not Propaganda ...... 237 Table 6.3 Maybe or Neutral (Propaganda) ...... 238

vii LIST OF ACRONYMS

ANP Awami National Party CIA Central Intelligence Agency FATA Federally Administered Tribal Areas GoP Government of Pakistan FCR Frontier Crime Regulations IDPs Internally Displaced People KPK Khyber Pakhtunkhwa MNA Minister of National Assembly MPA Minister of Provincial Assembly NATO North Atlantic Treaty Organization NGO Non-governmental Organizations PPP Pakistan Peoples Party PTI Pakistan Tehrik-e-Insaaf UN United Nations UNESCO United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization U.S. United States U.S.AID United States Agency for International Development WHO World Health Organization VOA Voice of America

viii ABSTRACT

Governments since World War I have instituted radio broadcasts in foreign countries as a means of informing and influencing local populations, particularly in times of war and other conflicts. Frequently considered propaganda, such broadcasts also have been seen as a tool of public diplomacy, an evolving concept that generally refers to the use of mass communication, foreign exchanges, and other non-traditional diplomatic tools to advance foreign policy goals and cultivate positive international relations. This study concerned a particular case, the U.S. public diplomacy tool Voice of America (VOA) Deewa, a Pashto language radio service for the Tribal areas of Pakistan and Afghanistan. VOA Deewa was an ideal case for examining questions of public diplomacy and propaganda since it operates in a poor, neglected, war-stricken region where Taliban members spread anti-American sentiments and many citizens hold anti-American attitudes, that have been exacerbated by U.S. drone strikes in the region. Though the United States established the VOA Deewa to contain Taliban anti-America propaganda and change the hearts and minds of local citizens, it has been criticized as propaganda. To examine this assertion, and the extent to which VOA Deewa exhibited features of public diplomacy, extensive data were collected from senders, messages, and receivers. Twenty-seven VOA Deewa shows broadcast at the time of 2013 drone strikes were analyzed to determine the extent and nature of drone strike news and other topics. In addition, 11 Deewa staff from Washington D.C. and Pakistan were individually interviewed and focus groups with 78 university students belonging to Tribal regions were conducted, as well as 5 telephone interviews with locals and face-to-face individual interviews with 18 Internally Displaced Persons. Data collection and analysis was triangulated, and all qualitative content/textual analysis was conducted using Nvivo software. The findings indicate that a highly qualified, native Pashtun VOA Deewa staff delivered balanced and objective journalism on a variety of topics (education, health and hygiene, business and finance, social and moral ethics, freedom, democracy) from a U.S. perspective but with a focus on the target region. In addition, the shows frequently highlighted women's, human, and political rights, which are lacking in the Tribal region. Overall, VOA Deewa served as an effective platform for delivering awareness-raising messages, empowering local voices, and connecting locals to locals through on-air call-in programs that increased the sharing of ideas, understanding, and unity. Thus, VOA Deewa was found to serve as a public diplomacy instrument in accord with the VOA charter, and as such, to incorporate characteristics of positive

ix propaganda and strategic communication. Though the findings may be unique to the VOA Deewa case, they contribute to the development of a theoretical framework for public diplomacy and provide a direction for future research.

x CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION AND OVERVIEW

“The Voice is a delicate instrument. It can easily be destroyed. Without credibility, it is nothing.” Henry Loomis, to House Committee on International Relations (Heil, 2003 p. 58)

Introduction

Radio has served as a powerful medium of communication since World War I (WWI), when it was employed by governments worldwide to disseminate foreign policies, political ideologies, and war objectives to foreign audiences (Dorman & Kennedy, 2008; Elder, 1967; Hale, 1975; Heil, 2003). Since then, governments have viewed radio as a powerful means by which to win the hearts and minds of a foreign populace, that is, to gain support for policy objectives. As one of a number of strategies designed by governments to strengthen international and intercultural relationships, radio, like other forms of mass media used to influence foreign public opinion, is a tool for public diplomacy (Abshire, 1976; Fortner, 1994; Gilboa, 2008; Hosman, 2002; Nye, 2008). In 1966, Edmund Gullion provided one of the early definitions of public diplomacy: "the means by which governments, private groups and individuals influence the attitudes and opinions of other peoples and governments…to exercise influence on their foreign policy decisions ("Definitions of Public Diplomacy," n.d.). During wars and other conflicts especially, governments readily have adopted the practice of public diplomacy. (Halloran, 2007; Jowett & O'Donnell, 2012; Lasswell, Lerner, & Speier, 1979; Lennon, 2003; Thussu, 2000). In fact, between WWI and World War II (WW II), the use of radio and other mass media to disseminate information as became institutionalized as propaganda by many governments, and both publics and scholars began to criticize such efforts (Lasswell, Lerner, & Speier, 1979; Lindahl, 1983; Shulman, 1990; Wang, 2007). As the term propaganda came to be associated with bias, lies, and bigotry (Hart, 2013; Hawthorn & Hawthorn, 1987; Jowett & O'Donnell, 2012), information seen as propaganda actually began to pose threats to the credibility of foreign policy goals, information services, and journalistic practices in state media organizations, and to cultivate mistrust between a populace and its government (Elder, 1967; Fortner, 1994; Gilboa, 2008).

1 Yet, the use of mass media by governments has not been confined to spreading misinformation and disinformation. Though some information dissemination practices have been institutionalized as propaganda, in other cases governments have used mass media to promote conflict resolution (Cull, 2009; Farwell, 2012; Hale, 1975; Handelman, 2008; Jowett & O'Donnell, 2012; Nye, 2008). Such information dissemination may be differentiated from propaganda and instead viewed as institutionalized public diplomacy (Fortner, 1994; Gilboa, 2008; Hart, 2013; Potter, 2009). In such cases, a communication medium like radio may, in fact, work as a tool for winning over the hearts and minds of a foreign populace through dialogue and relationship building (Potter, 2009; Richmond, 2008; Tuch, 1990). Some critics have argued that information dissemination for the purpose of propaganda is indistinguishable from that for public diplomacy, because each case contains the same set of practices with different nomenclature; hence, these terms have been used interchangeably by scholars (Cull, 2008; Elder, 1967; Farwell, 2012; Fortner, 1994; Gilboa, 2008; Hawthorn & Hawthorn, 1987; Jowett & O'Donnell, 2012; Lasswell, Lerner, & Speier, 1979). In fact, governments have extensively utilized broadcast media to practice both propaganda and public diplomacy, particularly in times of heightened conflict (Fortner, 1994; Gilboa, 2008; Lasswell, Lerner, & Speier, 1979; Lerner, 1951; Miller, 1941; Potter, 2009). Unfortunately, little in-depth research has addressed actual situations in which radio or other broadcast media have been used for this either purpose. Propaganda via Radio in Foreign Conflicts Since its inception, radio has proven to be a unique and powerful form of mass communication, particularly when governments are engaged in foreign involvements. In extending to a broad range of society, including those who lack the resources to access more expensive media like television or the Internet, radio has played a pivotal role in reaching people in war zones—even in this era of ubiquitous information and sophisticated technologies (Jowett & O'Donnell, 2012; Krugler, 1999; Lasswell, 1938; Lasswell, Lerner, & Speier, 1979; Miller, 1941). Since WWII, for example, the government of United States has used its Voice of America (VOA) radio service to disseminate American values and American perspectives to foreign publics throughout the world (Heil, 2003; Kelley, 2007; Lennon, 2003; Massey, 1990; Shulman, 1990). As in many countries, the United States' use of broadcast media to support foreign policy initiatives has been an integral part of its diplomatic tools (Suri, 2011; Thussu, 2000; Tuch, 1990;

2 Wang, 2011). Nevertheless, such efforts to influence foreign publics have been criticized in scholarly literature for their inclination towards propaganda. According to Ngo (2011), propaganda is defined as “any technique, be it in writing, speech, music, film or other means; any association, plan, activity etc. for the spread of principles and opinions especially to effect change, reform or that attempts to influence public opinion or encourage mass action as in popular support of a policy or program” (p. 239). Propaganda, whether designed for domestic or foreign audiences has been characterized as disinformation, misinformation, bias and untruthfulness (Bernays & Miller, 2005; Dovring & Lasswell, 1959; Jowett & O'Donnell, 2012; Kruckeberg & Vujnovic, 2005). Scholars have argued that propaganda is a deliberate and systematic attempt to shape perceptions, manipulate cognitions, and direct behavior in order to achieve a response that furthers the intent of the propagandist (Jowett & Victoria, 1992; Lasswell, 1971). Fortner (1994) noted that, “it is difficult to disentangle the term propaganda from its devilishness” (p. 20). Other scholars have described propaganda as an integral and vital part of democratic societies (Robins, et al. 1987) in which governments pay attention and respond to the opinions of their citizens. Just as public opinion is crucial to policymaking and governance in domestic settings, foreign public opinion is important to governments involved in other countries. Some have argued that in order for governments to legitimize their role and policies in other countries and avoid chaos and rebellion, it is essential for them to influence foreign public opinion (Fortner, 1994; Hawthorn & Hawthorn, 1987). Still others have maintained, however, that propaganda inherently contains features of bias and prejudice that can result in disinformation, misinformation, lies, and bigotry (Jowett & O'Donnell, 2012; Rugh, 2006). In fact, the use of both print and radio media to promote government objectives and ideologies during WWI, WWII, and the Cold War years frequently was criticized by citizens as well as scholars (Jowett & O'Donnell, 2012; Rugh, 2006; Thussu, 2000; Tuch, 1990; Wang, 2011). Propaganda Versus Public Diplomacy The end of WWII and beginning of the Cold War brought the term "public diplomacy" into the vocabulary of foreign policy, and since then, it has been readily adopted by governments. In 1965, Dean Edmund Gullion of Tufts University used the term "public diplomacy" to describe the process by which governments consider public attitudes when forming and executing foreign policies. According to the Edward R. Murrow Center of Public

3 Diplomacy at Tufts, one of its early brochures contained the following definition of public diplomacy: Public diplomacy ... deals with the influence of public attitudes on the formation and execution of foreign policies. It encompasses dimensions of international relations beyond traditional diplomacy; the cultivation by governments of public opinion in other countries; the interaction of private groups and interests in one country with those of another; the reporting of foreign affairs and its impact on policy; communication between those whose job is communication, as between diplomats and foreign correspondents; and the processes of inter-cultural communications. ("What is Public Diplomacy?" 2015). Today, the United States Department of State describes its public diplomacy in this way: The mission of American public diplomacy is to support the achievement of U.S. foreign policy goals and objectives, advance national interests, and enhance national security by informing and influencing foreign publics and by expanding and strengthening the relationship between the people and Government of the United States and citizens of the rest of the world. ("Under Secretary for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs," n.d.) Though the concept of public diplomacy continues to evolve, the term generally refers to strategies designed to strengthen international and intercultural relationships, including both traditional foreign policy methods as well as the use of mass media to influence foreign public opinion (Abshire, 1976; Fortner, 1994; Gilboa, 2008; Hosman, 2002; Nye, 2008). Many of the information dissemination initiatives that were criticized as propaganda during WWI and WWII have continued under the nomenclature of public diplomacy programs and Voice of America is one such example (Hart, 2013; Heil, 2003; Tuch, 1990). In fact, many scholars have used the terms propaganda and public diplomacy interchangeably, while others have described practices that may distinguish one from the other (Fortner, 1994; Hart, 2013; Potter, 2009; Tuch, 1990). According to Farwell (2012), for example, unlike propaganda campaigns, public diplomacy programs identify the sources of the information that is disseminated and utilize "soft power," a term coined in 1980 by Joseph Nye to describe forms of power that are not hard or coercive but that still can influence attitudes and behaviors. According to Nye (2004), soft power efforts are designed to gain influence but simultaneously value the culture, political values, and foreign policies of the foreign nation in which influence is sought.

4 Similarly, Rugh (2006) argued that unlike propaganda, which can be misleading, untruthful, and utilize covert means, public diplomacy uses “open means and not covert ones, and it is always truthful” (p. 4). Rugh described U.S. public diplomacy as a “U.S. government information and cultural program for informing, engaging, and influencing foreign public opinion in support of U.S. objectives” (p. 4). He noted that the program has four functions: (1) explaining U.S. foreign policy to foreign publics, (2) presenting foreign publics with a fair and balanced picture of “American society, culture, and institutions” (p. 4), (3) promoting mutual understanding with foreign publics, and (4) advising U.S. policy makers about foreign attitudes. Public diplomacy professionals refer to these four functions as policy advocacy, Americana, the third mandate, and the advisory function. After analyzing an American encounter with Arabs through public diplomacy, Rugh concluded that public diplomacy is not simply a matter of providing information to foreign audiences but instead finding “the right words for Washington officials to use in explaining today’s foreign policy” (p. 195). Yet, despite this scholarship, public diplomacy remains a somewhat vague and confusing concept (Fortner, 1994; Gilboa, 2008; Hart, 2013; Tuch, 1990). Scholars have not agreed on a precise meaning of the term or on the description of public diplomacy practice. A more specific definition and framework for public diplomacy could help guide governments to more effectively achieve foreign policy objectives, including conflict resolution and relationship building. Thus, while some have proposed elements of public diplomacy that distinguish it from propaganda, others, like Gilboa (2008) have argued that a clearer distinction between the concepts and practices of propaganda and public diplomacy is still needed, as well as a theory of public diplomacy. Though the link between propaganda and public diplomacy may be the legacy of WWI and WWII government practices, in modern times the association of the terms represents a continuous threat to modern international relations and conflict resolution processes. The negative connotations associated with propaganda may compromise the effectiveness and credibility of a nation's public diplomacy instruments by affecting the perceptions of foreign publics and, accordingly, relations between nations. According to Gilboa (2008), if public diplomacy is to be employed effectively, scholars must agree on a meaning and a defined framework for practice. Moreover, if an important goal of public diplomacy is winning hearts and minds, it is incumbent upon scholars to investigate how a country can develop trust, build relationships, and resolve conflict through dialogue with a

5 foreign populace (Cull, 2009; Farwell, 2012; Gilboa, 2009; Handelman, 2008). Clearly, if credibility is integral to the achievement of such goals (Perloff, 2010), they cannot be achieved through propaganda (Tuch, 1990). Yet, public diplomacy efforts, especially during wars and other conflicts, are often seen as just that (Abubakar, 2014; Alexander, 1987; Belmonte, 2008; Cull, 2009; Dizard, 1961; Dorman & Kennedy, 2008; Gilboa, 2009; Hale, 1975; Hart, 2013; Jowett & O'Donnell, 2012; Melissen, 2005; Mirchandani, 2014; Nye Jr, 2008; Richmond, 2008; Rugh, 2011; Spalding, 2010; Thussu, 2000; Tuch, 1990), particularly when they involve broadcast media. Local populations have expressed mistrust when the policies of a foreign government are not aligned with its public diplomacy efforts, which they then see as propaganda (Abubakar, 2014; Farwell, 2012; Fortner, 1994; Gilboa, 2009; Hart, 2013; Wilson, 2008; Lennon, 2003; Tuch, 1990). Among all the tools of public diplomacy, radio has come under particular scrutiny when used to persuade a foreign populace to support foreign policy and war objectives (Jowett & O'Donnell, 2012; Krugler, 1999; He & Zhu, 1994; Hale, 1975; George, 1959). The Voice of America Pashto - Deewa The Voice of America Pashto language service (VOA Deewa) is a U.S.- sponsored radio broadcast that can be accessed in Pakistan’s Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) a semi-autonomous Tribal region in Northwestern Pakistan and along the border with Afghanistan. The VOA Deewa began in 2006, during the conflict between the United States and the Taliban. The Taliban is an Islamic fundamentalist political movement in Afghanistan (Griffiths, 2001). Initiated under the rubric of public diplomacy, the mission of the VOA Deewa was to counter and contain Taliban propaganda against the U.S. and allied forces in Afghanistan and to promote U.S. interests by inculcating trust through dialogue (Broadcasting Board of Governors, 2009; United States Department of State and Broadcasting Board of Governors, 2009). VOA Deewa provides an ideal case by which to expand knowledge of public diplomacy efforts via the mass medium of radio, since it broadcasts in an environment filled with suspicion over the role of the U.S. in that region. Since 9/11, Muslims around the world have not supported the U.S. invasions in Afghanistan and Iraq and have criticized U.S. foreign policy and use of military actions in Muslim countries. Accordingly, the VOA services in the Middle East and in African Muslim countries are not considered credible. Muslims do not listen to the VOA services

6 there, as they did not favor the foreign policy and war objectives, and so they do not trust the VOA news broadcasts (Abubakar, 2014; Gilboa, 2008; Lennon, 2003; Wike, 2012). VOA Deewa serves the Tribal regions of Pakistan and Afghanistan, which have been struck by U.S. drones several times a year, often resulting in civilian casualties. Tribesmen are in constant danger from the Taliban as well as the drone strikes. The Pakistani media, Muslim countries, and even locals of the Tribal region have extensively criticized the drone strikes (Aljazeera, 2013; AP & Dawn.com, 2013; Houreld, 2013; Jamil, 2013; Kaltenthaler, K., Miller, W., Fair, C., 2012), and the Taliban and Al Qaida have exploited the drone strikes for their own purposes. The Muslim media generally, and Pakistani media specifically, have criticized U.S. foreign and war policy and demanded a stop to the drone strikes, which have been reduced but never completely stopped. Further, the continuous flow of internally displaced people (IDP) from the Tribal region has created many problems for urban communities. This unstable environment has created hatred among the populace for U.S. foreign policy and the U.S. overall (Jamil, 2013; Pew Research Center, 2012a; Pew Research Center, 2012b; Pew Research Center, 2012c; Wike, 2012). This hostile situation raises several challenges and questions for VOA Deewa in its efforts to win the hearts and minds of people in Pakistan and Afghanistan and to persuade them to support U.S. foreign policy. VOA Deewa faces the challenge of being objective and encouraging debate about the drone strikes while creating an environment of dialogue with their listeners about this sensitive issue. Thus, the situation provides an ideal context for examining how public diplomacy is possibly connected with propaganda during a conflict, or whether international broadcasting could be a platform where governments can build relations of trust with a foreign populace by being objective and by bringing more open dialogue into conflict conditions. The case of the VOA Deewa service provides an opportunity to explicate the complex relationships between state, media, and populace and between propaganda and public diplomacy. It is a case where neutrality—a necessary requirement for journalistic practice—has been argued to be compromised since media is employed to attain diplomatic objectives (Brown, 2009; Jowett & O'Donnell, 2012; Kelley, 2007; Lennon, 2003; Marks, H. L., Wick, Z. C., Gelb, B., & Catto, E. H., 2005; Massey, 1990; Potter, 2009; Semetko, 2009; Thussu, 2000). The VOA Deewa service brings authenticity and legitimacy to this study since it has been known for war

7 propaganda efforts but is now operated under one of the most sophisticated public diplomacy programs of the world (Heil, 2003; Krugler, 1999; Massey, 1990; Pirsein, 1979). As the subject of this examination it can help to increase understandings about the distinctions between propaganda and public diplomacy and contribute to a framework for public diplomacy via mass communication. Research Purpose and Questions The specific purpose of this study is to examine the exercise of U.S. public diplomacy via mass communication in the case of the VOA Deewa service, which broadcasts to the Tribal regions of Pakistan and Afghanistan. The overarching questions of the study were: What is the nature of public diplomacy in practice? To what extent does public diplomacy involve propaganda? The intention of the study was to explore the particular case of the VOA Deewa service and consider the findings in terms of a broader framework of public diplomacy. The three research questions posed at the outset of the study to examine the overarching research questions were: 1. In what ways does the VOA Deewa service function as a public diplomacy instrument? 2 In what ways does the VOA Deewa service employ elements of propaganda? 3. How does the VOA Deewa service example contribute to developing a broader framework for public diplomacy? Overview of the Study The specific purpose of the study was achieved in case of VOA Deewa by examining: the elements of public diplomacy as practiced by the VOA Deewa service, to explore the extent to which it employed elements of propaganda, and to further develop the framework of public diplomacy. The VOA Deewa service, a radio service for the Tribal regions of Pakistan and Afghanistan, was the case selected for these purposes because it was launched by the U.S. government after the attack on the World Trade Centers on 9/11. The case of the VOA in general, and the VOA Deewa specifically, provides an ideal example by which to examine public diplomacy in practice and to explore the extent to which it employs propaganda. Though the VOA was launched in 1942 as a war information dissemination tool, citizens and scholars alike have criticized it for disseminating propaganda containing biased information and even misinformation. Some scholars, however, have pointed

8 to the value of the VOA service as a public diplomacy tool, particularly in regard to its delivery of accurate and balanced news and information to many countries that otherwise lack health, nutrition, education information and particular kinds of opportunities for social involvement. The VOA Deewa service was launched strategically to contain the Taliban’s anti-U.S. propaganda in the Tribal areas of Pakistan and Afghanistan, which has one of the high rates of anti-American attitudes due to U.S. foreign policies in the region. Thus, the VOA Deewa was seen by the United States as a potentially strategic tool to promote and spread American ideology, contain Taliban ideology, and gain favorable attitudes from tribesmen in the region and Pakistanis generally. The research questions posed in this chapter were answered using the specific case of the VOA Deewa service and the frameworks of public diplomacy and propaganda. In Chapter Two, a review of the relevant literature highlights the similarities and differences in the frameworks for propaganda and public diplomacy, both of which are designed to attain favorable attitudes towards a country’s ideology and foreign policy. Some similarities of the practices are their overt, strategic, controlled, and purposeful nature, and their tendency to be practiced during war and conflicts. On the other hand, differences in the two approaches center on their level of transparency and adherence to journalistic principles, as well as the means by which they achieve their purposes. Chapter Three of the study explicates the research design and methodology. The practice of VOA Deewa was explored by looking at the messages they broadcast, who broadcasted, to whom, how these broadcast were received. These and related questions were addressed through interviews with ten VOA Deewa staff members in Washington, D.C. and in Pakistan, as well as the textual analysis of twenty-seven 2013 radio shows that included the prime-time news hour, the morning show on social and cultural topics, and prime-time political shows. In addition, audience data was collected through individual and focus group interviews with 101 Deewa listeners from the Tribal region. Qualitative data collection allowed for in-depth data and analysis related to the function of Deewa as public diplomacy tool. Chapters Four, Five and Six elucidate separate findings related to the senders of the messages, the messages themselves, and the receivers. The chapters include discussions of the major themes derived from the data, and the analysis of similarities with and differences from the propaganda and public diplomacy frameworks. Chapter Seven concludes the study by

9 synthesizing and analyzing the findings from three sources and considering their relationship to the frameworks for propaganda and public diplomacy.

10 CHAPTER TWO

PUBLIC DIPLOMACY AND PROPAGANDA:

ORIGINS, DEFINITIONS, CONCEPTS, PRACTICES & CHALLENGES

“American traditions and the American ethic require us to be truthful, but the most important reason is that truth is the best propaganda and lies are the worst. To be persuasive we must be believable; to be believable we must be credible; to be credible we must be truthful. It is as simple as that.” Edward R. Murrow, May 1963 Director, United States Information Agency

In order to establish a context for comparing and contrasting public diplomacy and propaganda, and to examine the case of VOA Deewa as a tool of public diplomacy, it is imperative to review its historical context and explore how propaganda and public diplomacy have emerged and developed over time and with different conflicts. Because the ultimate aim of the study is to contribute to theoretical frameworks of propaganda and public diplomacy, the literature examined in this chapter also concerns existing frameworks and their application within the field of communication. To compare and contrast these frameworks, definitions, implications and conceptualizations of propaganda and public diplomacy in the literature are provided. Furthermore, the definitions and concepts have been summarized and the major similarities and differences between the propaganda and the public diplomacy frameworks are outlined from the literature in a table. These similarities and differences are utilized to outline questions to guide the study further. The History and Practice of Propaganda With the start of World War I (WWI) in 1914, countries began to create intensive propaganda campaigns containing biased patriotic messages and hate comments about the ideology. Such messages were designed, to mold public opinion in favor of a government’s war objectives, and to gain support from the people at home, and in the other countries. Later, the same practice of propaganda was used with foreign publics to gain their favor and shift their attitudes against their own governments. Before electronic media, printed information moving across borders could be censored or blocked, creating difficulties for governments seeking to reach and shape foreign public opinion. The advent of radio brought radical changes in the information flow. In WWI the three major

11 sources of mass media were press, radio, and motion pictures, all of which were utilized as part of the political and war missions of the governments involved. The objective was not just to inform the public about war news but also to mold public opinion in favor of the home government and incite hatred against the enemy (Abshire, 1976). Media studies scholars have characterized the efforts of governments to use media for political objectives and for winning wars as propaganda efforts (Bernays & Miller, 2005; Cull, 2008; Hale, 1975; Jowett & O'Donnell, 2012; Kelley, 2007; Lerner, 1951; Potter, 2009; Tuch, 1990). The analysis of media use inside and outside countries during WWI brought fundamental contributions to the study of media. The dissertation of Harold Lasswell (1926), called “Propaganda Technique in the World War,” was a milestone in emerging media and communication studies, and his research created a concrete scholarly foundation for the concept of propaganda in early twentieth century. Lasswell (1927) argued that propaganda is used to “modify or crystallize an attitude” towards an object, and can be used to organize an attitude towards a person, or a group, or towards a policy (Lasswell, 1927, p. 630). Further, he noted that in essence, “propagandists multiply all the suggestions favorable to the attitudes which he wishes to produce and strengthen, and to restrict all suggestions which are unfavorable to them” (Lasswell, 1927, p. 630). In the U.S., propaganda was aimed at molding public support in favor of the U.S. entry into the war. The government began to produce films like “Battle Cry of the Peace,” in which New York was depicted as being attacked by the Germans. Before the United States entered the war in 1916, the tone of the films was pacifist in nature, in order to reflect the position of America and the American people. With the entrance of the United States into WWI in 1917, however, the films became distinctly anti-German in nature (Jowett & O’Donnell, 1992; Ward, 1985). The U.S. government formed the Committee on Public Information (CPI) as a war propaganda machine, and it worked with the film industry to make films steeped in patriotic and anti-German sentiment (Ward, 1985). The United States was not alone in creating film propaganda. In fact, the British government, with the help of American director D.W. Griffiths produced films like “Hearts of the World,” which brought to audiences images of war-shattered countries on the western front (Reeves, 1993). Though Germany recognized the power of such motion picture propaganda by their enemies, they were unable to propagate messages in this way due to a lack of resources.

12 Later, Germany developed its film industry, which played a crucial role during the 1930s and 1940s in building national public opinion and gaining the people's emotional sympathies. In fact, film became a significant propaganda tool of Nazi Germany during WWII (Jowett & O’Donnell, 1992), as it was for the American, German, Russian and British governments during WWII as well (Nelson, 1984). Print and films were important sources of mass media, but radio also set a benchmark in communication history. The invention of radio totally altered the practice of propaganda: now messages could be sent across borders and over long distances without a physical presence in a territory. The first radio broadcast across national lines occurred in 1915, when Germany used radio to provide war information to international audience. On October 30, 1917, the Soviet Union employed radio dramatically by broadcasting Lenin’s message about the start of new age as a call to revolutionary groups across Europe. Soviet Radio was under the tight control of the government and soon became highly powerful, with radio stations broadcasting programs all over Europe. Similarly, the British government during WWI used the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) to broadcast war news, and also manipulate the news in order to gain the support of the people in favor of war (Ngoa, 2011). Forms of Propaganda Propaganda can be agitative, integrative, or white, gray, and black, terms, which refer to the transparency and validity of information. According to the Dictionary of Diplomacy, propaganda is “the use of mass communications in order to reinforce or change public opinion, domestic or foreign, if the source is openly admitted it is known as ‘white propaganda’; if concealed or misrepresented, as ‘black propaganda’" (Berridge & Lloyd, 2001). White propaganda contains accurate information and correctly identifies its sources. Black propaganda is credited to false sources and is intentionally inaccurate information meant to deceive, while gray propaganda lies between white and black (Jowett & O'Donnell, 2012; Jowett & O’Donnell, 1992; Simpson, 1994). Many of the countries involved in WWII utilized each of these different types of propaganda. In the period of 1939 to 1940, the German government aimed black propaganda at French soldiers serving on the Maginot Line through radio broadcasts originating from Stuttgart. (Roetter, 1974). These radio broadcasts were designed to weaken the French soldiers’ morale in fighting alongside Britain. A turncoat Frenchman, Paul Ferdonnet, hosted the radio broadcasts;

13 he acted like a patriot and persuaded French soldiers to save France before the Nazi’s arrival. Ferdonnet sympathized with the French soldiers in regard to their discomfort and damp conditions while fighting in Britain’s war. In an effort to bring about frustration and anger among French soldiers he broadcast stories of French and British officers in Paris enjoying good food and good living conditions, and highlighted the notion that British soldiers were loving French women (Roetter, 1974). A similar strategy was used before a planned invasion of Britain; Germans ran an undercover radio station known as the New English Broadcasting Station to reduce the morale of the British people throughout the Battle of Britain. Discontented British subjects ran the station; it ran half-hour length programs throughout the day and broadcast war news (Jowett & O’Donnell, 1992; 2012). During Hitler’s era, the methods and content of radiobroadcasting employed by the Nazis were used to brainwash citizens in German communities and many European countries (Ngoa, 2011). Another good example of black propaganda is an undercover radio service that was developed to discredit and humiliate the United States. The KGB, in order to embarrass the U.S. in the free world, initiated the radio service and soon got attention of the world when the Soviet government sent its tanks into Budapest in 1956 in order to exterminate the revolution to overthrow Communist regime there. The transmissions of the radio service cursed the Soviets and pleaded with the U.S. government for help, arousing the sympathy of the free world. In this way, the Soviets sought to create an image of the United States as untrustworthy and not to be relied upon (Kneitel, 1982, p 15-16). Thus, during both World Wars and after, propaganda and censorship have been used to steer the media's required coverage while preventing the publication of defeats or embarrassments (Dovring & Lasswell, 1959; Lasswell, Lerner, & Speier, 1979; Shapiro, 2002). The specific form of propaganda delivered by the military—whether white, black, or gray—is known as psychological warfare. Simpson (1994) described psychological warfare as “a group of strategies and tactics designed to achieve the ideological, political or military objectives of the sponsoring organization (typically a government or political movement) through exploitation of a target audience’s cultural-psychological attributes and its communication systems… [it] is the application of mass communication to modern social conflict; it focuses on the combined use of violence and more conventional forms of communication to achieve politico-military goals”. (p. 11)

14 The Institutionalization of Propaganda by Governments In his pioneering work on propaganda techniques in World War I, Harold Lasswell stated: “media could sway public opinion and the masses toward almost any point of view” (as cited in Jowett & O’Donnell, 1992, p.124). His evaluation of the power of media and propaganda was not limited to WWI, of course. By WWII, various kinds of media that included print and electronic had appeared and propaganda had become more sophisticated. Many governments set up specific centers for distribution and control of war information and 25 countries broadcast internationally in foreign languages; the most powerful of these were the United States, Britain, Germany, France, Russia, Italy, Japan, and China. The British Broadcasting System (BBC) had the most broadcasts, and in 23 foreign languages. When the United States entered the war it soon established the War Information Office, the purpose of which was to disseminate and control war information and mold public opinion. It was at this time that the United States introduced the radio service Voice of America (VOA) to reach foreign publics. The literature indicates, then, that propaganda is utilized to influence attitudes and public opinion, including domestic and foreign public opinion. The practice of propaganda becomes more extensive and negative during war and conflicts, and scholars have criticized propaganda practices for misinforming the public. (Heil, 2003; Jowett & O'Donnell, 2012; Loyd, 1998; Nguyen, 1977). Through the use of various forms of mass communication, propaganda can be characterized in a variety of ways, ranging from information to misinformation, positive to negative, truth to lies, appreciation to blame and even hatred. The negative practice of propaganda, and the pejorative meanings that have come to be associated with the idea of propaganda, have affected the credibility of government-sponsored information services. The VOA, which was begun in order to deliver the truth, whether bad or good, was among those services criticized by scholars and the public for its war propaganda. Nevertheless, in 1950 the VOA gained even more power when U.S. President Harry Truman announced the Campaign for Truth, an effort to contradict the Communist propaganda in Iron Curtain countries by delivering positive information about America (Krugler, 2000). Despite this support, the VOA's efforts were still criticized as propaganda, and the service has had to face many administrative hardships (Cull, 2008; Heil, 2003; Krugler, 2000; Lasswell, Lerner, & Speier, 1979). The VOA’s association with propaganda affected the service’s credibility, so to achieve

15 its objectives, in 1960 the service was moved under the new umbrella of public diplomacy (Krugler, 1999). Public Diplomacy versus Propaganda The end of WWII and beginning of the Cold War brought the term, public diplomacy, into the vocabulary of foreign policy analysis and it has been readily adopted since then. Public diplomacy combines strategies for building stronger international and cultural relations with traditional foreign policy methods through the use of mass media. Public diplomacy involves the delivery of clear, balanced, and effective communication to foreign publics; it is frequently employed to influence foreign public opinion directly in favor of a country’s foreign policy (Nye, 2004; Potter, 2009b; Tuch, 1990). Public diplomacy scholars have tried to distinguish public diplomacy from propaganda and draw a clear line between the two practices (Cull, 2008; Fortner, 1994; Gilboa, 2008; Hart, 2013; Nye, 2004; Potter, 2009). Scholars of propaganda, on the other hand, have found many similarities between propaganda and public diplomacy and have used the terms interchangeably (Fortner, 1994; Hart, 2013; Potter, 2009). Hart (2013), for example, has used the term public diplomacy interchangeably with propaganda, to refer to propaganda efforts by the U.S. government. He argues that all image creation and selling of American ideas and foreign policy by the U.S. government uses propaganda techniques that are part of public diplomacy. He cites as evidence the decision of the U.S. State Department, in 1953, to move all information and advocacy campaigns involving foreign policy and foreign relations to a new government organization, the United States Information Agency (U.S.IA), after officials and diplomats had been criticized for the methods of propaganda used up to then. In fact, by this time the conception of diplomacy had expanded to such an extent that the U.S. State Department "formally institutionalized propaganda as a foreign policy tool” (Hart, 2013, p. 3). Moreover, Gilboa (2000) argued that public diplomacy has been used as euphemism for propaganda or international public relations. He used Grunig's (1993) description of propaganda (one-sided, usually half-truth communication designed to persuade public opinion) and the description of international public relations by Wilcox et al. (1992) “planned and organized effort of a company, institution or government to establish mutually beneficial relations with the policies of other nations” (p. 290) to make this point. Gilboa (1993) used the propaganda model to conceptualize public diplomacy, and argued that the core feature of public diplomacy is direct

16 communication with foreign peoples in order to affect their thinking, and ultimately that of their government. He argued that typically, traditional public diplomacy is used by two governments with an antagonistic relationship, with the objective of achieving long-term results in a foreign society. The goal in this case is to create favorable public opinion for a foreign country’s policies, and political, economic, and cultural systems in a targeted society in order to exert pressure on that government to alter existing hostile attitudes and policies. In public diplomacy, however, a government aims to provide balanced information to a targeted society in order to counter the “domestic propaganda of the target society’s government” (Gilboa, 1993, p. 291). Though Gilboa (1993) conceptualized public diplomacy as one-sided communication, he stressed that sound policymaking, governments would require sufficient public support achieved through dialogue and debate with the public, rather than just one-sided communication. According to Berridge and Lloyd (2001) in the Dictionary of Diplomacy, public diplomacy is “not to be confused with open or parliamentary diplomacy, a late-twentieth century term for propaganda conducted by diplomats" (p.197). Instead, it is their contention that, “Propaganda traditionally is regarded in international relations as the antithesis of diplomacy because of its noise, tendency to mendacity, and design to appeal to the people over the head of the government; propaganda is not necessarily anti-diplomatic; it all depends on its context” (Berridge & Lloyd, 2001, p.195). It also has been argued that the actual practice of public diplomacy defines it as propaganda or not. Potter (2009) presented various elements of public diplomacy and divided them into hard and soft. He associated hard public diplomacy with propaganda efforts and soft public diplomacy with soft power; methods based on attraction rather than coercion. Further, Potter described the time frames for public diplomacy and the role of international broadcasting as proactive or strategic communication. He argued that when government controls the messages over a medium term, such as months or years, the purpose is advocacy, political marketing, and the achievement of specific policy objectives. He characterized this communication as government propaganda, in which the flow of communication is one-way and intended to have immediate influence over the specific audience. In addition, he overlaid this concept of time frames for public diplomacy with Nye’s (2004) typology of soft and hard power. Potter (2009) associated hard power with hard public diplomacy that is practiced over a short to medium period of time. In this case, the purpose of the government is to attain foreign

17 policy objectives by influencing international public opinion. Potter argued that the use of the media for coercion and inducement is hard public diplomacy, and is exemplified by international broadcasts composed of propaganda, of which the government holds the editorial control. He correlated soft public diplomacy with soft power, which consists of activities over a medium to long time frame with an emphasis on building relationships and creating favorable impressions. Thus, international broadcasting either can exemplify hard public diplomacy/propaganda or soft public diplomacy/soft power, depending upon how the tool is utilized. Fortner (1994) also examined international broadcasting as a public diplomacy practice. He argued that international broadcasting is an important instrument of international communication, and its focus is dependent on its purpose. Some broadcasts try to persuade the elites of neighboring countries to adopt or abandon particular policies, while others provide information that is not otherwise available to a general audience, with the goal of convincing them to pressure their government to adopt certain political, economic, and military policies. Thus, Fortner believed that the rationale for including international broadcasting as a major tool of public diplomacy or foreign policy differs from country to country. In totalitarian regimes, international broadcasting is employed mainly for propaganda efforts that are characterized by governmental control over information and public opinion, and it is used to influence the’ messages and ideas of opponents. Democratic nations, on the other hand, call propaganda an illegitimate practice, but may utilize it in order to crack the information monopoly of totalitarian regimes or to stop their propaganda (Fortner, 1994). Mirchandani (2014) has questioned whether public diplomacy instruments can ever be balanced, as they must broadcast according to the policies of their government. According to Mirchandani, accuracy, impartiality, and independence are difficult to acquire when the media belongs to government. He examined the use of British Broadcast Corporation (BBC) as a public diplomacy tool and a form of soft power, and concluded that freedom of thought and expression are soft power attributes that are also the strength of Britain’s society. The BBC is valuable to foreign audiences because it brings these soft power assets to them through its accuracy, impartiality and independence. After the war on terror following 9/11, however, the British government's support for the United States has been widely criticized in Muslim circles, especially in Pakistan. While the majority of people in Pakistan viewed the BBC as an agent of public diplomacy rather than an impartial and objective international broadcaster, those at the top

18 of the BBC hierarchy feel they place their editorial principles first, and then the British soft power interests, with the goal of presenting accurate, unbiased, and independent news and a balanced British view. Mirchandani views as curious the phrase “balanced British view” and questions whether the BBC can provide such a view given that it is a tool of British public diplomacy and must advocate for British foreign policy despite its editorial independence and impartiality. Alexander (1987) describes public diplomacy as a campaign that uses instruments of communication as a tool for disseminating foreign policy objectives rather than promoting peace and mutual understanding. At the same time, Alexander maintains that public diplomacy is an important foreign policy tool that peace-building governments can use to promote their political and ideological appeal. He examined VOA in the case of a North Korean airline incident in order to analyze American public diplomacy during the cold war and found that VOA reported the news objectively but with an emphasis on ideological differences. He found that the news analysis and shows of VOA communicated that communism was evil and that American foreign policy was best for the peace and betterment of the world. Further, he contended that during the Reagan era, VOA was expanded with the purpose of demoralizing communists in the Soviet Union. He argued that public diplomacy became one a growth industry during Reagan’s administration, when the “key to Reagan’s ideological offensive was the effective manipulation of communication, the skillful harnessing of government media to policy formulation/dissemination,” and the consistent portrayal of communism as evil. Similarly, Tobia (2011) analyzed the VOA service in Italy during the Cold War. She compared public diplomacy with Nye’s (2004) concept of soft power, that is the ability to get what you want by letting the others choose, by attracting and persuading them to adopt your goals, as opposed to using economic or military coercion (as cited in Tobia, 2011). Tobia (2011) emphasized the importance of soft power in achieving foreign policy objectives and maintained that American public diplomacy during the Cold War was about containing communism and spreading American democracy and policies. Tobia (2011) found VOA to be a purposefully designed and planned service and associated it with a propaganda effort, since its shows and programs were carefully targeted and tailored for specific audiences. Apart from the similarities of delivering government policies and objectives to foreign publics and attempting to influence their attitudes, another element shared by both frameworks is

19 persuasion. Persuasion is a subset of communication and is defined as a process to influence others through persuasive messages, thus, scholars of propaganda consider it to be a form of persuasion (Fortner, 1994). Persuasion is "human communication designed to influence the autonomous judgments and actions of others (Simons, 2001, p. 7), and many scholars consider propaganda to be a form of persuasion (Fortner, 1994). Pratkanis & Aronson (1992) argued that propaganda is “dissemination of biased ideas and opinions, often through the use of lies and deception,” that is, a technique used to persuade the masses. They describe this process: Propaganda involves the dexterous use of images, slogans, and symbols that play on our prejudices and emotions; it is the communication of a point of view with the ultimate goal of having the recipient of the appeal come to ‘voluntarily’ accept this position as if it were his or her own. (Pratkanis & Aronson, 1992, p. 11) Another way to put it is that “propaganda is the deliberate and systematic attempt to shape perceptions, manipulate cognitions, and direct behavior to achieve a response that furthers the desired intent of the propagandist” (Jowett & Victoria, 1992, p. 4). Potter (2009), however, has stated that if propaganda is persuasive one-way communication designed to influence public opinion, every advocacy campaign is propaganda, and by definition, some public diplomacy efforts come under propaganda. What is important, according to Jowett and O'Donnell (2012), is that propaganda not be gray or black, that is, characterized by bias, misinformation, and inaccuracy—a form that is more prominent in war and military operations.. Thus, it is important to note that the quality of an information campaign under the rubric of public diplomacy depends on the environment in which it occurs, whether in conflict or peace (Potter, 2009). In Potter's words (2009), “public diplomacy turns into propaganda when the rhetoric far outstrips the reality” (p. 61). Thus, when propaganda and public diplomacy are used interchangeably it is likely due to the similar practices involved in purposefully and strategically persuading foreign publics in favor of a government's objectives and foreign policy. Proponents of public diplomacy distinguish it from propaganda, however, by arguing that public diplomacy is not biased, nor composed of misinformation or lies. As a tool by which to build relationships and trust with foreign publics, then, public diplomacy can be considered distinct from propaganda in its effort to provide foreign publics with balanced and accurate information.

20 Public Diplomacy The concept and practice of public diplomacy have been matters of debate among scholars and diplomats. Public diplomacy has been seen as a sophisticated form of government propaganda, and both terms have been used interchangeably. The association of propaganda with public diplomacy can impact a nation's credibility and make public diplomacy efforts counterproductive (Farwell, 2012; Nye, 2008; Potter, 2009; Tuch, 1990). In an attempt to distinguish between the two, proponents of public diplomacy have identified unique elements of public diplomacy that are absent from propaganda. However, scholars have not agreed on the definition and framework of public diplomacy and are engaged in research that can bring forward a framework to further the practice of public diplomacy, bring credibility to the process, and enhance the effectiveness of the public diplomacy machinery used by government to achieve foreign policy objectives. Scholars and officials of public diplomacy distinguish it from propaganda by highlighting particular features: the tendency of public diplomacy to utilize soft power and to identify the sources of information shared (Farwell, 2012). Furthermore, it is a process by which direct relations with people in a country are pursued to advance the interests and extend the values of those being represented (Sharp, 2005). Rugh (2006) looked at public diplomacy as a “U.S. government information and cultural program for informing, engaging, and influencing foreign public opinion in support of U.S. objectives” (p. 4). According to Rugh, public diplomacy does four key things: (1) explains U.S. foreign policy to foreign publics, (2) presents them with a fair and balanced picture of American society, culture, and institutions, (3) promotes mutual understanding with foreign publics, and (4) advises U.S. policymakers about foreign attitudes. Public diplomacy professionals refer to these four components as policy advocacy, Americana, third mandate, and the advisory function. Further, while propaganda can be misleading, untruthful, and utilize covert means, public diplomacy is distinguished in that it uses “open means and not covert ones, and it is always truthful” (Rugh, 2006, p.4). In addition, public diplomacy often includes cultural, educational, and economic exchanges. All such public diplomacy efforts represent “a government’s process of communicating with foreign publics in an attempt to bring about an understanding for its nation’s ideas and ideals, its institutions and cultures, as well as its national goals and policies” (Tuch, 1990, p. 3).

21 Nye (2008; 2004) called public diplomacy the soft power of the country. He ascribed to soft power “the ability to shape the preferences of others” (p. 5). He contradicted skeptics who treat public diplomacy as mere euphemism for propaganda and argued that public diplomacy cannot be just propaganda, since propaganda often lacks credibility and is counterproductive. In addition, Nye argued that public diplomacy cannot be mere public relations, since it aims at building long-term relations as much as disseminating information and selling a positive image. Though the objective, of course, is to nurture an environment in which government policies are accepted, the use of such techniques as cultural and educational exchanges may additionally cultivate peaceful solutions to many disputes and issues. In viewing public diplomacy as a form of branding, Potter (2009) noted that both approaches seek to develop relationships with their audience. In branding a nation, public diplomacy “projects unique national identity and promote[s a] country’s values” (Potter, 2009, p. 73). Van Ham (2001) described the process as “telling a country’s story in an open, transparent and inclusive way” (p. 3). Handelman (2008) brought a new dimension to the concept of public diplomacy by introducing the concept of peacemaking diplomacy. He argued that public diplomacy could be practiced to bring peace in a region by dialogue between elites and the public. He examined the case of the peace-making process between Israel and Palestine and argued that both political- elite diplomacy and public diplomacy would facilitate the effort. Political-elite diplomacy shapes interactions and dialogues between political elites of both parties in a dispute. Public diplomacy provides “instruments to involve the people in the peace-making struggle, prepares them for changes, and presses the leadership to reach agreements” (Handelman, 2008, p. 162). Handelman (2008) noted that public support and public opinion are very important for the peace making process, and that public diplomacy can provide a platform for citizens to suggest solutions to the elite. He observed that although public diplomacy traditionally has been used to win the hearts and minds of foreign populations, it needs to be modified to include mechanisms by which people's opinions can be heard by elites and potentially used in policymaking. In this spirit, Seib, (as cited by Freedman & Thussu, 2012) pointed out that those who consider public diplomacy to be an image building or branding tool are right to dismiss it, but that public diplomacy is much more than that, and contains tools that can play a larger role in countering terrorism.

22 In addition to being a soft power tool, then, public diplomacy may go further. Some scholars have said that public diplomacy is not just about building actor-to-actor relationships but also people-to-people relationships (Cull, 2009). As Wang (2011) described it: “the new public diplomacy is about engaging publics, not just informing them; it is about establishing long term relationships that will build trust” (p.20). Some scholars have observed that the wars and conflicts in the ever-changing global environment also have affected the credibility of public diplomacy efforts (Abshire, 1976; Abubakar, 2014; Alexander, 1987; Cull, 2009; Fortner, 1994; Gilboa, 2008; Hart, 2013). Foreign publics who are adversely affected by the hard power policies of military intervention often refuse to accept soft power programs and criticize these efforts as propaganda. Thus, the misalignment of hard power and soft power policies also affects the credibility of public diplomacy instruments. This effect has been prominent in terms of policies related to the war on terror in Muslim countries, which has diminished the credibility of public diplomacy efforts, including international broadcasting. Public Diplomacy: Challenges for the Framework The challenge of creating a comprehensive and coherent the framework of public diplomacy is highlighted by the distrust in the United States by Muslims around the world (Abshire, 1976; Abubakar, 2014; Alexander, 1987; Gilboa, 2008). Despite U.S. public diplomacy efforts, the lack of a theoretic or practical framework of analysis for public diplomacy, and the similarities between public diplomacy and propaganda efforts that undermine the former's credibility. This section explicates these challenges, and makes a case for the need for this study. Further, it outlines the characteristics of public diplomacy and propaganda derived from the literature that make them similar or different from each other. These characteristics are applied to the case of VOA Deewa and utilized in the research questions that guided this study. The Distrust of U.S. Public Diplomacy Nye (2004) pointed out that even the best public diplomacy cannot work if foreign policies are not consistent with soft power initiatives. The United States is currently facing same reaction from much of the world because the use of hard power in various nations where “its need is questionable" has damaged the image of the United States in the world. As Cull (2009) has noted, “The most potent voice for an international actor is not what it says but what it does” (p. 27).

23 Abubakar (2014) employed the case of the BBC Hausa service in Nigeria to examine its role in British public diplomacy. He found that listeners of Hausa consider the BBC to be prestigious because of its journalistic independence and credibility, which “helps Britain’s public diplomacy and enhances its soft power” (p. 32). Abubakar (2014) found, however, that although participants of study consider the BBC Hausa to be credible because of its impartial and balanced news, some participants and especially Muslims, consider it to be a government public diplomacy tool since the intrusion of U.S. and British forces in Afghanistan and Iraq and the drone attacks in Pakistan. Thus, international broadcasting may help to build a good image of a country among foreign publics but its reputation can be damaged by its own unfavorable foreign policies, as happened in the case of the BBC Hausa in Nigeria. In fact, Abubakar (2014) found that majority of his respondents perceived all Western broadcasters of providing a one-sided flow of information that propagates all good news about the West (while accusing developing nations, and especially predominately-Muslim nations, of being the cause of war, conflicts, terrorism, and corruption), and presents Islam as an aggressive religion and Muslims as fighters. In Pakistan and Afghanistan, U.S. public diplomacy instruments face the same challenges. The U.S. policy of drone strikes, and the U.S. invasion in Afghanistan have undermined effective public diplomacy efforts in both countries. According to the Pew Research Center, about 64% of the Pakistani public consider America to be their enemy (as cited by Rugh, 2011). This attitude of Muslims towards the United States strengthened after the invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq by the United States following 9/11, when the country once again entered into an ongoing war against terror and Islamic jihadists. In fact, despite U.S. public diplomacy efforts, the decision of the United States to invade Afghanistan and Iraq, and the ensuing deaths of innocent people, have generated hatred for American foreign polities by those in Muslim countries and many in Europe and the United States who were against the invasions. This anti-American attitude has become a big hindrance for the U.S. government in fulfilling its political objectives, thus the U.S. State Department has been engaged in reorganizations of its public diplomacy policies for the last two decades. The selling of culture and values to Eastern Europeans during the Cold War through both the VOA radio service and cultural and educational exchanges contributed to its demise. Yet, the same strategy of using soft power in Muslim countries, especially Arab countries, has not been fruitful in winning hearts and minds. In 2002, the U.S. government initiated Radio Sawa and TV Alhurra, employed Arabs

24 living in America. They produced programs about both American and Arabic culture, broadcast popular jazz music and straight news, but all for naught. Studies showed that Arabs appreciated the programs but disregarded the information conveyed by the service as they did not trust the source (Galander, 2012; Nawawy 2006). Peterson (2002) has discussed America's serious image problem, particularly in the Muslim world. Muslims have found that in Muslim and developing countries, U.S. policies contradict U.S. words. The traditional diplomacy employed by the United States has not been enough to end this hatred. Peterson has argued for serious administrative and procedural changes to U.S. public diplomacy strategies in order to improve the image of the United States abroad. He advocates, for example, that much more emphasis should be given to public opinion and dialogue with the people. To build a positive image of the United States in the Muslim world especially, it is important to both achieve U.S. foreign policy objectives as well as gain the support of foreign publics. Public Diplomacy and Source Credibility Communication research on source credibility, or the extent to which an audience finds a source credible, has generated new insights for foreign policymakers. First, no matter how savvy the U.S. public diplomacy efforts in the Middle East, they will be ineffective in changing Arab public opinion if the public is dissatisfied with policies on the ground (Fahmy, et al., 2012; Nawawy, 2006). Nawawy (2006) and Galander (2012) in their studies of Middle East and Qatar found that Arabs and Middle Easterners like the VOA programs on jazz and other entertainment programs but do not consider it a credible source of news. As they do not trust the source, which is an American channel, and they oppose American foreign policies for Muslim countries. Similar attitude is found in the PEW 2010 study of Pakistanis attitude toward U.S. where more than half of the respondents of study described America as an enemy. Similarly, Mahmood (2011) mentioned “Pakistani people do not see U.S. as a reliable partner and are hostile to U.S. policies” (p. 63). The bonding of propaganda with public diplomacy, then, is a continuous threat to foreign policy objectives, and one that affects global international relations as well as conflict resolution processes. If the public diplomacy goals of relationship building and conflict resolution through dialogue are to be achieved with a foreign populace, it is essential to work on building trust with them. The key to such trust is credibility (Perloff, 2010), and credibility is can be enhanced by

25 greater consistency between policies and action (Cull, 2009). Conversely, when the tools of public diplomacy—like advocacy campaigns and relationship building by public diplomats—are not in harmony with foreign policies, credibility is diminished, especially during war and conflicts. Thus, the practice of a country's public diplomacy, as well as its credibility, must be understood to be connected to the foreign policy objectives of a country. The Need for a Public Diplomacy Framework Public diplomacy since its inception has been a vague and confusing concept. Though scholars have not agreed on an exact meaning of public diplomacy nor what it consists of in practice, many have agreed that if public diplomacy is to be effectively employed, a more distinct meaning and framework must be developed (Gilboa, 2008; Rugh, 2006; Tuch, 1990). The clarity and usefulness of the concept would be enhanced by such a framework, since it can be used to guide governments and officials in more effectively achieving foreign policy objectives. Though scholars have used public diplomacy and propaganda interchangeably due to some similarities between the two, others have found differences in the exercise of public diplomacy and propaganda that can distinguish public diplomacy from propaganda. Moreover, propaganda and public diplomacy has been given meanings of understand, engage, inform and influence, that confine both frameworks as one phenomena with slight variations and additions (Jacobs, 2012). Further, research on public diplomacy would benefit from a clearer conceptual and practical line between propaganda and public diplomacy. Further, the increase in media outlets and media competition worldwide has greatly challenged public diplomacy efforts. Particularly as a new field, public diplomacy seems to demand paradigmatic development (Gilboa, 2008) and resolution of certain weaknesses. For example, most studies of public diplomacy are historical and deal with the U.S. experience during the Cold War. In addition, the lack of a coherent framework for public diplomacy has led researchers to approach it in the same way as propaganda and psychological warfare, or equate it with soft power. As Gilboa (2008) has noted, the War on Terror that began after 9/11 has shown that the concept and practice of public diplomacy have much more substance than these terms convey. In his estimation, the need is clear for further development of a theoretic framework for public diplomacy.

26 VOA Deewa and the Challenges of Public Diplomacy The case of VOA Deewa is useful for exploring the challenges of public diplomacy, because it is a U.S. government public diplomacy instrument of information for the Tribal regions of Pakistan and Afghanistan. The region is under a CIA program of drone attacks designed to counter terrorist groups, and it is this program that has exacerbated the already present anti-Americanism sentiment in the area. As a public diplomacy instrument, VOA Deewa has had to confront many of the challenges associated with the War on Terror, including both anti-American and anti-drone sentiments among the populace as well as Taliban propaganda against America and the presence of militants in the Tribal regions. Thus, it is an ideal setting for examining the practice of U.S. public diplomacy via radio, including questions related to the practice of propaganda. Public Diplomacy and Propaganda at VOA Deewa This study aims to contribute to the public diplomacy framework by understanding the concept and practice of public diplomacy as practiced at VOA Deewa. The research literature suggests many similarities between the concepts of public diplomacy and propaganda, namely, that both aim to reach to foreign publics and persuade them of certain ideas (Fortner, 1994; Gilboa, 2008; Hart, 2013; Mahmood, 2011; Rugh, 2006; Tuch, 1990). The literature also indicates, however, that the frameworks can be distinguished by the efforts utilized to achieve these objectives. In propaganda, communication relies on lies, bigotry, misinformation, and disinformation, while in public diplomacy, communication relies on transparency, conversation, debate, and to a great extent, efforts targeted towards solutions and conflict resolution (Abshire, 1976; Abubakar, 2014; Alexander, 1987; Cull, 2009; Fortner, 1994; Gilboa, 2008; Hart, 2013; Hale, 1975; Jowett & O'Donnell, 2012; Lasswell, Lerner, & Speier, 1979; Mahmood, 2011; Nye, 2004; Rugh, 2006; Potter, 2009; Pratkanis & Aronson, 1992; Tuch, 1990) . As VOA Deewa is an international broadcasting service, its three main communication elements—sender, message and receiver—were examined in order to more fully explore notions of public diplomacy and propaganda in practice. Thus, the differences and similarities between the two frameworks that were gleaned from the literature guided the study, and were used as a basis for examining the flow of communication at VOA Deewa, as well as its objectives and exercise of the three elements of communication. The related differences and similarities between public diplomacy and propaganda were used as initial coding themes when conducting

27 the qualitative textual analysis of the data, and are the basis for the comparison outlined in Table 2.1.

Table 2.1 Comparison of Similarities and Differences of Public Diplomacy and Propaganda

Public diplomacy Propaganda

Communication Two-way One-way

Objectives Favorable attitudes towards Favorable attitudes towards ideology, foreign policy ideology, foreign policy

Building relationship and trust Containing enemy’s ideology

Conflict resolution

Sender Overt, controlled, strategic, Overt, strategic, purposeful, purposeful controlled

Editorial independence, Covert, ethical/ unethical objective journalistic practice

Ethical journalistic practices

Message Overt, truth, objective, strategic, Overt, objective, truth, controlled, controlled, purposive, branding strategic, branding

Balanced view, aim to bring Covert, lie, biased, inaccurate, conversation and debate incomplete, misinformation, disinformation

Rational, logical Emotional

Transparent Not transparent

Receiver Foreign public living in dispute, Foreign public living in dispute, war or conflict, affected by war or conflict, affected by enemy’s ideology enemy’s ideology

Participate in conversation and Do not participate in the debate, are aware of the source conversation, no feedback is taken, may not know the accurate source

28 VOA Deewa as a Case Study As a case study of VOA Deewa as a public diplomacy instrument, this research broke new ground. Though the questions addressed at the outset were specific to VOA Deewa, however, they were informed by existing research and had theoretical implications. Thus, though some initial questions concerned the actual work of VOA Deewa and the extent to which it employed elements of public diplomacy and propaganda in practice, like the other questions posed in the study, they were designed to extend and build a distinct theoretical framework for public diplomacy apart from propaganda. The VOA Deewa practices that were examined included news and information broadcasts. It was important to know the extent of balance and accuracy in the news and information broadcast by VOA Deewa, as well as the extent to which its employees demonstrated high journalistic standards. Of particular interest was the manner in which VOA Deewa addressed news related to drone strikes and the associated death tolls, since these events were the source of so much outrage at the United States among the populace. In this regard, the presence or absence of misinformation was of particular interest given that such deceptive practices have been found to be more characteristic of propaganda than public diplomacy. In order to understand the communication flow at VOA Deewa, the communication concept of information flow was employed. Since discussion and dialogue have been identified as aspects of public diplomacy, it was important to see whether these forms of communication took place and to what extent one-way or two-way communication was employed. Of particular interest was the extent to which VOA Deewa facilitated discussion of drone strikes with locals of the Tribal region. Another concern of the study was the ideological substance of VOA Deewa programming, including the extent to which it focused on American ideology, American foreign policies and objectives, or other significant perspectives. With an eye to the importance of discussion for public diplomacy effectiveness, other questions concerned the extent to which VOA Deewa informed tribesmen about American policies and enabled discussion about them. With source credibility in mind, it also was important to explore questions about the extent to which VOA Deewa included or limited Taliban and militant ideology. Such questions were connected to those concerning persuasion and journalistic standards, specifically the extent to

29 which VOA Deewa generated rational and logical discussion or discussion based on emotional sentiments. Finally, characteristics of public diplomacy were explored, such as whether VOA Deewa attempted to develop relationships and trust with the locals of the Tribal region, or make efforts to promote conflict resolution and peacemaking. The depth and breadth of this inquiry called for the use of a far-reaching qualitative methodology designed not only to answer the major research questions, but to generate substantive knowledge to further understandings of public diplomacy in theory and practice.

30 CHAPTER THREE

RESEARCH DESIGN & METHODOLOGY

Introduction

The study examines the nature of public diplomacy in practice, and the extent to which public diplomacy involves propaganda, by analyzing the case of VOA Deewa. The literature suggests that governments have used both print and electronic media to achieve their war and foreign policy objectives (Abshire 1976; Abubakar, 2014; Bajraktari & Parajon, 2007; Belmonte, 2008; Bernays & Miller, 2005; Dorman & Kennedy, 2008; Fortner, 1994; Hale, 1975; Hart, 2013; He & Zhu, 1994; Potter, 2009; Tuch, 1990). Scholars have criticized the use of media by governments as being propaganda, while some have described it as an essential tool of public diplomacy (Farwell, 2012; Hart, 2013; Jowett & O'Donnell, 2012; Potter, 2009; Tuch, 1990). Moreover, both terms have been used interchangeably by many scholars while some scholars have distinguished the characteristics of public diplomacy from those of propaganda, as the association of propaganda with public diplomacy undermines the efforts of public diplomacy (Hart, 2013; Jowett & O'Donnell, 2012; Potter, 2009; Tuch, 1990). However, other scholars have emphasized the importance of developing a comprehensive public diplomacy framework and concept that could both further the studies of public diplomacy and also could facilitate the expanded role of public diplomacy in policy making (Jowett & O'Donnell, 2012; Nye, 2008; Shulman, 1990; Thussu, 2000). The study provides an in-depth analysis of the VOA Deewa to examine its service in actual practice under a U.S. Department of State public diplomacy program. Furthermore, the study attempts to contribute to the theoretical frameworks of propaganda and public diplomacy, and this objective requires a systematic methodological approach. The research questions, which arose based on the literature review, explore VOA Deewa from three aspects of communication: sender, message and receiver. To explore the research questions in this case, an in-depth and open-ended methodology is pursued. This can bring more voices and arguments forward and allow ideas to be developed, and does not confine the study to a specific set of questions in these three aspects. Thus, the study employs a qualitative case study method (Creswell & Miller, 2000; Denzin & Lincoln, 1994). Moreover, VOA Deewa is a medium of communication, therefore, all

31 three basic elements of communication: sender, message and receiver will be analyzed to explore the messages VOA Deewa is transmitting to its receivers, by whom, and how they are received? The data was collected through triangulation of instruments: a qualitative content analysis of Deewa programs explores the message, individual interviews with Deewa staff examine the senders, and focus groups and individual interviews with locals of Tribal regions of Pakistan and Afghanistan examine the views of receivers of the service. The data collected from three sources were analyzed through direct method of qualitative content analysis and also through using Nvivo software. The Case Study Method The case study method allows researchers to explore and describe a case in its entirety (Creswell & Miller, 2000; Denzin & Lincoln, 1994; Yin, 2003). The case study method is descriptive and exploratory. This study is exploratory in nature. It explores and examines the VOA Deewa service as a public diplomacy tool using the analytic frameworks of propaganda and public diplomacy. The case study method allows investigation of existing phenomena within their real contexts, especially when the boundaries between phenomena and context are not clearly evident (Creswell & Miller, 2000; Lindlof & Taylor, 2002; Yin, 2003). Thus, allows the researchers to explore further the phenomena. However, a limitation of the case study method is that it provides little justification for scientific generalization, more specifically in the study of a single case (Creswell & Miller, 2000; Patton, 1980). However, proponents of this method argue that, “case studies just like experiments are generalizable to theoretical propositions and not to populations or universes” (Yin, 2003, p.10). Moreover, the case study method is criticized for lack of rigor; since case studies do not follow systematic procedures, and the direction of findings and conclusions may be influenced by allowing equivocal evidence or biased views (Creswell & Miller, 2000; Patton, 1980; Yin, 2003). The case study investigators have addressed this limitation by adopting the strategy of including multiple sources of evidence (Bowen, 2009; Corbin & Strauss, 2008;

Creswell & Miller, 2000; Crittenden & Hill, 1971; Denzin & Lincoln, 1994; Downe‐Wamboldt,

1992). Thus, the unique strength of the case study method is its ability to deal with a variety of evidence, including documents, artifacts, interviews, and observations (Corbin & Strauss, 2008; Creswell & Miller, 2000; Patton, 1980).

32 To overcome limitations of pursuing a case study in a single case, an extensive methodological approach of triangulation of instruments was adopted in this study. The triangulation of instruments was not merely to adopt multiple sources of data collection but the aim was to corroborate the same fact and observation of phenomena from all sources and methods of information collection and analysis (Corbin & Strauss, 2008; Denzin & Lincoln,

1994; Downe‐Wamboldt, 1992). The methods employed in this study were qualitative content analysis, individual interviews and focus group interview methods. VOA Deewa - A Case of Propaganda and/ or Public Diplomacy? VOA was initiated as a war information dissemination tool, served as an institutionalized propaganda machine and later moved to the U.S. State Department as tool to achieve foreign policy objectives. The service is currently mandated to serve as a public diplomacy tool. The case of VOA Deewa is selected based on the organization’s history as a war propaganda machine and then being given a new image under public diplomacy. However, proponents of propaganda and even scholars of public diplomacy associate VOA most often with propaganda (Heil, 2003; Krugler, 1999; Massey, 1990; Pirsein, 1979). Although VOA moved to the separate entity of U.S.IA for almost twenty years and has developed a charter that emphasizes the role of VOA as an objective news agency, it still carries a legacy of propaganda efforts (Massey, 1990). After 9/11, the VOA service was again a part of the U.S. State Department, and as a tool of foreign policy, it was not considered to be a credible source by many Muslim audiences (Abubakar, 2014; Farwell, 2012; Gilboa, 2009; Hart, 2013). As studies indicate, many Muslims consider U.S. public diplomacy and soft power efforts to be propaganda as they find these efforts contradictory to U.S. hard power and military deployments in Muslim countries (Abubakar, 2014; Gilboa, 2009; Hart, 2013). Furthermore, the dislike of drone strikes over the Afghan and Pakistan border region are part of a major criticism of the U.S. foreign policy by Muslims and specifically by media in Muslim countries. The issue of drone strikes is selected for study here based on controversies related to it. Drone strikes are among the top issues that have incited hatred among the Pakistani public against U.S. foreign policy and have caused damage to the credibility of the United States image in the region (Jamil, 2013; Pew Research Center, 2012a; Pew Research Center, 2012b; Pew Research Center, 2012c). Thus, the question it raises is whether an organization that aims to

33 be transparent and represent the soft power tool of the U.S. is transparent and unbiased about the hard power tool, and brings about debate and dialogue. To understand the case holistically, VOA Deewa staff are considered to be senders, the messages it broadcasts are explored as content, and receivers’ views are examined as audience perspectives. Much of the literature on public diplomacy and propaganda has evolved based on sender perspectives and message content, and fewer studies have examined the receivers. To further the research literature on propaganda and public diplomacy, and to evaluate public diplomacy tool as a form of two-way or one-way communication, it is imperative also to explore the perspectives of receivers. Qualitative Content Analysis Qualitative content analysis is the method employed by communication researchers to describe and interpret the characteristics of a recorded or printed message. Qualitative content analysis allows researchers to describe the content, structure and meaning of the messages within the text. Texts in the study of media are often in the form of transcripts, which may be verbatim recordings or documents, and are the outputs of communication or the messages produced by senders/communicators (Frey et al., 1999). For this study, the sound recordings of selected VOA shows are selected for analysis. The study explores the meanings and narratives embedded in the content of a message by employing qualitative content analysis methods. In qualitative content analysis researchers are more interested in the meanings associated with the message than with the number of times a message variable occurs (Frey et al., 1999). Thus, the content analysis approach is most appropriate based on the nature of this study: to analyze the narrative set used by the VOA, to analyze the content and its alignment with foreign policy objectives, and examine the elements present of either propaganda or public diplomacy. Qualitative content analysis is defined as “a research method for the subjective interpretation of the content of text data through the systematic classification process of coding and identifying themes or patterns” (Downe-Wamboldt, 1992). There are a large number of studies in social sciences and health sciences that have conducted qualitative content analysis of documents and interviews. However, many of the studies employed this method of content analysis when the phenomenon is not well explained in literature.

34 This study employs direct content analysis. This method of content analysis is used when a theory or prior research exists about a phenomena but either is incomplete or requires further elaboration (Hsieh & Shannon, 2005; W. J. Potter & Levine‐Donnerstein, 1999). Direct content analysis is more systematic than the conventional qualitative content analysis (Hsieh & Shannon, 2005; W. J. Potter & Levine-Donnerstein, 1999). Direct coding allows the researcher to use existing literature or the framework for initial coding and also allows for open coding. The similarities and differences of propaganda and public diplomacy derived from the literature were utilized as initial coding categories Direct content analysis of the VOA Deewa messages (shows’ content) aids in this study since propaganda and public diplomacy concepts have been defined and explained. However, they require elaboration and research to broaden the framework of public diplomacy and to further distinguish public diplomacy from propaganda. Qualitative Content Analysis - VOA Deewa Shows (Unit of Analysis) The service was initiated in 2006 with duration of four to six hours of broadcasts per day, followed by full-fledged twenty-four hour broadcast after 2008. Since this is a qualitative study that demands in-depth analysis, the number of shows selected for content analysis is comparatively smaller than the number that might be examined in a quantitative content analysis. The shows’ content is analyzed based on the message, patterns and organization of the program, the anchors and their arguments, the language and terms used, and listeners’ participation and responses. Selection of Deewa Shows. Deewa shows were purposefully selected for the study in order to achieve study aim. The author is aware of the Deewa shows and has been listening to the shows since 2012 through VOA Deewa website. She knew that Deewa broadcasts a two hour interactive morning show that includes; news, news analysis, editorials, calls from the locals, and a women’s hour. Deewa has news hours in the morning, afternoon, evening and in the night. They also broadcast health shows, shows on business and market, and shows on political issues, music and Pashto literature shows. The author selected shows that could help her to examine the research questions of the study. The first criteria that the author set to select shows was drone strikes; thus the year with the highest number of drone strikes was selected. Moreover, the shows on the day and the following day of drone strike were selected. The second criterion was to select shows that can

35 represent the Deewa service. Thus, three types of shows were selected: the news hour in primetime to examine Deewa news, the morning interactive show and the interactive show on political issues during primetime. The selection of three different shows in three different times of the day was aimed to examine Deewa practice as a public diplomacy instrument of information, which is the first research question of the study. The shows on the days of the drone strike and the following day were selected to examine the second question of the research: to what extent does public diplomacy include propaganda? Drone strikes are a form of hard power used by America in the Tribal region against militant forces in the region, but Pakistanis condemn these. The civilian deaths in the drone strikes have enraged the Pakistanis and have further raised the anti-American attitudes among them. Thus, examining Deewa shows for the drone strikes news and views could be ideal to find and analyze the accuracy, objectivity and balance of news and views by Deewa. Due to time and financial limitations, the same shows were analyzed to explore three research questions of the study: the Deewa service as public diplomacy instrument, propaganda efforts if any, and to examine the practice of public diplomacy in order to contribute to the literature. Deewa shows -2013. In 2013, the number of drone strikes was at its highest, and in later years was reduced (possibly due the rage expressed in Pakistani media and by Muslims all over the world). Also, Pakistani authorities, due to public pressure, blocked NATO supply lines in 2013, also because of concerns about the increase in the number of in civilian deaths in drone strikes. Demands were made for the American government and Pakistani authorities to stop the drone strikes. The blocking of NATO supply routes inflamed the issue and media also highlighted the issue of drone strikes. We asked whether VOA Deewa discussed this issue with the Deewa audience, and how this was addressed. In the year 2013, the total number of reported drone attacks was 24 (See Appendix I for the list of drone strikes in 2013). The Deewa shows of 2013 were selected for analysis in the study initially. Also, the Pakistani media and the general public, including religious parties, actively participated in anti- drone strike protests all over Pakistan. It was ideal to study the content of Deewa broadcasts during that period to examine any possible propaganda efforts. Thus, the shows selected were broadcast on the day of a drone strike and the following day, in order to gain a factual and accurate analysis of Deewa as a public diplomacy instrument.

36 Limitations in selection of the 2013 shows. In initial contact with Deewa staff to access content, it was communicated to the author that all content was available online on the Deewa website. The content was available online initially, however, when the content was accessed during 2014 for study there was a new web site and the links were no longer active. On request of author, some of the links were made available and were activated. Thus, for this study, the shows broadcast on the days of a drone strike and the following day or days, were selected from September 2013 to December 2013. The author contacted VOA Deewa about the inactive links on Deewa website. The Deewa correspondent informed the author that due to technical problems most of the 2013 shows links were inactive, however, links to shows in 2014 were active. The Deewa correspondent asked the author to send them dates of the shows that she wanted to study. The Deewa correspondent told the author that Deewa staff would make a CD and send it to her. In the meantime, the Deewa correspondent requested their technician to look in to the matter. The author initially requested seventy-eight shows in 2013 that were broadcast on the day and the following day of the drone strikes. The Deewa correspondent informed the author that these are many shows and it is very time consuming. Providing shows to the author is not official duty, so someone among Deewa staff has to do it in their free time and that could take two to three months to record the shows on the CD. In the meantime, the Deewa technician was able to activate some links of the shows that were requested. Thus, due to time limitations, the author decided to study the shows activated on the Deewa website. The shows links that available at the time of the study were from September 2013 to December 2013. Show links on day of drone strikes were made available during September 2013 to December 2013, however, not all the shows on the following day of drone strike were available at the time the shows were accessed. The 2013 shows were accessed for study during October 2014 to December 2014. The availability of all the shows requested would have allowed the researcher to analyze random shows to have more validity and reliability in the findings. Including a different sample of shows may have resulted in different conclusion (see limitation of study in chapter 7). Types of shows. To analyze Deewa shows using the criteria of accuracy of news and information, relationships and trust, dialogue and two-way communication, and presentation of American perspective and policies, three different types of shows of Deewa were selected.

37 1. 8pm to 9pm News Hour: Seven News Hour shows were selected for this study. This is a one- hour news show in prime time from 8pm to 9pm. The shows are selected based on their availability and from the days drones attacked. The news hour is selected to examine the news for its content and more specifically for drone strikes. A number of questions aid in constructing a rich portrayal of these programs and their coverage. What is the focus of the headline news? What news is broadcast? Is the drone strike news part of the headlines? Is it among the top three headlines? How much time is given to drone strike news? Are there any reports prepared about drone strikes? Is there any drone strike condemnation in the broadcast? Does the news include the number of causalities? What are the sources of the news? Are the sources mentioned? What is the air time/ duration of each news? The shows analyzed for news hour were broadcast on the day of drone strikes. The links of the shows on the days following drone strikes were not active and could not be analyzed. The following table summarizes the months and dates of the news hour shows selected for the study.

Table 3.1: News Hour - 8pm to 9pm Months Dates of Shows Day of Drone strikes Day following Examined drone strike September 2013 September 6, September 6, September 22, None September 22, September 30 September 30

November 2013 November 1, November 1, November 29 None November 29

December 2013 December 14, December 14, December 26 None December 26

2: Saher Pa Khair (Morning Show): Eight morning shows are selected from the months of September, November and December on the day of a drone strike. This show is two hours long, and is broadcast from 6:30 am to 8:30 am, Pakistan standard time, while it is evening in Washington. This is an interactive call-in show, and the first hour of the show is for everyone while the second hour is specifically for females. This one-hour segment is simulcast both on

38 Deewa TV and radio. The first one-hour is called Saher pa Khair, which means good morning, while the second hour show is called Bibi Shirin, which means sweet lady. The interactive shows in the morning are about social, political and economic problems and issues. The women’s show is specifically for women’s problems and issues. The morning shows have news headlines, editorials from the newspapers, guest speakers and songs. The interactive shows are also examined and portrayed in this analysis guided by a range of questions: What is the topic of the show? What are the hosts discussing? What are the listeners asking and calling about? Who are the experts in the show? What are the experts’ perspectives? What is the host’s standpoint? How many callers called? What did the caller ask? Did the caller object to Deewa or American policies? Moreover, in Deewa broadcast; what news headlines are broadcast? Does Deewa broadcast drone attack news in the headlines? Also, to examine what editorials are selected for review, several questions are raised. Is the editorial selected about drone strikes or about a condemnation of drone strikes? What is the editorial about? Is it relevant to the Tribal region? Does Deewa explain the American perspective? How much time does Deewa give to American perspective if any? Does Deewa only broadcast American perspective once or does Deewa keep on repeating the same content? The morning shows analyzed for the study includes the shows broadcast on the day of drone strike and some shows on the following day or shows on a few days after the drone strike. As not all the shows on the day of drone strike and the following day were available, the researcher selected the shows that were broadcasted after few days of the drone strike as it was available and could strengthen the findings. The following table summarizes the months and dates of the morning show selected for the study.

Table 3.2: Morning Show- Saher Pa Khair Months Dates of Shows Examined Day of Drone Strikes Day Following Drone Strike September September 17, September September 22, September 17 2013 22, September 30 September 30 November November 21, November November 21, November 22 2013 22, November 29 November 29 December December 26, December 27 December 26 December 27 2013

39 3: Hello VOA (Evening Show): Fourteen shows were selected from this segment based on their availability and the days of drone strikes. This is a one-hour interactive show in the prime time from 9pm to 10pm. The show is broadcasted every day and discusses health, social, economic and political issues of the Tribal region. For the study, the political shows were initially selected on the day drone was attacked and the following day. These shows were analyzed based on the following questions: is drone attack the topic of the show? Or is the drone strike news included with in the show for debate? If not then, what issues are discussed and debated? Who are the experts? What are the experts saying or what is their standpoint about the issue under discussion? What questions and points is the host asking about and bringing to the table? How many callers are included in the show? What are the comments and points of the callers? Did the host and experts answer or address callers’ points or questions? The shows analyzed for the study include the shows broadcast on the day of drone strike and some shows on the following day or a few days after the drone strike. As not all the shows on the day of drone strike and the following day were available, the researcher selected the shows that were broadcast after few days of the drone strike to examine whether stories carried over. The following table summarizes the months and dates of the political interactive show selected for the study.

Table 3.3: Hello VOA Months Dates of Shows Examined Day of Drone Strikes Days Following Drone Strike September September 6, September 7, September 6, September 7, 2013 September 15, September September 22, September 15 22, September 30 September 30

November November 3, November November 21, November 3, 2013 21, November 22, November 22, November 24 November 24

December December 1, December 14, December 14, December 1, 2013 December 15, December December 26 December 15, 26, December 29 December 29

40 Listening & coding - Qualitative content analysis. The shows were downloaded from the VOA Deewa website and saved on a computer hard drive. The shows’ content was in Pashto, the local language, and was not available in a written form. In this study, Deewa shows were transcribed or translated for coding purposes. The shows were downloaded in Nvivo software. The author listened to the shows once and coded the content using initial coding scheme and open codes. Coding was done using the time stamps. The author listened to the shows once again and coded if any of the content was missed initially. The author is native Pashtun speaker and did not have any problems in understanding or coding the content. Qualitative Interview Method Public diplomacy and propaganda both are purposeful, strategic and controlled; however, in public diplomacy, the source or sender has editorial independence (Abubakar, 2014; Cull, 2009; Cull, 2008; Farwell, 2012; Fortner, 1994; Hart, 2013; Jowett & O'Donnell, 2012; Kelley, 2007; Melissen, 2005; Mirchandani, 2014; Nye, 2008; Potter, 2009; Tuch, 1990; Wang, 2011). Moreover, public diplomacy exercises an objective and balanced view, which indicates that tools of public diplomacy may be less directly controlled by the government (Mirchandani, 2014; Nye, 2008; Potter, 2009; Tuch, 1990; Wang, 2011). To explore public diplomacy further, VOA Deewa (as a sender) is examined. Qualitative Interview – Definition and Description A qualitative interview is, “an event in which one person (the interviewer) encourages others to freely articulate their interests and experiences” (Lindlof & Taylor, 2002, p. 170). Interviewing develops a view about the topic under discussion between (inter) people (Brenner, 2006). Interviewing involves direct interaction between the investigator and the research subject. The investigator asks questions related to a specific topic, directly from the subject (Darity, 2008; DiCicco-Bloom & Crabtree, 2006; Lindlof & Taylor, 2002). Qualitative interviews are often based on semi-structured questions. Semi-structured interviewing allows more room for discussion and the subject is able to detail their opinion in the ways they deem important, thus contributing to a greater understanding and exploration of the subject. Questions are prepared in a way to prompt topical areas of dialogue. These kinds of interviews are designed to allow the respondent to expand upon the question and reveal information that cannot be obtained from a structured interview (Darity, 2008; Creswell & Miller, 2000; Fontana & James, 2000).

41 To examine the elements of propaganda and public diplomacy and to further the literature on two frameworks through the case of VOA Deewa, it is important to examine the viewpoints of staff and officials of the VOA. All interviews were tape-recorded and transcribed and were analyzed and interpreted using qualitative content analysis. Qualitative Interviews – VOA Deewa Staff (U.S. and Pakistan) The author conducted ten individual interviews; six were face-to-face while four were telephone interviews. The author visited VOA Deewa offices in Islamabad, Washington D.C. and Peshawar to conduct face-to-face interviews. Four telephone interviews were conducted because of the unavailability of some of the staff or due to their busy schedules. All the interviews were scheduled a month before, and the informed consent form was sent to them through emails before the interview. The interviewees were briefed about the study but were not provided with the interview prompts before the interview. All the interviews were forty-five minutes to one hour and forty-five minutes long. The length of the interview varied with the responses of the interviewer. Some participants were more detailed and provided stories while some were more direct and less detailed. Six interviews were conducted in the English while four were conducted in Pashto. The author gave the language option to the participants, as the intention was to collect as much information as possible and obtain correct information. The staff broadcasts in Pashto and are Pashtuns, thus, their native language is Pashto. They were asked about their comfort and were given a choice to select the language. Six respondents opted to be interviewed in English as they could express themselves better in English, while four participants opted for Pashto as they thought they could express themselves better in Pashto. The interview guideline was derived from the questions raised in the literature review. In order to examine Deewa as public diplomacy tool in practice, the interviewees were prompted to provide their educational qualifications, professional experiences, and their views about Deewa and the Tribal region. They were also prompted to describe the purpose of Deewa and their services for Deewa. Furthermore, they were asked the following questions: What is their standpoint about American foreign policies for Pakistan? What is their standpoint about the Taliban, Tribal regions and tribesmen? How do they produce content for their shows? Does VOA Deewa get any guidelines or agenda for their shows and news from the State Department? How does VOA

42 Deewa staff select editorials? How do they select news? What guidelines do they receive for news and show content? How do they produce content of the shows? Do they have the freedom to select the editorials or do they have some guidelines to select these? If, then, how and what feedback do they give to the State Department about their daily shows? Is VOA Deewa allowed to select editorials and issues related to drone strikes on their show? Why, or why not, does VOA Deewa discuss drone strikes? Does VOA Deewa converse about drone strikes with their audience? What is propaganda, and how do they define it? Why do they, or why do they not, consider Deewa to be a propaganda effort? Why did they choose to work for Deewa? What if any security threats do they receive? What differences have they found between their previous experiences of journalism and their experience in Deewa? How do they take phone calls? What measures do they take if they get a pro-Taliban call? Why, or why not, do they screen calls? (See Appendix G and H for the interview guides.) Selection of the participants. The participants were purposefully selected. The author intended to examine every aspect of VOA Deewa to gain a better understanding of VOA Deewa. The author interviewed the staff that hosted the shows analyzed for this study. This provided the author the ability to ask and understand why the host is creating and broadcasting that message. This helped the author to analyze the point of views of the staff that host those shows, and to compare and contrast their view points inside and outside the shows. Apart from that the author intended to cover all aspects of Deewa, thus, these staff members address social, political, and economic issues of the region. Moreover, it was pertinent to examine the staff working in Pakistan and to analyze their standpoints. The two stringers that were interviewed were accessible by the author as they were residing in Peshawar. The rest of the stringers were not accessible, as their locations were not known due to security purposes. Furthermore, to examine the higher management that is responsible for decision-making, the chief of the VOA Deewa in Washington D.C. and Islamabad were interviewed. The staff responsible for web and social media postings was also interviewed to examine how and what VOA Deewa posts items on the website and social media. The following table summarizes the Deewa staff included in the study.

43 Table 3.4: VOA Deewa Staff

Position Location Gender Issues Assignments Language Length of interview covered of time interview

Program Washington Male NA Supervise, Editor English 1 hour 45 minutes Chief D.C.

Staff Washington Male Health, Anchor, reporting, English 1 hour five minutes D.C. Social production, issues

Staff Washington Male Social Web and social English 57 minutes D.C. media media posting

Staff Washington Male Business Anchor, reporting, English 1 hour twenty D.C. production, minutes

Staff Washington Male Political Anchor, reporting, Pashto 1 hour fifteen D.C. production, minutes

Staff Washington Female Women, Anchor, reporting, English Fifty five minutes D.C. Social production, issues Advisory

Staff Washington Female Women, Anchor, reporting, Pashto 1 hour D.C. Social production, issues

Stringer Peshawar, Male Peshawar Reporting from English Fifty minutes Pakistan issues Pakistan

Program Islamabad, Male NA Program Pashto 1 hour coordinator Pakistan coordinator in Pakistan

Stringer Peshawar, Male Khyber Reporting from Pashto 1 hour twenty Pakistan agency Pakistan minutes issues

Qualitative Interviews – Receivers (Locals of the Tribal Region)

The qualitative interview method was also employed to interview locals of the Tribal region. It was not possible for the author to visit the Tribal agencies due to security reasons as the war operations were on going in the agencies. Thus, to explore the standpoints of locals, the author conducted telephone interviews with five tribesmen residing in the Tribal regions.

44 Eighteen face-to-face interviews with IDPs (Internally Displaced People) who moved to Peshawar due to war operations in their region were also conducted by an assistant and were recorded. All the interviews were conducted in Pashto, as the participants are either illiterate or have little education. They could not interview in English. The interviews were thirty to forty five minutes long. The length of the interviews varied due to the details provided by the participants. The participants were comfortable while interviewing through phone and provided more details, while the participants who are IDPs provided brief and direct answers. They seemed shy and uncomfortable while providing answers. The reason could be illiteracy, lack of knowledge, or that they were never interviewed before. The author did not conduct the interviews with IDPs, rather two student assistants were hired to interview IDPs. The students were hired because it was not possible for a female researcher to interview male IDPs. The student assistants only asked the questions from the interview guide provided to them and did not prompt participants further to provide more details. In order to examine public diplomacy in practice through the case of VOA Deewa, the interview guide for the locals was prepared from the questions raised in the literature review. The participants were prompted to provide their points of view about Deewa as a media channel, and as an American government radio service. They were asked about the content of the shows and the accuracy of news and information broadcast on Deewa. They were asked: why do they, or why do they not, listen to Deewa? They were asked about their definition of propaganda, and then they were prompted to provide their point of view about whether Deewa was a propaganda tool or not. They were asked about the content of the shows and the anchors on Deewa programs (see Appendix F for the interview guide). Selection of the locals (regular listeners). The author could not visit the Tribal regions to meet and interview the locals due to war operations in the region. The author reached five tribesmen through telephone. These locals were the relatives of the student respondents of the study in the focus groups. During the focus group interviews with the student respondents (see focus group outline below) the author found out about the relatives of the students who listen to Deewa regularly. Thus, to understand their standpoint, the author asked the student respondents for the telephone numbers of their relatives. The author was provided with telephone numbers of twelve people but the author could only contact five people. Due to war operations, most of the

45 landlines were destroyed. Thus, the participants for the telephone interviews were selected based on accessibility and purpose. The purpose of the author was to reach the regular listeners, to get their views about why they listen to Deewa regularly, as she already got the responses of non- listeners of Deewa from the student participants. The author found the telephone to be the best way to reach locals of Tribal region who are still living in the agencies during war operations and are still regularly listening to Deewa. The following table summarizes the characteristics of the participants of the telephone interviews.

Table 3.5: Regular Listeners (Telephone Interviews)

S. # Agency Gender Age Education Deewa Family Listeners (Tribal Listeners Listens to of other Region) Deewa radio channels 1 Bajuar Male - Little bit1 Regular Regular No 2 Bajuar Male 22 Certificate Regular Regular BBC 3 Khyber Male 60 Little bit Regular Regular BBC, Mashal 4 Khyber Male 58 10th grade Regular Regular BBC, Mashal 5 Khyber Male 45 High Regular Regular FM, School Mashal

Selection of locals (IDPs). Apart from the telephone interviews, in order to include more voices of locals, the author reached out to the IDPs living in the camps in Peshawar. Eighteen IDPs were interviewed face to face. The author of the study is female and belongs to a Pashtun family in which females are not allowed to visit areas that have security, health and hygiene issues. She has cultural and family restrictions, so she could not meet the IDPs herself. Thus, she

1 When the participants were asked about their education, they used the term in Pashto “bas mamuli shantai” which means a little bit. The researcher did not further asked the participant to be specific as to avoid any embarrassment for the participant.

46 hired two students from the Institute of Management Studies, University of Peshawar. They were also freelance journalists and had some experience conducting field interviews with people. This is a qualitative study, and therefore, they were asked to do in-depth interviews. However, they did not have experience of conducting qualitative research interviews that demand prompting the interviewee to gather more in-depth details. The lack of qualitative interview experience has led to some limitations for the study (see study limitations in Conclusion). The author knew the students, and hired them and paid them Rs. (Rupees) 300 per interview. They were Pashtuns and males and could reach IDPs more easily than the author herself. They were briefed about the study and were provided with the interview guide. They conducted eighteen interviews in three days. The target was twenty IDPs, however, they conducted eighteen, as not every IDP was willing to participate in the interview. A majority of the IDPs’ are illiterate and poor, therefore, some avoided being interviewed. Apart from that, many IDPs in the camp spent almost all day outside the camp, either to find a part time job or to get food from the donor agencies. The eighteen IDPs were selected randomly based on their availability in the camp. Some of them still listened to Deewa in the camp while some used to listen to Deewa in their villages. The following table summarizes the IDP participants that were interviewed face- to-face.

Table 3.6: Internally Displaced People (Individual Interviews) S. Agency (Tribal Gender Age Education Deewa Family Listeners of # Region) Listeners Listens to other radio Deewa channels 1 N Waziristan Male 48 Illiterate Regular Regular Yes 2 N Waziristan Female 35 Illiterate Regular Regular Mashal (VOA) 3 N Waziristan Female 29 Illiterate Regular Regular Mashal (VOA) 4 N Waziristan Male 21 10th Grade Regular Regular 5 N Waziristan Male Illiterate Regular Regular No other media 6 S Waziristan Female 32 Illiterate Regular Regular Mashal (VOA) 7 S Waziristan Male 55 Illiterate Regular Regular No other media 8 Khyber (Bara) Male 46 7th grade Regular Regular Yes 9 Khyber (Bara) Male 60 Illiterate Regular Regular Yes 10 Khyber (Bara) Male 65 5th grade Regular Regular Yes 11 Khyber (Bara) Male 35 2th grade Regular do not listen

47 Table 3.6 - continued

S. Agency (Tribal Gender Age Education Deewa Family Listeners of # Region) Listeners Listens to other radio Deewa channels 12 Khyber (Bara) Male 33 5th grade Regular do not listen 13 Khyber (Bara) Male 21 Illiterate Regular Regular do not listen 14 Khyber (Bara) Male 18 8th grade Sometimes Regular Yes 15 Khyber (Bara) Male 19 8th grade No Yes 16 Bajuar Male 20 9th grade Regular Yes 17 Mohmand Male 23 Illiterate Regular do not listen 18 Tribal Region Male 45 Illiterate Regular do not listen of Afghanistan

Translating and Transcribing. Interviews were conducted in English or Pashto, following what the interviewee liked and in which language the interviewee felt comfortable. Interviews conducted in English were transcribed verbatim while the interviews conducted in Pashto were translated and transcribed by the researcher. The researcher did not have any problem in the translation and transcription as she is native Pashto speaker and is fluent in English. All the transcriptions were downloaded into the Nvivo program for coding purpose. Focus Groups (Receivers / Locals of Tribal Region) Public diplomacy claims to reach to foreign populaces and develop relationships of trust with them and to bring a solution to a dispute through conversation and debate. Thus, it is essential to explore audience views. The third phase of the data collection was conducted in Pakistan. This is the most important phase because the opinions of the audience about VOA Deewa as information dissemination and communication medium were explored. This data reflect the opinions of those who really matter in this campaign: the populace listening to the radio transmission in the far-flung war-stricken regions. Their point of view enriches and contributes towards the understanding of public diplomacy literature and helps understand its manifestation to identify both positive and negative aspects. The focus group method was adopted due to the nature of the study. The aim of the study is to collect in-depth views of the listeners, thus, a qualitative approach was adopted. Furthermore, to analyze audience responses and views, a larger number of respondents is useful,

48 alongside the more in-depth discussion with a small number of audience members to expand the possible range of ideas included. Therefore, the focus group method was adopted to reach a larger number of audience members and also to have in-depth conversation with them and observe their interactions. As well, due to time and financial limitations, a larger number of audience members could not be individually interviewed.

Focus Groups In communication studies, focus groups were originally used to explore the effects of films and television programs. Focus groups are a form of group interviews, that is a convenient and quick way of collecting data from several people of different demographics, simultaneously (Fern, 2001; Kitzinger, 1995). In this method instead of the researcher asking questions to every person in the group, people are encouraged to exchange their views with each other, to ask questions from each other and to comment on each other’s points of view. The group interactions help the researcher to explore ideas that the participant may not provide in a one-to-one interview (Fern, 2001; Folch-Lyon, E., & Trost, J. F., 1981; Kitzinger, 1995). According to Kitzinger (1995), in focus group talks the researcher is more likely to tap into various forms of communication that people do in day-to-day interactions like “jokes, anecdotes, teasing and arguing” (p. 299). Kitzinger (1995) argues that everyday forms of communication may tell us much more about what people know or experience. Focus groups allow the researcher to conduct as many focus groups as the project demands. This method is more desirable in a qualitative study in which the researcher wants to reach many people. Focus Group – Locals of the Tribal Region According to original proposal, the author planned to conduct focus groups with the students who belong to the Tribal regions and are getting education in Peshawar. Peshawar is a settled city and the capital of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province. Reaching students in Peshawar was also feasible and convenient for the researcher due to security reasons. The researcher conducted focus groups with seventy-eight students who were divided into eight groups. The researcher also had planned to visit the Tribal regions and conduct focus groups with the locals in the Tribal regions. This was planned to be accomplished with the help of the local non-profit organization that was working on developmental projects in the region. However, when the researcher visited Pakistan in May 2014, it was during the time when the peace process between the government of Pakistan and militants (Taliban and other terrorist organizations in

49 the region) had ended and the Pakistani army had started war operations in the Tribal regions. Thus, it was not possible for the researcher to visit and conduct focus groups there since she was not permitted to visit these regions. The researcher was residing in Peshawar, which was a more settled city. As noted above, to overcome this limitation, researcher conducted five telephone interviews with the relatives of the student participants of the study. Those locals reside in agencies and are regular listeners to Deewa. Moreover, eighteen IDPs were individually interviewed, people who had moved to Peshawar due to war operations in their region (see section above on qualitative interviews). Focus groups – selection of students. The researcher was aware that the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) provided scholarships to a large number of students from Tribal region who are studying in the Institute of Management Sciences (IMS) Peshawar. Due to war operations in the region, the researcher could not visit the Tribal agencies, and to reach large number of locals, the researcher decided to conduct just as many focus groups with those students. Those students not only represent Tribal region but also are educated. As such, they were expected to be more aware about the situation and American foreign policy issues than most locals of the Tribal agencies, who are mostly illiterate or have only a basic elementary education. Moreover, those students were accessible and were convenient to reach. Before visiting Peshawar, the researcher contacted the Director of the Institute through email and telephone, and arranged the focus groups. The researcher visited the Institute for two days and conducted six focus groups with the help of the institute’s faculty and administration. The researcher conducted six focus groups with sixty-one male and two female students of Institute of Management Sciences, Peshawar. Five of these focus groups had ten students in each group while one focus group had thirteen students. The student participants are in either Bachelors or Master’s programs of the Institute of Management Sciences. To include voices of females of the Tribal region, the researchers contacted the Lady Provost of the University of Peshawar and arranged focus groups with some female students belonging to Tribal regions. These female students from the Tribal regions are getting education from the University of Peshawar and are living in the female hostels (dorms). The researcher visited two female hostels that have students from Tribal regions. The researcher, with the

50 permission of the Lady Provost and hostel warden, conducted two focus groups with fifteen female students. One focus group had five female students while the second focus group had ten female students. The number of both focus groups varied as one hostel had only five students while the other had ten female students at the time of the researcher’s visit. Focus group interviews. All the students were briefed about the study in the beginning of the focus group session. The informed consent form was distributed and also read to them by the researcher and then the students signed it. After their willingness to participate was confirmed, they were asked to fill out the demographic data section (see Appendix F). In order to examine VOA Deewa as a public diplomacy tool, the participants were asked open-ended questions regarding their opinions about Deewa: Do they listen to Deewa? Why or why not? Do they listen to some other radio service, and if so, why? Do they like or dislike Deewa, and why? Are they satisfied with Deewa news and information, and why or why not? Based on their views, they were further prompted for details. No participant was prompted to talk about propaganda in the beginning unless they brought up the concept. If the participants did not bring the concept of propaganda, then the researcher prompted them to define propaganda and provide their views on whether Deewa is propaganda or not. In order to understand more about their attitudes towards America, they were prompted to give their opinions about America and American policies (see Appendix F for focus group guide). Each focus group session was sixty minutes long. The researcher fixed a standard duration of time for each focus group, and the students were informed about it in the beginning. Students were given the option to speak in English, Urdu or Pashto. The intention of the researcher was to gather correct and detailed information, thus, she asked the students to talk in the language in which they felt comfortable and could best express themselves. The majority of the students of IMS spoke in English and Pashto while all the female students of University of Peshawar spoke in Urdu and Pashto. The students are educated and understand all three languages. However, not all the students are fluent in speaking English, since English is not their native language. Therefore, if one student spoke in English, the other students understood him and could easily answer him/her in Pashto or Urdu. The researcher did not have any problem as she understands and speaks all the three languages fluently. In focus groups, the participants can sometimes divert from the central topic of the discussion, or the participants can indulge into a heated argument (Folch-Lyon, E., & Trost, J. F.,

51 1981; Kitzinger, 1995). The researcher was well aware of this and was mentally prepared for these problems. Thus, every time a student deviated, the researcher interrupted him or her and brought the students back to the central idea of the discussion. Almost all the focus groups discussions were pleasant except for two focus groups, where an exchange among a couple of students having opposing views started to heat up. The researcher had to interrupt those students and requested that they keep the conversation pleasant and instead of opposing each other, only provide their point of views. All the focus group interviews were translated and transcribed verbatim by the researcher and downloaded into Nvivo software for coding. The following tables summarize the characteristics of the focus group participants.

Table 3.7: Students of Institute of Management Sciences, Peshawar (Focus Groups) Agency Number Male Female Age Education Listeners of Do not Listeners Listeners (Tribal of Deewa listen of VOA of other Region of students Personally to Urdu radio Pakistan /Family radio channels B M members

Bajuar 15 15 20 13 2 7 2 2 4 to 22

Khyber 15 15 20 11 3 4 1 9 to 24

Mohmand 9 9 20 6 3 2 1 5 to 24

Oragzai 2 2 22 2 1 1 to 23

S Waziristan 5 5 20 3 2 2 1 2 to 24

N Waziristan 4 2 2 20 2 2 2 2 to 26

52 Table 3.7 - Continued

Agency Number Male Female Age Education Listeners of Do not Listeners Listeners of (Tribal of Deewa listen of VOA other radio Region of students Personally to Urdu channels Pakistan /Family radio B M members

Kurum 5 5 18 4 1 to 23

FR Kohat, 8 8 19 6 2 3 1 4 Bannu, to Peshawar 27

Total 63 61 2 49 14 21 5 4 29

Table 3.8: Students of University of Peshawar (Female Students, Focus Groups) Agency (Tribal Number Age Education Listeners of Do not Listeners Listeners of Region of of Deewa listen to of VOA other radio Pakistan students Personally radio Urdu channels B M /Family members Bajuar 2 22 to 24 2 2 Mohmand 1 21 1 1 S Waziristan 1 24 1 1 N Waziristan 1 22 1 1 Kurram 10 18 to 24 8 2 3 7 Total 15 9 6 7 8

Coding This study uses the direct coding method of qualitative content analysis. This allows the researcher to use codes derived from the previous literature and can also allow for open coding.

53 Thus, the themes derived from the literature about public diplomacy and propaganda (provided in literature review and methodology) were used to construct a code guide. The text was coded based on these initial codes and was also open coded. Open codes are codes or words that best represent the texts and were used wherever the text could not be covered by the initial codes. Some text was coded as “code in vivo”, where the response of the participant is marked as a code itself, arising from the use of the Nvivo coding software. The transcriptions of individual interviews and focus group interviews were downloaded into Nvivo software for direct coding. Similarly, the initial coding scheme was also downloaded in the Nvivo software. The author read all the transcriptions one-by-one and coded the text in the first round of coding using both; the initial coding scheme and open coding. In the second round of coding, the author read all the transcriptions again and coded them for any missing codes or if the code needed to be changed. A similar approach to coding was used for the Deewa shows, however, instead of reading the transcription, the researcher listened to the shows, and the content was coded using the time stamps. All the codes with similar meanings and ideas were combined into one category. The categories represent the themes and are combined to analyze the findings of the study in the findings chapters below. Initial Coding Scheme The similarities and differences derived from the literature review of public diplomacy, and propaganda frameworks were used as the initial coding scheme. The following codes were entered in the Nvivo software as initial codes: editorial independence, journalistic ethics, building trust and relationships, promotion of American culture, foreign policy and ideology, biased news, balanced news, incomplete news, inaccurate news, correct news, purposeful, strategic, one way communication, two way communication, debate, trust, overt, covert, truth, lies, controlled, emotional, transparent, non-transparent, propaganda, and peacemaking.

Nvivo Software The researcher used Nvivo software to code the data collected from three sources. The author selected Nvivo because the software was installed in the PhD laboratory of the School of Communication, Florida State University. Moreover, it is widely used in many disciplines to support qualitative content coding procedures. It is user friendly and has tutoring lessons on YouTube. The software provided the author with many options: to code written and oral data, to

54 enter the initial coding scheme, to export and import data, to create codes and to recode them in family themes or categories. The software allows the research to import transcriptions of the interviews and focus groups, and the shows’ audio recordings. Moreover, the researcher imported all the similarities and differences between propaganda and public diplomacy framework derived in the literature as initial codes in the software. The researcher used the qualitative content analysis approach, read the content and coded it. The content was coded from the initial code list. An open coding method was used as well, wherever the initial coding was not defining the content. Moreover, code in vivo was used. Code in vivo is a code where researcher uses the words of the interviewee as a code. Code in vivo helps the researcher to stay close to the participants’ own words. The software creates a list of all the codes that includes; initial codes, open codes and code in vivo. Clicking on any code brings up all the content that is coded under that code. The list of codes further facilitates the researcher making themes or family codes from the codes that are synonyms or allude to same concept or idea. The same approach is employed in this study. All the codes are categorized into a theme that occupies codes of a similar meaning, a similar idea, or a similar concept.

Meaning of Codes The following table explicates the meanings of all initial codes that were used to code the content of Deewa shows, interviews and focus groups. These meanings were derived from the literature review and understanding of the researcher. However, to add validity, the meanings were verified by the coding of the inter-coder (see next section on validity and reliability).

Table 3.9: Codes and Meanings

Codes Content Balanced, unbiased Covers almost all stakeholders of the news Accurate and complete Authentic and multiple sources mentioned, detailed with facts and figures Two-way communication Dialogue, conversation, discussion with audience One-way communication, biased Absence of dialogue, discussion and conversation with audience

55 Table 3.9- continued

Codes Content Journalistic ethics and freedom, Freedom of journalistic practices, no strict guidelines editorial freedom, objective, for selection of news or editorial, true and complete comprehensive story with no subjective meanings or agreement or disagreement or personal sentiments with news or information, Overt, transparent Deliver all news with complete details and sources, good or bad, have to deliver clear story, even it is against America (host country) Trust and relationship Open discussion and full participation of audience on any topic, concern for the audience, build friendly and caring feelings thus building relationship, satisfaction Controlled Have specific guidelines about selection of news items and editorials Purposeful, strategic, promotion Purposive use of the service for delivering and achieving American objectives or policies, repetition of purposive messages American perspective and culture Any news or information about American perspective and culture Propaganda Bias, one-sided story, inaccurate, incomplete, misinformation, containing enemies ideology, propagation of host ideology and policies Peacemaking Any story or discussion or news for the peace of the region

Validity and Reliability Critics of qualitative research in general question the reliability of data collected, as some investigators believe that qualitative research targets the meanings and interpretations of

56 experience by the subject and may involve investigator bias (Stenbacka, 2001). However, others (Davis & Hagedorn, 1954; King, 1944; Kirk & Miller, 1985) argue that a form of reliability is achievable in qualitative research by identifying the presence or absence of traits of interest, in contrast to a quantitative approach, which involves the measurement of the degree to which the feature is present (Kirk & Miller, 1985). There are also questions raised about the validity in qualitative research approaches. Validity is defined in qualitative study as how accurately the account represents participants’ realities of the social phenomena and is credible to them (Schwandt, 1997). However, the strategies used by researchers to establish the credibility of their study are related to the procedures for measuring validity. It has been argued that validity can be measured by the researcher’s own lens by iteratively collecting data and seeing if the constructs, categories, explanations and interpretations make sense (Corbin & Strauss, 2008; Downe‐Wamboldt, 1992;

Patton, 1980). Furthermore, qualitative researchers employ member checking, triangulation, thick description, peer review and external audits for the validity check. The study by Bowen (2009) involves triangulation of evidence and methods to address the issues of reliability and validity in qualitative research. Triangulation is a validity procedure in which researchers search for convergence among multiple sources of evidence to form themes or categories in a study (Creswell & Miller, 2000). Triangulation is strategy commonly used by qualitative inquirers to provide corroborating evidence collected by employing multiple methods such as observation, interviews and document analysis to locate major and minor themes. This allows systematic sorting to find common themes or categories by eliminating overlapping areas (Bowen, 2009; Corbin & Strauss, 2008; Creswell & Miller, 2000). Furthermore, using multiple methods of research will supplement the findings of each. Moreover, studies utilize multiple sources of data to provide rich description and analysis of data. To seek an in-depth analysis of the concepts and to avoid problems related to reliability and validity, this case study employed a triangulation of methods (qualitative content analysis, open ended interviews and focus groups) and of sources. These methods are employed together to study elements of the services of VOA Deewa as a public diplomacy instrument and to examine whether it employs or did not employ the techniques of propaganda. In this approach findings of one method could be supported and verified with another method (Corbin & Strauss,

57 2008; Creswell & Miller, 2000; Downe‐Wamboldt, 1992; Patton, 1980). In this study, the qualitative content analysis of Deewa shows supplemented information derived from interviews and focus groups. In this study, the researcher translated and transcribed all the individual interviews and focus group interviews from Pashto and Urdu to English and then coded them. In content analysis, the codes are based on the researcher’s own understanding and knowledge and may reflect the researcher’s bias (Corbin & Strauss, 2008; Downe‐Wamboldt, 1992; Patton, 1980). To

further overcome the issue of validity and reliability in the study, an inter-coder assisted in the study. He is native speaker of Pashto and is fluent in English. He has PhD degree from Florida State University and is currently an assistant professor in the University of Peshawar, Pakistan. He is a qualitative researcher and has experience of qualitative coding in various research studies. The inter-coder was provided with two individual interviews and two focus group interviews to translate and transcribe, and, later on, to code. The translation and transcription by the author and inter-coder matched with minor differences, and these did not change the meaning of the content or context. Furthermore, the inter-coder was briefed about the study and was provided with a chart of initial codes and was asked to code some interviews using Nvivo software. Similarly, he was asked to listen to two shows from Deewa and code the content using the initial coding scheme. To add further reliability, the inter-coder was only provided with the initial coding scheme but was not given the meanings of the codes. The coding by the author and inter-coder were matched and slight differences were found, which were adjusted on mutual consultation. To add more validity and reliability to coding, in addition to the inter-coder, an undergraduate student of Florida State University assisted the researcher. The student was from the Netherlands but was residing in America. She was fluent in English and did not have any knowledge about VOA Deewa, public diplomacy, or propaganda. She was provided with two interviews that were conducted in English. She transcribed them verbatim. Then she was asked to open code them. She was only briefed about the study but was not provided with the initial coding scheme. She was briefed about the open coding method and was asked to read each line of the transcription and write a word that came to her mind and best described the phrase. She

58 coded the interviews with little knowledge and sense of the study. The coding by the author and the student matched with slight differences, and the researcher accommodated these in the study. Confidentiality of the Study All the data collected in the study was saved in the password secure laptop of the researcher. All the data collected on sound recordings, paper transcriptions, informed consent and demographical data is kept in a locked place. Moreover, the student participants were not asked to provide their names but were assigned numbers by the researcher. The names of the IDPs and telephone interview participants were also not asked or recorded but rather were numbered by the researcher. Similarly, while Deewa staff allowed the researcher to use their names if necessary, the researcher did not need to use their names in the study. Therefore, they are referred to as staff of VOA Deewa (or anchor) while mentioning their perspective.

Informed Consent The researcher read the informed consent to all the participants and provided them with the hard copy of informed consent. The participants of the telephone interviews were not provided with the hard copy and as they could not sign the consent form, they were asked for the verbal willingness and it was recorded in the recorder. The researcher translated the informed consent into Pashto for all the illiterate participants. Similarly, they were not asked to sign it but their verbal willingness was taken and recorded by the researcher. Prior to interview/ focus group all interviewees and focus group participants were informed about confidentiality of the data. In the informed consent the participants were assured that their names would not be revealed without their permission and their views will be anonymous. They were also assured that the data collected would be only used for academic purposes (see Appendix B, C and D for informed consent).

Confidentiality Contract The inter coder, undergraduate student assistant, and the two graduate students hired to conduct interviews were all asked to sign a confidentiality contract. The contract bound them to return all the hard and soft data to the researcher after their task was done. They were bound to keep any material related to this study in a secret and safe place. They were also bound to not use the study purpose or interview guides for their own research work (see Appendix J for example of contract).

59 CHAPTER FOUR

SENDERS’ PERSPECTIVE: WHO SENDS WHAT, WHY, HOW, & TO WHOM

Introduction In order to examine VOA Deewa as a public diplomacy instrument it is pertinent to explore elements of the communication process, including senders, the message and receivers. This chapter examines the perspective of the staff working in the VOA Deewa, asking who produces what, how, why and for whom. The chapter describes and analyzes the perspective of the people working in VOA Deewa; who they are, and, in their view, what they are producing, why they are producing and for whom they are producing media content. This chapter analyzes VOA Deewa as an instrument of public diplomacy or propaganda based on the senders’ perspectives. The study found that Deewa staff denied that Deewa was a propaganda tool, and rather defined their jobs as based on the VOA charter. They claim to produce balanced and accurate news and information. They raise issues of importance for the Tribal region and bring experts onto shows to raise awareness among locals about their rights. Deewa is found to be a public diplomacy instrument of information that is raising awareness to improve the living conditions of people in the Tribal region and a platform to empower local voices. VOA Deewa has a main office in Washington, D.C and sub-office in Islamabad, Pakistan. There are total of twenty-four employees (at the time of data collection) that offer their services from Washington, D.C., while several reporters work from various regions of Pakistan as stringers. To understand the service’s different dimensions, a few employees were selected for the individual interviews, and they come from different parts of the service. The employees were selected based on their location, gender, position, issues they cover in their shows, and the type of assignments they had. The selection of staff for inclusion the study was also affected by their availability during the visit of the author. To examine the senders’ perspective about VOA Deewa, ten staff members were interviewed; seven Deewa employees in Washington D.C., including the service program chief, and three Deewa correspondents in Pakistan, including two stringers and a program chief in Islamabad, Pakistan. The chief program officer was interviewed to examine the policy issues, the Web and social media officer was interviewed to examine Deewa’s social media coverage, the

60 anchor covering the political news and analysis was interviewed to examine Deewa news on political issues, anchors were interviewed that broadcast content on the social and health issues to explore Deewa efforts regarding social and health issues, and the coordinators of Deewa and stringers in Pakistan were interviewed to examine their selection and making of news from the field. All the interviews were transcribed and coded using the direct coding approach in Nvivo software. The similarities and differences derived from the frameworks of public diplomacy and propaganda were used as the initial coding scheme. This includes: editorial independence, journalistic ethics, building trust and relationship, promotion of American culture, foreign policy and ideology, biased news, balanced news, incomplete news, inaccurate news, correct news, purposeful, strategic, one-way communication, two-way communication, debate, trust, overt, covert, truth, lies, controlled, emotional, transparent, and non-transparent, propaganda, peacemaking. The responses of the participants were coded into one hundred and ninety four codes that include initial codes, open codes and codes in vivo. These codes were then sorted out based on their similar meanings and ideas and were then grouped into nineteen categories. The categories are named after the main theme of the codes. Findings, Discussion and Analysis This section presents the coding categories along with senders’ perspectives, discussion and analyses of their perspectives.

Deewa Service This category is comprised of codes that appeared from the participants’ comments and views about the service. Participants mentioned about their services, which are open coded as: the hours of service, kinds of shows, funding, language, teamwork and why the service was initiated. They pointed out that service was initiated in response to other propaganda media in the Tribal region, also the war and insurgency in the region and the presence of no media regulations in the region. Thus VOA wanted its voice to be heard in the region and to provide the American perspective on the war and insurgency. Moreover, the service was also intended to make the locals in the Tribal region aware of issues and provide them with news and information, as the Pakistani media or cable does not cover most of the Tribal region:

61 The service was launched in August 2006 and my services were hired for, at July 2006. So I'm working since July with this service and still why not. I was hired before the launch of the service and then I got engaged and making the program formations and everything. How it should look like on radio, how should it look like and those social media at the time it was online and basically web. And the Twitter and these things are new things that came to the market just recently in last 3-4 years. But I was involve in all these things and found that how, how the new current affairs should be, should look like and Deewa and similarly the current shows, call-in shows that we call in. So all these things I was very much involved in.

The program chief explained that the service was started due to war and insurgency and Taliban propaganda against American government. The U.S. government started the Deewa service to inform people and to create a positive image about American policies in people’s hearts. Also, radio is a service that can help the locals of the Tribal region the most as they are illiterate. There is no other media outlet in that area, and due to power shortages, a Pashto radio service would be an important source to reach them. Because, here before, in FATA, BBC was heard by many persons it has good reception, then when the condition of this area become worse, the American Government wanted or it was its policy to inform the people of this region about the American policies for this region so that negative perceptions created here about America should be cleared and washed away. Also to inform the common man about its (U.S.) policies with Afghanistan and Pakistan. Because the literacy rate of the area is very low, very few read the newspaper, do not have access to TV services. The electricity shortage is another problem, there is cable but they do not permit it in their houses, radio is the only medium that they think reach the maximum audience in FATA that was why they launched this Deewa Radio with special focus on Tribal Regions and the border region in Afghanistan with the sole purpose to aware the policies of U.S. regarding Afghanistan and Pakistan.

Most of the study participants have been working with Deewa since its beginning in 2006. They said that due to Deewa’s popularity in the region, they have increased their transmission from two hours to six hours per day and now it is a total of nine hours of service per day. The service runs for twenty-four hours, but the original content transmission is for nine hours per day while the rest is repeat transmission. The correspondent in Pakistan mentioned, while talking about service timings, that in a one-hour news broadcast, they get two to three minutes to report news and in those three minutes they have to cover many details. Also for the live shows, they have to collect a substantial amount of data and information. There with them the broadcast time is 6 to 7. It’s one hour to fill. One hour in radio it is very difficult. We, in our 3 minute report, try to fill many things, then 8 to 9 is another

62 bulletin, 10 to 11 another. We have three bulletins, then in morning there are two bulletins. Then there are live shows in it, a 55 minutes live show, for that a lot of material is required.

Regarding transmission, they mentioned that Deewa’s transmission is very clear, and the reason is the boosters’ locations that have moved from Pakistan to Afghanistan and Central. Many areas in the Tribal region can easily get the signals. Participants consider the clear accessibility of the channel to be one of the reasons for a higher number of Deewa listeners. Our boosters are not in Pakistan. It’s in Afghanistan. These are not FM but because boosters are in close proximity, they all catch FM. It is easy for people to catch medium and FM.

The main plus point of VOA radio is its frequency is very clear. Its transmission is very clear in Tribal area. You cannot hear BBC there softly, clearly, but you can hear Deewa radio clear. And Mashaal benefits from it because Mashaal uses our frequency during the day.

Frequency problem was there for 2 years, 3 years now it is alight (better frequency), sometimes on FM or AM, also arranged with Radio Pakistan for some time, they took time from Radio Pakistan which I think for 2 hours from 6pm to 8pm, people had reservation on it but, not the people but administration.

They also pointed out that while the service runs on tax money and is funded by the U.S. government, but that Congress or any other official cannot interfere in their service or dictate to them. The service covers all the issues that are relevant to the Tribal regions in both Pakistan and Afghanistan. They broadcast news and interactive shows. The interactive shows cover social, business, economic and political issues related to the region. It could be like a main story of the day like the topic would be based on a main topic of the day. It could be something happening 2 days ago and we think that this could be of interest or it could be my idea that I should have a discussion on this issue this subject so it works like that.

Participants, while producing content for their shows, keep their target audience’s needs and interests up front. They said it was their responsibility to inform the locals since they do not have television, cable or any other full-fledged radio service. Also, they want to bring up issues that are of more concern for the locals, or are not discussed in detail in the mainstream media, or are missing from the mainstream media. Well I mean the first thing, we assume that our audience, our target audience, they don't have access to the mainstream media. Like we say we broadcast to the Afghan-Pakistan

63 border area and our assumption is that most people there they don't have access to cable. Like somebody in a remote valley, Khyber agency, Tirah agency, they don't have access to TV cable. So we assume that so it's our job to provide them information and if something has been discussed in the mainstream media it doesn't imply that that the audience has already heard about it, listen to it, that we shouldn't discuss this. And the second thing is we try to do speak on a aspect of the issue which we think wasn't discover, discussed properly in the mainstream media or it wasn't discussed from the perspective of our audience.

The service is organized and scheduled according to the regional time zone and listeners’ preferences. All the participants are trained and experienced journalists, and they are trained to perform multiple tasks: anchor, reporter, and producer. You know all these guys are trained now. We have two work shifts. Our total broadcast is nine hours. Three hour broadcast was in the evening, when it is evening in Washington DC. And the six-hour broadcast was when it is morning in Washington. So these guys who have been assigned this task, they know it because we have discussed all these guidelines so many times, a thousand times on this table, yeah. So they know it and we know for example, Ukraine, as for example, a big issue today. And we know that there's a very good piece in New York Times. So they select that one that let's go ahead with this one. So our, first we have, I mean we don't see it, but the filters are here in our eyes and in our ears. When I read the newspaper. So first I'm looking whether it has something regarding Afghanistan or Pakistan. So if it there is that is my first priority. Then I go, has it something about the Middle East or any Muslim issue or all, anything that is going on in that time. For example, these days everybody is talking about extremism in Europe. So if I see a very good piece on it, so I take it and I translate it and I put it on air.

Participants mentioned that they work as a team and help each other in their tasks. They help their colleagues and also ask for help from their senior colleagues. Because whenever I plan to do a show I sit down with my supervisor and he has to, you know not to prove it but you know, re-choose the topic and the guest list and everything. Like it's not my, it's not a show whose driven solely by me. So they're like more people involved in it. My producer she's a female too, Naila. So she helped me out with the guest but you know about the topics. So far it hasn't been criticized.

Apart from the office in Washington D.C. that the broadcast comes from, Deewa has a branch office in Islamabad and many stringers that work in the various cities of Pakistan. The stringers get the news from the field and send it to the coordinator who further send it to the main office in Washington D.C. As a coordinator, I tell you that in Deewa Radio Islamabad we are 5 reporters, 4 male reporters and one female reporter. The duty of coordinator is this that they, the different assignments that we get from Washington or I get I distribute it to my reporters and they work on it. When these people work on it then the coordinator work is this to inform

64 Washington about it, in Islamabad what reports we get, on what issues we get, in Washington it become convenient to them that they get a briefed that what are the coverage in Islamabad, our transmission starts here at 6'oclock which is morning in Washington. As a reporter I do reporting job, I gather news, work on different issues, conduct the interviews according to their policies that we conduct here, I send those reports.

The findings in this category describe Deewa service. Deewa is a twenty-four hour radio service for the Tribal region of Pakistan and Afghanistan. The live transmission consists of nine hours and the rest is repeat telecasts. The service consists of three hours live news and six hours live interactive shows that include Pashto music and literature shows, shows on health, business, political and social issues of the area, and an exclusive simulcast show for women every day in the morning. Apart from news, shows also include editorials from various newspapers on current issues. The service has a main office in Washington D.C. and sub-branch in Islamabad, Pakistan. The office in Washington D.C. has fifteen staff members, while in Pakistan various journalists are working as coordinators and stringers, who send news and reports to Washington D.C. However, all staff members are experienced journalists, but are also trained for the multimedia jobs during their stay in Washington D.C. All the staff members work as a team and guide each other in their specific tasks. The staff members are assigned with specific tasks and issue that they work on. Although the U.S. Congress funds the service, it does not have any say in the jobs and content of the service. The chief program officer of the service acts as the editor in chief and supervises the service content and functions. The news and information and the content is produced based on locals’ preferences, needs, problems and issues. The service covers the whole Tribal region both in Afghanistan and Pakistan. It has a clear transmission and is easily accessible by the locals. The service was initiated to contain the Taliban propaganda and to inform locals about American policies. Later on, the service was extended to provide news and information to the locals as they are deprived of the information in their areas due to war and insurgency. The Deewa service, since it was initiated to contain Taliban propaganda, resonated with the VOA efforts during Cold War to contain communist propaganda. The service is an organized effort by an American government to spread information about their policies, to build positive perceptions, and to contain the enemy’s propaganda. This effort is similar to all other VOA services that are criticized for propaganda efforts (Hale, 1975; Heil, 2003; Jowett & O'Donnell,

65 2012). However, the efforts during the Cold War were not initiated under the public diplomacy umbrella and were referred to as war propaganda efforts. However, the findings in this category indicate that the service is overt, organized, and is initiated to convey American policies. Therefore, the beginning stage of the service contains elements that can situate the service in both the frameworks of public diplomacy and propaganda. Later on the service emphasized news and information dissemination for the information deprived region, diverting the service more toward public diplomacy and its use as a soft power tool rather than simply propagating American policies. Deewa – An Organization This category is derived from the codes that appeared from the senders’ descriptions of Deewa as an organization. The initial codes that are combined in this category are: mission and purpose, accuracy, news and information, and overt, while the open codes are: comprehensive, credibility, better service, jobs and assignments, expansion, guidelines, hiring criteria, intra- organizational, Mashal, media channels, medium, meetings, new media, news media, news coverage, news reporting, news selection, review committee, selection, process, and wider perspective. The codes from in-vivo are: it’s bureaucracy, it’s not like bureaucracy, local media do not cover it, no hard advice, and sky is the limit basically. These codes appeared when the participants were prompted to describe their work at Deewa, describe VOA Deewa, its mission and purpose, why Deewa was initiated, and to describe the job and its challenges. Participants expressed the view that Deewa was initiated due to the war and insurgency in the border region of Pakistan. VOA wanted to have its voice heard in the region and it bridges a gap, makes a connection and builds relationships between the Washington D.C. and locals of the Tribal region, both in Pakistan and Afghanistan. In 2006 if you look back a little bit to the political developments in the region. So Afghanistan and Pak-, the U.S. military was there in Afghanistan, the war was going on, a little bit stability was visible in Afghanistan but at the same time in some parts of the country, especially the south western and the north eastern parts, the whole border regions close to Afghanistan to Pakistan border. Insurgency was also developing in those areas and then so many Taliban and Al Qaeda affiliates were in Pakistan's Tribal regions and Voice of America decided that they should have a voice in those areas to reach out to the locals there. And to get connection to bridge the relations between the locals and Washington. So those were the main reasons that they launched the service. So apparently I think a vacuum was filled for the U.S. international media and they tried to fill in that vacuum by launching the service.

66 All the participants were informed about the charter of VOA, and all of them referred to it in their responses. They relate their work to the charter and mentioned that the service runs on the mission written in the charter of the VOA. They pointed out that their work is not advocacy but is to support democracy and freedom. They described their service as a news organization and the purpose is to inform and engage people in support of democracy and freedom. The mission is to engage, inform and communicate with people around the world in support of democracy... when I say, I’m, I didn't say, the mission is to spread democracy, the mission is very much well written when you come, enter to the corridor of the VOA, it's “to inform, engage people in support of democracy and freedom”. So that's a broader thing. I cannot interpret it spreading democracy, we don't share those mission of advocacy. No, we are a journalist and news organization. By news organization there is a charter, which we follow when we do communicate news or anything, which says it, should be impartial, objective, and reliable, and VOA should serve consistently a reliable source or a better source of news. And that means honest journalism for the region and everyone so there's the answer for the first one.

Participants mentioned that they do have strict guidelines about the news: it should be accurate and balanced, but they are not directed to mention any specific story or specific news. They enjoy journalistic freedom and have to follow strict journalistic standards. Yeah, there are always strict guidelines, by strict guideline means, uh, of the journalistic standards, uh, especially for the contents of the news, for the editorial of the news. VOA has very strict guidelines and these guidelines are intermittently conveyed to the staff. Time to time they are replaced in the guidelines and, this guideline includes balanced reporting, - fair reporting, you have to, you are filing a report, and you have to quote all the aspects, all the parties. One-sided stories are, especially, strictly, not allowed.

Participants mentioned that their schedule is organized and the whole team meets twice a day to discuss the daily news and shows’ content that has to be broadcast on that particular day. We have a daily two time meetings, one is the history and start of the broadcast early in the morning before our first broadcast go on air. And then we have a second meeting at the end of our broadcast in the afternoon. So we discuss everything. You just ask me what people say how did you communicate, how did the experts say, all people, all colleagues are sitting across the table and we discuss whatever is missing, whatever I had to say, if I have missed something and we just hear it with our, all our colleagues.

Participants mentioned that their team meets before the broadcast starts to discuss the broadcast news and content for the day. They meet again in the end of the day to discuss how the broadcast went that day. They also discuss the feedback that they get from their listeners and discuss the possibility of accommodating that feedback.

67 Our meetings in the office, before our broadcast in the morning we make our agenda for the day, and after finishing our jobs for the day, we all sit together and discuss all the jobs done in the day, how good or bad were they, so this is direct feedback, the evening show hosts explain that these were the guests that came in the evening show, that’s what was discussed. So a log is prepared and that log is a feedback.

Participants mentioned that the service chief is briefed about the content of the show and how would that be addressed. He makes sure that the person in charge has mastered the topic and would be able to do a live show. They discuss the topic with their colleagues, too, for advice. Findings in this category describe Deewa as an organization that aids as a public diplomacy tool, specifically, and public diplomacy in practice, generally. Deewa was established as a result of war and insurgency and the Taliban propaganda against American government. Deewa was started to bridge the gap and build a connection between Washington D.C. and the Tribal region. This gap is filled through current news and information and to keep locals informed about the war situation and about the world and foreign policy. Deewa works as an organization where the employees have a purpose and mission that they have to follow. The employees follow the VOA mission, which directs their job. They take to be Deewa a news organization that works to serve the people of Tribal region and provide them with balanced and credible news, 24/7. Deewa’s purpose is not advocacy nor to spread American ideology or to spread democracy, rather to support democracy and freedom. Deewa workers have strict guidelines about their work, and those guidelines are to keep journalistic standards and to reach the people with accurate and balanced information. Moreover, the Deewa staff works as a team and makes sure that each person producing content is knowledgeable about the content and provides correct and detailed information. Deewa as a radio service is part of a bigger organization, VOA that has a charter and operates to serve a mission. Deewa, being part of VOA, follows the same mission. Deewa is a news and information organization that broadcasts balanced, objective and credible news and information. These elements of Deewa as an organization situate it in the public diplomacy framework.

Experienced & Qualified Staff

All the participants are experienced and well qualified. They are experienced journalists and most of them have formal education in journalism. This category is derived from the responses of the participants about their education and job experience. The open codes that are

68 combined in this category are: native, experience, field experience, known journalists, profession, professional, professional experience, qualification, training, American Pashtun, association from the beginning and advisories. The staff working in Deewa has either a Master’s degree in journalism or in English literature. They are natives and belong to different tribes of Pashtun region in Pakistan. They are fluent in Pashto language, and can read, write and speak Pashto. The chief program officer is also a native and belongs to a famous tribe of Pashtun region. I am from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province and my hometown is ----. It's a small village in Mardan district and it's close to Takhtbhai, and Takhtbhai, if you have heard it's a both the village as well as the main town near my village are important in the sense they're Takhtbhai is the center of Gandhara civilization

Before joining Deewa, most of the staff were well known journalists in Pakistan and have field experience of reporting and broadcasting. The chief program officer of Deewa is a well- known and experienced journalist who also has experience in popular international media like BBC and Deutsche Welle in Germany. Deewa’s whole team is composed of professional journalists who have education and field experience in journalism, international relations and English literature. Participants mentioned that they do not only have relevant education and experience, they are well known journalists and are fluent in Pashto and are natives of the Pashtun region. I was born in Bunair in 1967, and was used to write poetry in the childhood and used to play cricket while schooling but after high school I went to Karachi and did [the] rest of education and work there. I did masters in international relations from University of Karachi that is in Karachi, which is the biggest industrial city of Pakistan. During my masters I already started working as a journalist and was worked as sub editor and then editor in Pashto magazine “Jasarat”. I was staff reporter and then reporter in the daily newspaper ‘Roshan’ and then many other newspapers like I used to write in ‘Wahdat’. In 2006 I started working in Khyber TV the Pashto channel, then I become bureau chief of Karachi then I became station manager of Khyber network in AV (cable channel). The same way I became the deputy director of the Khyber news channel of AV, and in 2006 I also started working with VOA, and was Karachi based correspondent for VOA Deewa the Pashto branch of VOA. I have been journalist for almost 18 years and I came in 2009 here (Washington D.C.). Since 2009 I am working as international broadcaster, producer and reporter and multimedia journalist here (VOA Deewa, Washington D.C.).

After joining Deewa they get further training and now can perform multiple tasks: they can host, report, and produce shows. The chief program officer mentioned that the Deewa staff is trained; they know the guidelines and selection criteria of news. They know how and what topics

69 to select. He pointed out that he also jumps in and suggests the content or topic or provides them editorials but the staff is not dictated to do that, they rather have freedom and can choose their own topics or news and views. You know all these guys are trained now. We have two work shifts. Our total broadcast is nine hours. Three hour broadcast was in the evening, when it is evening in Washington D.C. And the six-hour broadcast was when it is morning in Washington. So these guys who have been assigned this task. They know it because we have discussed all these guidelines so many times, a thousand times on this table yeah. So they know it and we know for example, Ukraine, as for example, a big issue today. And we know that there's a very good piece in New York Times. So they select that one that let's go ahead with this one. So our first, we have, I mean we don't see it, but the filters are here in our eyes and in our ears. When I read the newspaper. So first I'm looking whether it has something regarding Afghanistan or Pakistan. So if it is there that is my first priority. Then I go, has it something about the Middle East or any Muslim issue or all, anything that is going on in that time. For example, these days everybody is talking about extremism in Europe. So if I see a very good piece on it, so I take it and I translate it and I put it on air. The guys who are assigned to that assignment, they know and they know it and they make this decision yeah. And I mean, I can also jump into it. I also send them emails that if they haven't seen this or that article, go ahead with this one because this one is good. So freedom is there, yeah.

One of the participants mentioned that he was trained for multi-tasking while working in Deewa. It is an organization, it helped me grow with my experiences. They have done some training, training regarding how to edit programs, audio reports and sometimes I’m trying to learn with the uh video editing and I was learning (unclear) and then I understood how international media organization work here.

Most of them are associated from the beginning with Deewa. They mentioned that they were selected based on their qualifications and experience in journalism. The major requisite was fluency in reading, writing and speaking Pashto language and then relevant journalism and reporting education and experience. The coordinators working for Deewa in Pakistan are also associated with the service from the beginning. Some of the staff that were new in the field or were less experienced, but fulfilled the basic prerequisites for the job, were selected through a process of written tests, and then an interview. I was working with Khyber TV, the first Pashto TV cable channel, I worked with them and in the meanwhile I enter, voice Deewa was there was a program to launch Deewa service they conducted an interview and there were test and I was selected as correspondent from Islamabad and I worked with Deewa service since from its beginning

70 2006. In 2010 I moved to Washington DC, in February 2010. And I've been working with Deewa here in Washington DC.

Deewa officials also approached well-known journalists and hired them to work for Deewa. I was in Karachi and at that time fortunately I was working on Khyber TV and as writing in different publications and I was well known journalist in the world, people knew me that understands the problems of Pashtuns. So the higher ups of Deewa radio asked me to work with them and then I started working with in Karachi after knowing them.

Participants mentioned the nature of their job or service. Each person is assigned jobs according to the person’s skills and qualifications. I used to do the first two news hours for quite some time and I still do but they've given me some more responsibility of shooting out advisories too and I share the whole schedule of the daily shows. And that we share with central, like the whole division, the South Asian division. So I do advisories, I do news hours, I also host a women's show which is aired on Thursday, Pakistan time nine to ten and that's a one hour show and which is mainly associated with women's issue and I can talk about it in detail later on. But other than that we also have a call in show, like radio, on TV and that's daily in the morning shift which is, the timings are from ten to eleven o'clock Pakistan time. So I do those also, a couple of shows. One is on Wednesday and then one is on Friday.

In the branch office of Pakistan the coordinator has their own specific tasks while stringers in the field have their own tasks. As a coordinator, I tell you that in Deewa Radio Islamabad we are 5 reporters, 4 male reporters and one female reporter. The duty of coordinator is this that they, the different assignments that we get from Washington or I get, I distribute it to my reporters and they work on it. When these people work on it, then the coordinator work is this to inform Washington about it, in Islamabad what reports we get on what issues we get, in Washington it become convenient to them that they get a brief, that what are the coverage in Islamabad our transmission starts here at 6'oclock which is morning in Washington. As a reporter I do reporting job, I gather news, work on different issues, conduct the interviews according to their policies that we conduct here, those reports I send.

The web editor has his own assigned tasks that include news and show posting on the Deewa web and social media sites. These include Facebook and Twitter. Participants mentioned that their job is to provide news and they start their day by selecting important, current and relevant news. They keep their listeners and the region in front while selecting news and topics for call in shows. One of the participants described his typical day and job, and pointed out that to discuss a topic, the steps they go through to broadcast according to VOA policy and mission:

71 Well on any typical day I’m supposed to first have a look up on the news from the region and around the world. And figure out what is important for my audience and what relates them, best. And once I figure them out then I look into the advisories from the region, which our reporters based in the region, send us advisory that what they're going to cover, on what topic, issues they will have a report. So I go through them and I look into them that, are they appropriate in a way to be put on the broadcast. What we need more coverage, what we don't, what is important, what is not? So I’m a kind of, a role for any news media, to be a news editor in the morning and I look into things and decide on them. What should go on air, what should not? In what length and what not? What topic deserves more analysis, more insight? And while deciding at, the determining factor is, the region, the audience, the Voice of America organization, its policies, its mission.

The participant further alluded that VOA mission and policy, focus of the region and audience are not he only criteria, rather Deewa staff try to cover all sides of the story to be balanced and accurate. The participant gave an example of the news about ISIS presence in Pakistan: That's, it's not an isolation that as a journalist who is based in a small local place and he decides on things. For example, today the ISIS, which is a militant outfit based in Syria and Iraq, Pakistan foreign office heads briefing on ISIS presence in Pakistan. You know, we are not only interested in their briefing. We had an interview so I assigned two separate reports to my reporter in Islamabad. That I need a report on that briefing which should say the main points of the briefing, what they said? Do they agree that ISIS is present in Pakistan or not? But on a separate report that a Pakistan government has been denying the ISIS presence in Pakistan. You see the media and the Pakistani politician on during session in the parliament. And many other occasions the security forces said that they have arrested people on wall chalking and other, So just have a counter check and talk to experts and how they see the government version on this and how big a threat it is. What are the allies of ISIS in Pakistan? If ISIS is spreading there what are the reasons, how much it poses a threat to Pakistan, to the Tribal region, and just tell us about the entire environment there. So the point is, it's, my role, is not only about just to look through what we have, but, I can assign, I can re-commission to see what we need to, based on the determinants of our audience or broadcast the Voice of America and keeping in view the American VOA organization mission.

All the participants have field experience in Pakistan and have utilized that experience in their jobs at Deewa. A female participant pointed out that before joining Deewa she worked with another media organization, and she used to go to houses to interview females. During that fieldwork she collected data about various problems of households that females face in their routine life. Thus she chooses her topics and show contents from her previous work. Moreover, while mentioning the change in the situation of females in Pakistan, she mentioned that she

72 belongs to Pakistani society, and she has seen little change in the lives of Pakistani females over the years. Thus, she knows what issues and problems to address during her show. Participants further noted that they are aware of the common man’s problems in Pakistan and Tribal regions specifically. Therefore, they know what topics and issues to discuss. So we know that how common people think, what problems they have, how they spend their lives, and what they are ignorant about, like they are not even aware of hygiene and sanitation so why not do a show on it. And let them aware what hygiene is and sanitation is and how to take care of it. This is how we develop content of our show that we take any subject from our stock that we have experienced and developed over period of time. We take that subject, and refine it.

Findings in this category indicate that all the staff members of Deewa are qualified and experienced journalists who have been hired either based on their experience or through a process of written tests and interviews. All the journalists are native Pashtuns and can speak, read and write Pashto. Most of them are well known journalists in the Pashtun region. Deewa staff expressed their commitment to their job and emphasized that they follow the VOA charter and therefore broadcast all the views of the story. They do not go with stories that have been broadcast in the mainstream media of Pakistan. Rather they ask their stringers and coordinators in Pakistan to further investigate the issue, and instead of taking a report from mainstream media, they produce their own report and try to include opinions and views of all the stakeholders involved in the news. The staff is well aware of the values, problems and issues of the region and produce content keeping the preferences, problems and issues of the target audience in view. These elements of the service fit more with soft power efforts and seeing radio as an information tool of public diplomacy.

Preferred Deewa The codes that combined in this category referred to the content that explains the reasons of the Deewa staff for preferring Deewa over other media organization. The open codes are: better organization, diversity, opportunity, international experience, international perspective, preference, and code in vivo: radio a strong medium. These codes appeared when participants were prompted by the question: Why did they join Deewa? Participants mentioned that they wanted to have international experience and diversity in their work, and so considered Deewa a great opportunity. I have been working as a reporter or journalist in the print media and I've been working like for more than a decade in the print media and I thought maybe let’s diversify. So that

73 was one reason I decided, I should join VOA Deewa, to feel how it works in radio. At first I wanted to have a change to go into another, I thought I had been working with print media and text for a long time and now let's see, let's discover other sides of business. So that was another reason. Then also I thought maybe let's have some international experience, exposure, AP (Associate press) wasn’t an international organization but since I was mainly working in Islamabad and Pakistan, I thought let's have a change of venue.

Participants mentioned that they joined Deewa to gain international experience and to polish their skills. As all of them are native Pashtuns and are aware about the poor conditions of Tribal region, they wanted to do something for their fellow Pashtuns. They prefer Deewa because it is radio and reaches to most of the Pashtun listeners, and through Deewa they can bring difference in the lives of Pashtuns in that region. Regarding the choice of VOA Pashtu, it means a lot to me as a journalist, as a Pashtun and the reason I'm saying it because it gives me more opportunities as a journalist to make difference in the lives of people of Pashtuns and in any media in Pakistan. Because it does not cover that much, it's a forgotten region. There is a line between in Pakistan between the Pashtun and non-Pashtun. So, and as a journalist I have this understanding that, by doing small thing and little effort, you can bring major changes in the lives of the people sitting thousand miles away. It's very rewarding personally, uh, it gives me a sense of achievement when I do something and my personal family, it’s a very rewarding profession because I have people who are already in the field of media and this is the whole background.

A female participant expressed the view that apart from having international experience and exposure, and utilizing education and her skills of a journalist, she wanted to reach a large Pashtun audience. Deewa is the only international media that reaches to a large number of this audience. There are different reasons for it, I wanted to work for the international organization, because the skills I have and the education I have gets more polished. Even in Pakistan I have worked with good media organizations in Peshawar, like Radio Pakistan I have worked with them for 5 months before joining Deewa. I have also worked with the FM stations in Pakistan as a host, and then I worked for 5 years as a reporter, producer and as a host with Inter-news in their project of PACT - Pak Afghan cross border radio training program. We can work in Pakistan but I wanted to polish my skills more and I wanted to have more exposure that we can get by working with international organization. And secondly I wanted to access more audience and as a radio journalist I want to convey my message to more people and that we can do through VOA Deewa because no other international organization do not have this large audience specially in Pashtun region and therefore Deewa was my preference. So that is why I decided to work with them.

74 Apart from gaining international experience, they pointed out that they are able to get wider and more international perspectives on issues, as they get more chances to talk about and discuss issues with international think tanks. One of the participants mentioned that he preferred Deewa because it provided him with journalistic freedom and independence that he could not get in previous jobs in Pakistan. He pointed out that in Pakistan there are few Pashtuns who can read the leading newspapers of the country, and if he writes anything for Pashtuns in those newspapers, few will be able to read it. They say that nothing is good and bad but without comparison. I was working in Pakistan for an English newspaper its name was The Nation, and one day I filed a report on Chinese Muslims who were living in Pakistan. I met a member of the Eastern Turkestan Movement. These are the people who want sort of autonomy in Xinjiang province of China. And the report was I wrote down the report and the report was published, editor published the report. But then there was an executive editor also, and next day when I came in the afternoon to my office so I found a letter from the executive editor and he said that don't embarrass me with nasty surprises. Why you cover this story? And did you talk to me before filing this report? So this thing has never been happen here. I think I have more, that time when I, I mentioned this story because the newspaper and the editor they basically didn't like it. It was published by mistake I think, it was the oversight of them, the editor and it was published. But maybe then they got some phone call or maybe some, I don't know what happen, but they told me that I shouldn't file such reports. Because they thought that it will weaken or it will raise suspicions between you, and China and Pakistan whom they think a very good friend.

He further elaborated that in VOA Deewa he has complete independence to publish, write and broadcast. But here in VOA Deewa I have complete independence. The charter, the very charter the rules of the games are very much clear. I'm not violating it and the agency is not violating that. I have full right to publish or to put on air or to post on the social media anything that meets the criteria of the VOA charter. I can write about democracy, I can write about minorities, I can do more coverage to an attack on a member of minority in Pakistan; you can’t do it [he meant in Pakistan]. I can do more coverage to issue relating to women in Pakistan you can’t do it, in a newspaper or a TV or a state radio or state television would say that how many women for example listen to us they will say and I will say a hundred thousand and they will say women are not our market. So sorry, remove this and give more time to youth and give more time to Karachi for example, because Karachi has more market. The more you report on Karachi the more you get their advertisement but here it's not a commercial institute. It just promotes causes, which are universally acceptable, accepted causes: democracy, minority, religious tolerance, women rights, human rights, and all these things. So, I think I enjoy it when I'm comparing the situation there (Pakistan) with the working environment here (VOA Deewa). So and then the other good thing is that.

75 Furthermore, participants see Deewa as a platform through which they can serve their fellow Pashtuns and can give them more awareness, in their own language. When I was in Pakistan I was working for the English media and I was covering the parliament and economy because of my experience with that my first newspaper. There are, there is a lot of shortage of reporters for covering the economy. Everybody can write about politics but when they think about economy, is a little bit difficult. So almost on daily basis I used to have a story on the front page of the newspaper. But I was often telling my colleagues, my coworkers, other reporters, let's see how many Pashtuns read The Nation, or The News (The Nation and The News are English language national newspapers of Pakistan). We were laughing among ourselves and I, I myself replied to my question and I was using to tell them there's no one. No one is reading this story. So I was telling him that I want to join a media outlet, which should connect me with my own people. Bureaucrats are not my people. I mean that story probably a few bureaucrats and agriculture department and food department might have read it but those are not my targets. My targets are Pashtuns and I think this job has given me the platform: to talk directly to Pashtuns, and to raise their issues, and to connect them with the rest of the world, to broaden their vision on issues, to tell them that the world, that the world politics are not based on morality. You know everybody stays in these things. It's best power, politics is totally different then and they need to know it.

A female participant mentioned that she joined Deewa because it is an international organization and it is radio. She considers radio to be a stronger medium to reach people where no other medium can reach. Deewa Radio, if I tell you honestly, radio as an organization has been in my mind from the beginning, I always wanted to work in radio or an organization that works for radio. After my education, the media group, I worked for was radio organization. I worked mostly with radio and I liked it also, and Deewa was also my choice, I always thought that if I ever worked with international media, I will work with radio and not TV or newspaper. Because radio has an impact, actually I like the impact of radio and the connection between the host and listeners. That connection is very strong, because on TV you can see the host or the guest so people do not concentrate the way they concentrate to radio shows, they do not concentrate on the message of TV host because there is a visual too and the attention of the viewer divides, and they start paying attention to the other things too. But in radio as a medium is stronger than TV for me because if radio host is providing a message, then the listeners only get the message and not the personality of the host. So I like radio more because it is strong medium and therefore I pay more attention to radio. By impact I mean, impact means as I said to you, in my opinion that as a radio journalist the message one wants to convey through radio, reached to audience in a khalis (pure) form. And the listeners do not pay attention to anything else. Secondly radio is very accessible in the areas where one cannot get TV or other medias. Therefore radio is a powerful medium because it is accessible in inaccessible regions. Therefore I found it powerful.

76 The staff of Deewa mentioned valid and promising reasons for preferring Deewa. Findings in this category indicate that staff preferred Deewa to their previous jobs, since they could gain international exposure and experience and wanted to utilize their skills in international media. In addition, their preferences indicate that Deewa provides them with a platform where they can practice independent and objective journalism and have journalistic freedom. Participants seemed satisfied with their choices, and working under VOA charter is satisfactory for them, because they work based on journalistic standards. Moreover, they take Deewa as a platform from which they can help their Pashtun people in the Tribal region who are deprived of many basic human rights and basic facilities of life. Deewa is a channel to reach people of that neglected region and provide them information and news in order to bring about difference in their lives. The findings in this category indicate characteristics of public diplomacy; balance, accurate and objective news, independent journalism and freedom of journalism (Abubakar, 2014; Alexander, 1987; Hart, 2013; Nye, 2004; Potter, 2009; Tuch 1990), and Deewa staff preferred Deewa due to these characteristics.

Deprived Region This category is derived from the open codes: basic human rights, deprives, disconnect, detach, disappointment, inaccessible, inattention, disregard and underdeveloped. These codes appeared in the responses of the participants when they were prompted: Why is Deewa initiated for the Tribal region? What are your views about the conditions in the Tribal region? All the participants mentioned that the Tribal region is an underdeveloped region, which is one of the poorest regions of Pakistan. The region is deprived of basic human rights, education, health facilities, and a legal system. The region is deprived of the constitutional rights given to other citizens of Pakistan and is governed under the draconian law of the Federal Crime Regulation (FCR) that does not provide any legal or judicial protection to the local people. They're like living in Stone Age. They're not part of you and me, you and you, they are not aware of the modern age concept because they are not part of it. They are still living in those colonial times ruled by the FCR. If you do something, under the collective responsibility, one of your cousins can be arrested, and if the political administration put him or her into jail nobody can appeal. Nobody can argue and you can just rust in the jail. This is just one example, this is I'm saying they don't have those political participation. If I am not wrong, the right of vote franchises was given in 97 and I'm not sure about the date. They're in complete vacuum in an abyss. They don't have those courts where you can go, the basic rights. They don't have the political processes, they don't have the

77 infrastructures, the schools are blown up, there are no hospitals, Ambar tehsil just by the standard of ninety-eight census, 60,000 people with no higher age female, go to school. So what, you can imagine, any girl who passes her fifth grade exam is supposed to just end up and get married and just have like, and might marry to a person of (mumbles, unclear). You know this culture. So the reason I'm saying the rights and the ground that FCR is the only law they are not treated as humans.

The region does not have any university, it has few public schools that have proper teachers or facilities, and does not have electricity, cable, proper clean drinking water, or a drainage system. Participants of the study complained that since the inception of Pakistan, the Pakistani government has neglected the Tribal region and has denied the basic citizenship rights and human rights of the tribesmen. Tribal people can have their representatives in the Senate and Parliament, but those representatives do not have any authority to propose or pass any bill or law for the Tribal region. Participants mentioned some examples where the Tribal people are not treated equally, but rather have been deprived of their rights. The people in Pashtun, to be honest, it's, it's a land, you can call, and it’s a landlocked area. It's a, it doesn't have a single university for all the Tribal areas. It doesn't, it has very limited paved roads. Drink, potable water is scarce, you cannot find it there, people have their own drilling and uh there is no health, basic health infrastructure in the Tribal areas, the business then, Communication is, well there is no business in Fata. There is just a small, very low-level business activity in those Tribal areas. There are peoples, that, people have no other alternative. They have to evolve. For centuries there are some routes, which the government calls, sometime they call it a smuggling route in the Tribal areas. So there are people, they are illiterate, and they haven't had jobs or businesses. They don't have health, basic health facilities so and law. Even the Pakistan parliament if they are elected for parliament or selected for the parliament. They're elected people both in lower parliament and the upper house senate or national assembly in Pakistan. They cannot talk about, or they cannot devise or they cannot make a law for Tribal area. They cannot discuss even the Tribal affairs because they don't have authority. Only the president of Pakistan has the authority and the president last month when there was a senate election or this month, senate elections, at the very night the President of Pakistan, he promulgated an ordinance and the Tribal senators and parliamentarians protested against that. And the senate elections couldn't be held for FATA because of that late night ordinance by the President. So those people Shakil Afridi, umm Doctor Shakil Afridi, he has been languishing with the Pakistani authorities; we haven't been presented on nothing to prove against him. He languishes in jail in Tribal areas.

Deewa staff pointed out that government is not taking any reforms for FATA, rather it is imposing more restrictions, like a restriction on wheat transport to the region. So Tribal, more than around 8 million people have been displaces from their area. They don't get compensation for that. They're like the, earlier this week, I was talking to one of

78 the chief person he was having flour mill in Tribal area and he says there are two, only two three flour mills, and earlier Federal Government used to provide them wheat but now they have banned it there and they have given to, only the provincial, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa have the authority. So it's a very complex, only the outrageous party have have access to anything political in that region. So everything is been through that perspective.

Furthermore, they pointed out that the Tribal people are accused of providing safe haven to Taliban and Al-Qaida militants; rather that is not the case. They mentioned that the Tribal people do not have an open society, they have not become open to everyone, and more than eight million Tribal people who have left their houses and villages and are displaced, which shows that they do not have any affiliations with those militants.

Like people think like the majority of Tribal area, that they are supporting the Taliban. It’s evident how many millions of people from Tribal area have been displaced. If they were people, if they were supporting those extremists or militants then they wouldn’t have been displaced or they have would have come out of that area. They chose their non-affiliation. There are men's like they have met Al Qaeda people from other region. Like from Saudi Arabia but everyone knows that, you (pointing to the researcher) are aware of those Tribal areas. They don't get their, get affiliated with other people.

A female participant pointed out that the Tribal region is one of the most neglected regions and this is one of the reasons for initiating Deewa for that area. It is so people can get news and information and can be informed about developed nations and can start developing themselves. Main purpose of the, I think is because our, the Tribal belt especially, the border regions between Afghanistan and Pakistan. They're neglected and in the sense that it’s off limit areas. They, like, there's no law in there, lawless area. So no, even the government doesn’t give them enough attention and then they’re like issues involving people in regards to their human right, which they're voicing often time and time again that the issues need to be resolved. And the government needs to be serious about this. So what our service is doing is like they’re, information deprived people in those areas and security wise it's also a problem because all the terrorists are hiding there. They were you know very much active from the region so. In sense of news it it's also emerging from a bad area and the human rights violation is also coming from that area. So through our programs we are channeling you know their voices, their concerns and whatever the news is emerging. Which you don't see. If there's a blast in, you know, in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa or there's like a drone attack. The mainstream media won't even cover it. They'll take it in the news segment but they won't be talking details about how it has affected the people of the region.

79 Findings indicate that Deewa is operating as a public diplomacy instrument of the U.S. government. In this category Deewa staff described the Tribal region. According to Deewa staff, they are serving a neglected region that is deprived of many human rights, and which is not dealt with in the same way as the rest of the regions of Pakistan. Tribal people do not have the right to vote or go to court and appeal, and an old draconian law, which does not provide them justice, governs them. Moreover, the area is deprived of proper health and education facilities, they do not have proper infrastructure such as paved roads, and they have power shortages. The majority is illiterate and has very few employment opportunities. Deewa staff are aware of that neglected region and they are informed and knowledgeable about the rights that the Tribal people are deprived of. The staff knows about the unjust system of FCR, they know about the constitution articles that affect the Tribal region. The staff is aware of what the Tribal people are deprived, and are also aware that the locals are oblivious of these deprivations. They are aware that the region is also deprived of news and information because of the lack of media outlets, and they provide the news and information to the people and channel their voices to the world through Deewa.

Focus on FATA The codes that combined this category referred to the content in which Deewa staff mentioned about the VOA Deewa focus region. This category is derived from the open codes: focus on local issues, local problems, Pashto language, Pashtun culture, Pashtuns in America, social issues, taboo topics, relevant issues, current issues, and code in vivo: we are the leading news maker in the Tribal region; we cover it as it is. These codes appeared when the participants were prompted: What issues do they cover? What kind of topics do they select for their interactive shows? The participants responded that Deewa covers all the issues of FATA and the tribesmen, since the region is deprived of many basic human facilities, and since there is no other media outlet that covers the issues of FATA. “Yes we cover it yes we cover it. Every day, every day we do reports on their hospitals, on their schools, on their law system, on their transport, on their electricity, on the rates of their food, almost on daily basis”.

“We cover a lot of issues; we cover economy, we cover women issues, we cover daily living, we cover food and nutrition, we (pause) cover violence against women, economy,

80 everything, we cover everything, and our advisory has as a broad, and varieties of reports generated from this region, but we do cover militancy and terrorism”.

The Deewa service focuses on the relevant problems and issues using the local language and they try to reach all the villages and towns of the Tribal region. They expressed the view that the service is for locals in their local language but is broadcast from Washington. Deewa staff mentioned that “relevancy is the yard stick” for selecting topics. They cover the entire social, economic and political issues of FATA, and even have produced interactive shows on taboo topics. They claimed that they are the region’s leading newsmaker. Deewa radio as you know is a Pashto channel, if it is in Afghanistan or Pakistan, our all- Tribal area Baluchistan, Peshawar, and all these areas. In Islamabad we do not need, the Deewa reporters are present in Islamabad, Karachi, Lahore, and Baluchistan; anywhere there are Pashtun populations, our reporters are there. Why we are better than local media? That we talk on Pashtun problems, we also cover main issues. I will tell you we will take a case like polio vaccine we give importance to it, polio cases reported more from which areas, from North Waziristan, South Waziristan. We in our language in Pashto, make two minutes or three minutes report where there are females they listen in their own language it’s easy to understand. Beside this that Pakistan Government make advertisements and spend million, 10 million on it for radios and TV, other radios have not have the access which we have. We take the basic issues by which our belt is affected. I give you a test case in which many times our females called us that the report we listened from your radio we now know that polio vaccine is a must. Language has importance for people living in Pashto speaking areas, it’s not a problem for people attending colleges or schools they know Urdu also, but in Tribal areas female who did not go out of their homes throughout their lives for them it’s helpful. Deewa which give the national and international news in their own language, it attracts them, that’s the reason Deewa radio discuss their problems, from this you get that the lead news of Pakistani channels are about Islamabad, Lahore, Karachi, but we give the news of Tribal areas.

Deewa as a public diplomacy information instrument is initiated for FATA, and it has a full focus on the region’s issues and problems. The staff working at Deewa is native and are well aware and informed about the region’s problems and socioeconomic and political issues. They give priority to the region’s problems and discuss them in their shows, so the locals living in the region can become informed about their neighboring tribes and villages in the FATA and also become aware about the world and Pakistan’s other cities. The staff know that there is a big information gap due to lack of media outlets in the region, so Deewa is one of the large sources of information for FATA people. Public diplomacy, efforts for relationship building and trust (Abubakar, 2014; Hart, 2013; Nye, 2004; Potter, 2009; Rugh, 2006), and Deewa pursue it by representing tribesmen in

81 international media. Nye (2004), noted that public diplomacy is a soft power that values the culture, and politics of that region. Thus, Deewa efforts as public diplomacy are to give priority to their target audience and representing the unrepresented tribesmen through their information services. These Deewa efforts develop trust and relationships with their target audience.

Journalistic Ethics The codes that combined in this category are taken from the content in which Deewa staff mentioned their journalistic practices. The initial codes that appeared in these responses are accuracy, balance, credibility, comprehensive, objective reporting, impersonal, impartial, journalistic freedom, non-biased, while the open codes are: professionalism, responsible reporting, and code in vivo: that is a poison to the broadcast, responsible independent reporting, no opinion no input. These codes appear in all the participants’ responses. They mentioned that the VOA Charter defines their work and demands them to report accurately, to be balanced, comprehensive and credible. All the participants were prompted to define the terms and give examples to elaborate their definitions. The participants mentioned that they follow journalistic ethics. They pointed out that their work is balanced, impartial and impersonal. They try to cover both sides of the issue or all the parties involved in the news in order to balance the news. According to the Deewa staff, their work is to inform or provide news and information. They do not add their own advice or opinion in that. So they keep the content of their show impersonal. They mentioned that it would be a poison to journalism to be partisan or to be opinionated. No no no, journalists are not supposed to condemn or part with America or part with Pakistan or terrorist or anything, no. Drone attacks have occurred, Pakistan authorities said three suspected militants were killed. Claims denied by Taliban the common people eyewitness accounts say that this this this. The area is restricted and all the media rely on this this this. You cannot say condemnation right. We cannot give our own opinion or view, not at all, no, I mean that's a poison to the broadcast, the worst thing you can do to yourself as a journalist is making yourself a party.

Furthermore, they mentioned that they have to remain impersonal and impartial even if their own family or relatives have been affected by the incident. If I have to, to be very impersonal or there, lot of people or those I would talk about the Pashtun region. There are people who have been killed or injured. In the recent, very recent Peshawar school attack. There were several of my cousins and several of my relatives, and still one is dying in hospital, and he is waiting for surgery. So I can't include my emotions in my report. I have to be impersonal. Whatever Pakistan, Pakistan

82 government had its own policies, I cannot give an emotional, just to say like, they have to do this and they have to.

Deewa staff does their best to cover the version of all the parties and stakeholders involved in the event or news. But Pakistan does it, I'll just include Pakistan version, what the other militants say, I include or take into consideration all reports include their, what their perspective is. And we have another person here in Washington DC or in Europe or any other in Pakistan include that in the report. We don't get just only Pakistani version, just only militant version, or just one side of the group or that party. We include all people together so just to keep our self-impartial in this entire situation

In their opinion, they master the topic, do all their research, confirm it from all sources and then report the news. They express the view that their job is to be objective, and they are engaged in objective and responsible reporting. Objective is the same thing. Like if it's something occurred we just narrate it the way it occurred. Not to include like if it it's bad. Let the people say that the Pakistani government, the government said or the, the affectees [affectees is not a word in English dictionary but is commonly used in the Pakistan for the people that are affected in natural or man made disasters] say it, we don't include that, objective in the sense, like, we don't have like, I would just narrate an experience. There was a flogging experience when I was in Islamabad. A lady, a young lady, she was flogged by Taliban in Swat. The video, and I went there, in that region, we received, the Deewa received a threat from the militants and when I was conducting. So we have to look there. When I was reporting for it I had to include that no one knows when does this happen. The time of that incident that came to the media and then every media it was from British media first came that flogging report. And then Pakistani media followed that and then there was severe reaction from the government, it's saying something different. So we have to be objective in a sense like we have to mention those issues to the audience. Let the audience decide for themselves. We have to remain impartial over there. So that was objective, and not for just talking with the emotional or nationalist thinking. Just to be as a journalist we have to let the people see themself.

They pointed out that they have to keep certain things behind themselves while working for Deewa. They cannot combine their ideological views, political affiliations, and cultural values with their job. If someone, I mean maybe, someone here or someone in Pakistan even among our stringers, they might be against it in their personal life against women education but on the radio they can't say it. I'm not sitting in the hearts of these guys. Maybe someone is a in the heart of his heart or her heart supporting Taliban but at least on the mic, or on the web, in the radio, on any platform he or she is not allowed to support an idea that can be termed as extremist then can be termed as undemocratic, we can't do it. Even in my

83 personal life if I am against women but I can't express it and if I do it I am violating the rules and if you see it come and complain and maybe they will remove it. Yeah, so basically we can't, we a few things we have to leave at the door when we are entering the building. Number one, ego; this thing should be left outside the building. Second, my male chauvinism, and third, my religious fervor, whatever you call it. We have to leave it behind there. And then fourth, my, if I'm a say, this thing can be asked from, especially from all these guys who are representing different countries, I shouldn't be nationalist Pakistani, or a nationalist Afghanistan, no. These things should be left behind. So we should be very much clear. I mean this is what the rules are and still I mean if somebody abuses the rules he or she is basically creating trouble for himself or herself. And he or she should be, I mean, complaint should be registered against him or her if someone sees it. So, unfortunately, or fortunately nobody can come out with his or her own personal agenda to pursue it and on the platform of the U.S. international media. It's not possible.

Findings in this category indicate that Deewa staff, working as part of a public diplomacy instrument, strictly follows the VOA Charter that defines their jobs. According to Deewa staff, they follow strict journalistic ethics and standards and produce balanced, accurate and credible content. To be accurate they have to confirm the news and information from various sources. To be balanced, they try to accommodate all versions of the story and include all the stakeholders of the news. They remain impersonal and impartial, in order to be objective and credible. These characteristics of Deewa staff incline Deewa towards the public diplomacy framework, as balanced, objective and independent journalism are not the characteristics of propaganda. These characteristics are not investigated by the author, rather have been claimed by the Deewa staff. Moreover, these are found in only Deewa, therefore, we cannot be generalize this claim to other VOA services.

Ideology / Standpoint This category is derived from the responses of participants explaining their standpoint about their job, work and regarding the Tribal region. These responses came when the participants were prompted as follows: What information is providing to the locals of Tribal region? Why are you serving that region? The open codes that appeared in this category are: accommodating, anchor’s ideology, crisis, Islamic values, raise questions, worried, inquisitive, and a code in vivo: trying our best to expose it on daily basis. Participants pointed out that they prefer to work at Deewa as they get more journalistic freedom, and can practice objective and independent journalism in this organization. Also they found that American culture is very accommodating so they and their families have easily accommodated to this environment. They are all Pashtuns and are here to serve the Pashtun

84 region, which in their point of view is a neglected, deprived and underdeveloped region from every dimension. They expressed their worries and feelings for the region. They are inquisitive, angry and worried about that region. They have many questions and worries that they try to address in their shows. A participant pointed out that the Tribal region, according to the Pakistan constitution, is dealt with differently than the rest of the country. The locals of Tribal region do not have the right to vote, the right to go to court or to be a witness in the courts. They are governed by the worst system, the FCR, where the political agent has the authority and power to deal with the disputes among people in his own way and can even misuse his power. I am worried about two things and I am inquisitive about it. First is that till this day the Tribal region has separate system in the Pakistan’s constitution. They do not have three basic human rights; they cannot appeal, they cannot be witness and cannot have lawyer. They do not have courts for them; they cannot appeal against the decision of political agent according to the section 40 of FCR (Frontier Crimes Regulation). They cannot go anywhere else for appeal. Their representatives in the parliament cannot even speak for them, as the articles 247 and 246 of the Pakistan constitution do not allow the representatives of the Tribal region to speak in the assembly for the change in the constitution in relation to Tribal region. They can vote on bills of legislation for other cities but interestingly and surprisingly the MNAs of the Tribal region cannot do it for their region, because of the articles 247 and 246 of the constitution do not allow. The articles 247 and 246 of the constitution are that the president of Pakistan whoever he is has the right to take decisions for FATA or the Tribal region and the Governor of the province who is President’s representative, implements it. Political agent works under the Governor, and locals of Tribal region calls political agent king without crown (bai taja badshah, refers to one who misuse his power and authority), whenever, wherever, he wants can put people in jail.

One participant expressed his concerns that he is unable to understand why the Pakistan government is not changing the status of the Tribal region in their constitution. Why they are not treated like other citizens of Pakistan? They are treating this region as a buffer zone. He pointed out various theories about the region that he gets through his shows or interviews with experts and guests or from the locals, who think that the Pakistan Army keeps this region like a buffer zone for their own strategic objectives. I am concern, and no one has provided satisfactory answers to me that why Pakistan government is taking it as buffer zone. I often gets interesting answers; one view that I get is that Pakistan army for its strategic depths have kept it as a buffer zone, and keep it as their proxy, where they can make India, Afghanistan and other countries to fight and have provided safe hiding places to them.

85 All the participants showed their concerns for the problems of local people - such as illiteracy and lack of education, environment, and facilities - and expressed the view that many problems can be solved if the people could get a proper education. One participant pointed out that some other cities that have fewer people have many universities, schools and colleges, while the Tribal region, which has a much larger area and more people, does not have a single university. Secondly that I am concerned is to educate thousands and millions of girls and boys in the Tribal region, and I get this view from boys and girls in my show. But Mehnaz bibi (madam) you will be surprised to know that there is no university in 47000 kilo meter area and in Lahore the biggest city of Pakistan Punjab which is 680 kilometers has hundreds of Universities, and in 47000 km area of Tribal region do not have a single university.

Health facilities are another concern of the staff of the Deewa, and they broadcast a special interactive show on which they invite doctors who advise people about their health problems. Apart from health issues, there are also power shortages, lack of media outlets, and many social problems that have engulfed the region. Deewa staff point out these issues in their shows, and invite guests and experts and locals to discuss these issues through their interactive call-in shows. There are no proper health facilities for women, no system of clean water, there are very few technical colleges and no medical school, roads are in bad condition, till this day people do not have power (electricity) facilities, most of the people listen to radio and get the information through radio, till this day Tribal Jirga system makes the decision of local disputes and females have no right to sit and participate in the jirga and express their problems. In many areas, fathers give their daughters in marriage for money; likewise the system of ‘Badal’ (Revenge and Justice) is still prevalent in Tribal region. I consider that the lack of education in this region is the basic reason behind these non-human attitudes and all these problems. Because there is lack of education and I do not find and do not foresee any fundamental thinking or planning by Pakistan government that wishes to bring improvement and change in the lives of the million of Pashtun in Tribal region.

Participants mentioned that the people in the Tribal region are facing high rates of unemployment and their businesses are losing money. They pointed out that the region has many minerals and could generate many business and employment opportunities if the government would pay attention to mining regulations and practices. Thus, the Deewa staff has a special interactive show “Bazaar” for which they bring experts and ministers to discuss the issues and

86 facilitate locals gaining knowledge about key problems. The locals can also ask questions to the experts by calling into the shows. The mining regulations, all these things on daily basis, I mean it's a, it it's a huge black spot on the state of Pakistan. And we are trying our best to expose it on daily basis, on daily basis we try our best, yeah, yes, yeah, I'm not objecting it, yeah, but we are bringing it for the debate. For the listeners and for the experts and then they say, but I mean, nobody would say these are the best law, best set of laws for more than ten million people.

A participant pointed out that mainstream media and the government does not give time and importance to the Pashtun belt. He provided an example of language. Urdu is an official and national language, but is not the language of the majority. However, the mainstream media only covers the events on the international mother tongue day that were about Urdu, while there were also events in Islamabad and Peshawar on the Pashto language, which were not covered in the mainstream media. He mentioned that all communities want their mother tongue to be their national language, but the state has not given any attention to this issue. Findings indicate that staff working at Deewa produce content on the problems of the Tribal region, they know problems of the region, and bring those problems into their shows. They invite relevant guests and experts like politicians, army officials, educationists, doctors, commerce and finance experts, human rights activist organizations, and religious scholars, and bring the problems to the table for open discussion among the experts and the local people in their interactive call-in shows. The staff of Deewa’s standpoints is that the region is deprived and neglected and the local people need to be informed and become aware of their issues. Public diplomacy and propaganda efforts are directed to attain favorable attitudes towards ideology and foreign policy (Alexander, 1987; Fortner, 1994; Hart, 2013; Jowett & Victoria, 1992; Nye, 2004; Potter, 2009; Tuch 1990). The findings in this category indicate that Deewa staff has standpoints and their efforts are directed to inform and make the Deewa audience aware of that standpoint and ideology. However, in propaganda, efforts are directed to attain favorable attitudes towards government or to promote government ideology (Hart, 2013; Jowett & Victoria, 1992). This category indicates that Deewa staff’s standpoint is not U.S. ideology rather the Deewa staff’s standpoints are to develop the Pashtun region and provide equal rights to the tribesmen. Based on these findings, Deewa as a public diplomacy tool, has characteristics of white propaganda.

87 Change and Improvement To examine the impact or influence of Deewa, participants were prompted to discuss the differences in the views of their listeners and whether they have observed any perceptions of change or improvement among Deewa listeners in the nine years of this service. The open codes that appeared in their responses regarding change are: improvement, influence, impact, and code in vivo: Deewa is helpful to local people and officials, Deewa is like a fresh air, shift in locals’ values, the impact of radio, the connection between listeners and host, and yes things have changed. Participants provided various examples where they found that their shows have some influence or impact. They mentioned that they discuss the Tribal region’s problems and issues numerously, that now not only are their listeners informed but they also ask questions about their rights and issues to the experts. Moreover, a participant mentioned that he has raised questions about the situation of the Tribal region repeatedly in his shows, that now the students belonging to the Tribal region are studying in different universities and they are arranging seminars on the issues of the Tribal region. Also some influential people have become active and have started movements for the betterment and rights of the region. I say it very proudly that yes I see a major influence of my show “Washington to Khyber” in the area. I asked this question so many times that why the Tribal people do not have the right of appeal, witness and vote? Why there is no university in the 47000 km area? I repeated these questions so many times, that now I see protests and seminars by students in Universities, colleges and schools. For the first time I invited a lawyer in my program, he ran a campaign and after that a bill was passed in the Pakistan senate. That lawyer told me that after that they went to the senate, and Pakistan People’s Party senator Farhatullah Baber was presenting a bill in the Senate and Senate provided an approval that yes the FATA should be included in the country’s judicial system. And after my programs that I do them so frequently that first time in the history, Pakistan’s government has established an ombudsman that will listen to the complaints of FATA people and first time. And for the first time that the National Assembly minister elected from Dir and is the member of Pakistan Muslim League, Shahabud Din Khan did a speech in the National Assembly and mentioned my program in his speech and referred to the radio that now the international broadcast Deewa radio discuss our problems. For the first time in the history, he presented his problem on the floor of the Assembly and said that Tribal people are awake now and our voice is heard on international media.

This participant referred to his show, and mentioned that his listeners call him and tell him that Deewa is their source of information, and they are more aware of issues now. He

88 pointed out that he has raised the issues repeatedly that now his listeners discuss the issues in their gatherings, and that Deewa is their source of reference. In my program I received a call from Kurrum (Tribal agency), the name of the girl was Sameera, she told me that she is proud of being Pashtun and listen to Deewa radio and this program has given me so much awareness that I am able to face any challenge in my life and I will fight for it that no one can defeat me, I am Tribal girl. I receive similar kind of calls and they express their views like that. And I am very happy that my questions that I raise through my programs and now people discuss them in gatherings, in meetings, in the streets and in their homes and now in the assembly floor.

Participants mentioned that the information listeners get from Deewa does not only make them more aware but also helps them in taking decisions. One of the Deewa staff mentioned the names of a few listeners and provided their comments about Deewa as examples. He mentioned that Deewa is a source of information gathering and information analysis for the listeners and that this information guides them in taking their decisions. He pointed out that his listeners call and give their opinions that the Pakistan government and leaders are not paying attention to the Tribal region. The participants gave examples of the female listeners who consider Deewa as a great source of information.

I am mentioning a name Sameera, she calls from Kurram agency, she called last week also, and she says that Deewa is the only source of information and analysis for her, and even it is the source for looking for the solutions, means she mentioned three things; information gathering, information analysis and then guiding her in decision making. So she mentioned that she gets all this in this program. And she mentions that she thinks that Pakistan leaders are not paying attention to our problems and are trying to achieve other objectives that are beneficial to them. This is an example. Another example is about a girl Hameeda Khattak, she calls from Karak, and says, “I want to be Malala Yousafzai, because she has become an international icon and she is working for the education and she has faced and fought against terrorism and accepted a challenge”. Similarly in Peshawar University, the students from Tribal region, North and South Waziristan calls in our show, and says that “you are the only source that discuss our problems and share the information and people listen to it through that”.

Participants provided several examples where they observed that the listeners like Deewa and have expressed their gratefulness to Deewa for providing them with more awareness about social and economic issues. Participants expressed the view that locals of Tribal region do not have any other source of information, and it is a platform where they can express their views or can send their messages to the world, and taking Deewa out of their lives would be like depriving them of fresh air. One of the female participants who broadcast the women’s show pointed out

89 that she has observed a big difference in her female listeners. She mentioned that in the early years of the service, their female listeners from the Tribal region, due to their cultural values and customs, could not call or would call secretly so their male family members could not find out. But now, many female listeners call in on the women’s show and participate in the interactive shows. Even for some females, their male members of the family bring them cell phone prepaid cards so they can make phone calls to Deewa. A big difference Mehnaz, because when they used to call us, they used to, you know, their voices were like subdued or they would speak in a like really low tone voice, like we could hardly hear them out. So we, we told them that that it's okay to, you know to talk in a normal tone. It's like; you're not saying something bad against anyone. It's your right to speak up about your problems in your life. And they used to be afraid. They still are, like some of them are like, when the government decided to, you know, take out all, you know, unregistered sim (cell phone sims) cards. They were calling us and they were really concerned that okay I don't have a phone number to call, I won't be having a phone line to call from and this might be my last opportunity to call because, like, our male family members they're not willing to give us a phone line or same things that work in the country right now. So that was their major concern at that time, that won't, they won't have, you know, telephone number to call from. So they used to call in a kind of fear you know, in a feared environment maybe. Some ladies would even call us from you know underneath from their comforter where they were sleeping. Like ‘brasten’ (comforter/ quilt in Pashto), like from brasten and we would be like, we can hardly hear you, and then now when they talk their voices are clear, they know how to talk about a problem.

One of the female participants gave an example of female listeners while explaining the social change she has observed in her female listeners. There's a girl from, I don't recall her name but she is so vocal now like, she was a small girl when she used to call. Now she is like, I think a teenager and the way she speaks now is amazing and it's really encouraging to hear what they're speaking about. And all the time they know, they tell us that okay. Through your programs we know how to, you know, how to talk about a specific issue. How education is important, how much, and how to take care of their health? So they come forward with questions about their health and you know, okay, so “am I doing this right? Am I not doing this right?” We try to you know arrange a health, we do have a health, a different health show: Deewa Doctor; that is hosted by Arbab Ali. That is one show where people listen to it a lot. But our women show, it’s you know, it's not specific to health care issues only. So like once a week I'll be talking about you know religious caller about you know the nature of the, like the Islamic council. They sometimes gave out like they gave out decrees about you know marriage and you know what's the legal age for marriage and then divorce and stuff like that. So it differs, every other week, yeah.

Apart from Deewa bringing change in the locals’ opinions, it has become helpful for officials. They mentioned that they have observed a great change in the attitudes of locals and

90 officials about Deewa. For locals, Deewa is a source of information, while for officials it is a channel for reaching locals. As Deewa is widely listened to in the Tribal region and officials know that people like and listen to Deewa, if they have to send any information or if they want to reach to the locals, they ask Deewa to broadcast the information. Also the spokespersons and secretaries of FATA secretariat told us that Tribal people listen and understand you, so they share their information first with us. Similarly, the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa previous governor, Shaukat ullah who belongs to Bajuar (Tribal agency), always called and talked to our correspondents in exclusive interviews, if he wanted to convey any information or message, because he know that Deewa radio is listened and understood in the whole Tribal region. Similarly the current chairman of the FMTA, an organization for the Tribal region, comes to my program and discusses the problems of IDPs in my show as the problems of IDPs are the concern of that organization and he believes that people in the Tribal region are listening to it.

Deewa has facilitated locals’ call-ins with a free telephone landline, but the participants mentioned that this line is very busy. Since calling America is not expensive from Pakistan, people call Deewa directly from their personal cell numbers. And due to Deewa’s popularity in the region, officials find it a great channel to reach locals. Even if there is some emergency and one village local needs help, they ask Deewa to broadcast that information and people from other villages come to help in their neighboring villages. There is a number, which is free, it is busy it take time to connect. Mobile and landlines are also not costly 2 minutes call is about 20 to 2. 5 Rupees, which anybody can afford. The area with Afghanistan border the Deewa Radio is very popular according to many survey reports. In our areas such as Swat, Malakand, Charsadda, Mardan, Swabi, Shabqadar Deewa is popular, in cities like Islamabad, Peshawar Nowshehra a little less popular, because people has other resources like TV, radios FM broadcast etc. Our focus is also there where people has no other resources, we also take such issues like doctors are not available in hospitals, teachers are not present in schools, roads are closed at some places, bridges, some one called me from Kurram that there 3 bridges are fallen and roads are closed, the food supply has stopped, the patients can not reach hospitals. For me it is big news because they wanted to project it on Deewa and people listen it and come for help. Deewa is helpful to local people and officials.

Findings indicate that Deewa is operating as a public diplomacy instrument and is playing an effective role in bringing change in the thinking and views of locals of the Tribal region. Deewa is not serving only as a source of information but is also a channel for reaching locals and also officials of Pakistan. Through the shows of Deewa, people are becoming more informed and are raising their voices for their rights on various educational and political platforms.

91 It is found in this category that according to Deewa staff, Deewa efforts have brought change and improvement in the target audience. The Deewa audience is much more aware of their civilian and human rights, they are more vocal and demand their political and human rights on radio waves. There is a change among the women’s audience who participate actively in the interactive shows. Deewa has influenced the target audience and has attained favorable attitudes from them, but those attitudes are not in the favor of American policies or foreign policy, rather they are towards the standpoint of the Deewa staff. Deewa efforts in this category could be categorized as both public diplomacy and propaganda. However, findings of this category bring new dimensions to the public diplomacy framework, in that public diplomacy tools are employed in this case to bring about positive changes in the society. However, we cannot generalize this finding based on one case of VOA Deewa.

Empowerment, Informed and Aware Public This category is derived from the open codes: bring change, development, awareness, effective, facilitation, free calls, informed citizen, women rights, women issues, human rights, developed and democratic society. These codes appeared in the responses of the participants when they were prompted to provide their standpoint about the rights of the Tribal people and what kind of topics and issues they select for their shows and why. Participants expressed the view that since the region is underdeveloped and deprived of human rights, through Deewa they are not only providing news and information to locals but are also informing them about other developed societies. This is especially the case about the Pashtuns living in the developed world, that they are living there, and about their life, children, education and businesses. They bring stories for the locals to inform them and to motivate them to bring about improvement in their lives. About the Tribal region, a female participant pointed out that one of the big problems of the region is a lack of education. Though, in past few years, due to the help of many donor agencies and awareness programs, the situation has started to improve, but still the difference from before is not large. The female population is mostly influenced by the lack of an educational environment, therefore this participant wants to inform and make her female listeners more aware through her show. She not only wanted to inform them about the world but she also wanted to make them aware about feminine stuff, the current fashions and trends, and how these females can avail those trends while sitting at home. Also, the Deewa staff, through

92 their shows, encourage women to ask their male members of the family to buy cloth and other designing supplies for them and then they can design and sew those dresses at home. Also they can earn money by sowing for other women. The purpose of VOA Deewa, if you look at the Pashtuns either on Pakistan side or Afghanistan side, in this group they are many problems like poverty, unemployment but one of the big problem is lack of education that they do not have education or very minimum education. There is a little change in the education over there like females have started going to schools, girls and boys both are paying attention toward education but we cannot say that the difference is very big and the condition has improved a lot. But in this region the education still is very minimal, if a child goes to school for two three years but then they leave the school because they cannot afford it and then they leave the school mostly after elementary.

Deewa staff considers Deewa to be a platform to bring about social change and progressive change among the locals of Tribal region. Participants consider Deewa to be a platform to bring more awareness among the females of Tribal region.

So if you look at this from journalistic side then we think that we can work a lot for Pashtuns as I have a platform and an opportunity and I even can do it. So if they cannot go to school like Pashtun females and girls cannot go to school so why not give them some education through my program and why not I aware them that being a girl what are your rights and being a girl how can you take care of yourself and if you in Tribal region and you are not informed or aware or do not have freedom to go out of your house and buy stuff for yourself, then why not tell them the ways of doing it. For example if you want to follow some fashion then it is alright, you can ask your brother for it, and we can inform you about what clothes are available in the market these days, so you can ask your brother and father to bring that kind of cloth for you and then you can sow it the way you like it.

The staff of VOA Deewa efforts to provide awareness, information and understanding to their listeners through Deewa shows. So I see it in a way that being a journalist and then I am in Deewa and then I am able to do it so why not I work on that side, and give them the knowledge and awareness. And aware them about this world and what is happening in it, and let them aware that this world is not confined to Pakistan or Afghanistan or just wars but there are many things going on in this world, that female living in Tribal region will not be aware of it. That is the reason, that we want to aware and educate those people through Deewa, that they have problems of education, and other problems, that they do not have political awareness or if they have it, then they do not understand it very well so we want to give them awareness and understanding. So the purpose of Deewa radio is awareness, education and gives knowledge/ understanding (poha) to people.

93 Furthermore, participants mentioned that they discuss women’s issues and bring in Pashtun women who are successful in their careers to encourage women’s education and to motivate women to become informed and educated mothers. Also, they encourage women to talk and become informed about issues that are considered taboo or not socially accepted, like gender discrimination, abuse of women, and street teasing. They have even discussed puberty, which is considered taboo, but the Deewa staff want the female listeners to be informed so they can take good care of their health. They invite gynecologists onto shows, so that the female listeners, who cannot go to the hospitals or doctors for regular checkups, can discuss their problems and ask their questions through call-in shows. The female participant pointed out that to her surprise no male listener ever objected on Deewa shows, rather the female participation has been increasing in the women’s shows. I cannot say what is the reason but I sometimes feel it too, as we do shows on many sensitive issues like discrimination of women or street teasing, teasing in the market and I have talked many times on these issues and even I have talked on puberty in my shows that are like taboo topic, people cannot talk about puberty but I do not know, that what is the reason that people are not objecting it. Even I thought of that people can object on it but rather people participate in it and they talk about that topic and even appreciate it that “it is a very good topic and we wanted to have information about it and we could not ask anyone”, so we get very positive feedback. As I told you I even do not know that what is the reason for it. But people give very positive feedback. Maybe some people do not like it but no one has send us a negative response but people want information and awareness about their problems, even they participate. Sometimes it happens that like when I was doing a show on puberty, there were two girls that called in and they asked the producer that they cannot talk on the radio because they are shy but can you forward my question to the host and the guest expert and let them answer this question for us. So this is an encouragement for us too that people want to get informed.

The participants pointed out that in Pashtun culture there are some customs that do not treat women equally, rather women are maltreated. They mentioned that they discuss the immorality of those customs and practices. They broadcast shows on ‘swara’, a custom that is largely prevalent in Pashtun culture. Instead of giving blood money as compensation or for settling a blood feud, the accused party will give their girl or girls in marriage to the aggrieved family. Another practice of ‘swara’ is when a girl is given in marriage to the other family in exchange for money. Since the girl is handed over to the other family, she can be ill-treated or physically abused, and the girl’s family cannot interfere. The idea behind this custom was to end a dispute and to create a blood bond, but the custom is largely malpractice. The participants

94 mentioned that they have received positive feedback from their listeners through calls, who acknowledged the custom is inhuman, as women are sold to other families and are ill-treated in many cases. It depends, right now we broadcast to almost four million listeners, then we have regular listeners that are listening to us since Deewa has started, they are listening to Deewa for last 8 years, so when they call and talk to us, so then we know that their thinking is different now [she meant in a positive way], he understands it now, so I would give you a recent example, our programs are on the social events of Pashtuns that are problems like swara, or giving of girl as a blood feud, did not giving right of inheritance to girls, so we do programs on these topics. Our two anchors Noshairwaan Qalander and Naheed did a show on the issue of “taking money for girl like girl’s family give their daughter in marriage and takes money from the groom’s family” so they did a program on this topic. So a listener called and said that he listened to our program and he said that “his sister was going to marry and the money was already fixed that we were going to receive but after listening to your programs I stood up in front of every one and I said that I will not let my sister go through that selling process as this is also an example of selling, this is not right and this is a kind of selling and I will not do that”. And he mentioned that he stood up against everyone for his sister, and broke that marriage contract.

Participants mentioned that they get feedback from the calls of their listeners, who tell their stories in which Deewa shows have played a role in informing them and in changing their perspectives. So receiving calls like that give us a feedback because we are here in Washington, D.C., we just deliver, we just give them, and so when we receive calls like that from our listeners and they tell their stories to us then we know that the message we want to convey is been conveyed or not, and we know that the efforts we are doing are in the right direction and our work is right and effective. Many girls calls to our show especially in the special segment for women/girls; Bibi Shirina, this one hour program is for females and only females call us and then they say their stories and do encouraging talk that tells us that yes we are doing something, they are getting it what we actually want to do, they are understanding our point of view, so that is how we know about the impact, that something is been achieved, and our efforts are in right direction.

Participants pointed out that their shows are on various issues, and they bring the issues to the forefront, so the locals can be aware of them and then can decide on their own. A participant mentioned an example from a business show. A local called and said how his farming is being affected by the import of fruits from Iran and China. And he demanded the guest to protest against it, since the government of Pakistan had increased imports from China, and this has affected the local markets and Tribal people should be aware of that.

95 Findings in this category indicate that Deewa is serving as a public diplomacy instrument, is broadcasting shows on the issues and problems of Tribal region, and is trying to raise awareness among the locals. The Deewa staff standpoints are that the Tribal people are oblivious of their rights and are illiterate and not well-informed. Deewa is a platform that reaches the locals with information and knowledge and also brings resourceful and relevant people onto their shows so the locals can reach out to those resourceful people who are not easily accessible. This indicates that Deewa is a platform through which staff raise awareness through their information function. Awareness is considered a key step for empowering any community or people. Though Deewa is not an organization set up only to raise awareness, informing the audience does provide awareness. Organizations that want to empower people also start with raising awareness. Deewa efforts indicates attempts to spread awareness and build empowerment: to provide awareness to the locals about their rights and to inform them what they are deprived of, bringing resourceful people on shows and inviting locals to ask questions and share concerns with them. These efforts indicate that local voices are being empowered so they can speak for their lives and rights. Empowerment is defined as “a multi-dimensional social process that helps people gain control of their own lives. It is process that fosters power in people for use in their own lives, their communities and in their society, by acting on issues they define as important” (Page & Czuba, 1999).

Peace Making This category is derived from participants’ responses about peace and conflict resolution. Most of the participants mentioned peace and conflict resolution in the region and if they did not bring in the term, they were prompted to discuss Deewa’s role, if any, in bringing peace to the region. Most of the participants explicitly pointed out that Deewa is a media channel and they do not have any direct role in conflict or peace of the region, rather, their job is to inform locals about news. It is like this that peace, I mean the way a radio or TV cannot make a war in some place in the same way, we specifically, we cannot say to bring peace or do this or this, an independent department cannot do such thing, Geo or Times of India can do to start show causes that in those countries these are the problems we cannot do that we start that that is for peace although slogans for peace used by the people we can give space for them.

However, they mentioned that they broadcast shows on the issues and problems of the region and give the audience resources for more awareness about those issues.

96 Certainly we do have shows on every topic related to the area and it might be from peace to law and order. From militancy to war on terror, from school, education, culture, music, each and everything. And all these things in one way or another they are about peace, they are about the lives of the people. About their daily struggle or their families, the women and men who goes out to work and earn bread for the kids in their daily lives. So, it is about peace. It depends on any certain program you take it. I'm not sure but in oral perspective it is about peace and we have shows we talk on issues. Suppose you are conducting a show on Taliban schools blown up in the area. How many children are left out of schools? How it affects their lives and who did it? How it-, how the government has responded? How it can be stopped? So it's all about peace. And it is just one example I give you. If violence is being done, so talking about those issues, when and bringing in the peoples perspective on- you want, to want to smarter comparison on a peaceful life and a non-peaceful life. Give them a sense of what it means. So we do conduct peace.

The participants were prompted to provide their viewpoints about the peace of the region. They mentioned that they recorded people’s opinions regarding peace in the region, and most of the people pointed out that peace would come in the region when the people obtain education. We did shows related to peace that we asked from people that, how can they have peace in Pashtun region? So we have tried to take people’s opinion about it that you tell us that what should be done to have peace in the region, the major concern of the people that we get from the feedback was lack of education, mostly people would say that if Pashtuns get educated then Pashtuns can have peace. And then Pashtuns can develop as the other parts of the world do.

Deewa staff pointed out that it is not their job to facilitate peace, but they do report on every event that is arranged for the peace of the region, even those events that are generally not covered by the other local media. It is not for Deewa to facilitate the peacemaking process. I think it is not in a position even to facilitate it. It is to, just inform people…what is happening around here? Yeah, we do cover peace gatherings, the other day I myself went to an event, it maybe an irrelevant event for the local media because I do not see any body from the local media to that in uh…And it was event near the Pishtakhara chowk in a Afridi Model school. And Pishtakhara chowk you know is a witness to many bomb blasts. And the police bomb blast and the Tribal people. This square chowk been witness a lot, being in the proximity to the head regions as well as center, and there was a peace literary gathering in Aman (peace) Mushaira (poetry event). And this was organized by the students who were budding poets, the small guys, the little guys. Studying in first year, second year who were poets. And then invited all the poets, the big names from Khyber agency and I talk to them and uh a poet from Khyber agency who is a well-known poet. He said he did not have a literary gathering like Mushaira in 5 years in the agency. Because the poets they are good people. They relate to the society. So if people get information about the literary gathering or the Mushaira where peace is discussed between the students, than this is relevant. So we promote peace in this way.

97 A Deewa stringer pointed out that the Jirga is an institution that can play an important role in the peace process of the region. The Jirga is an institution in Pashtun culture where selected male elders of the village or town sit and discuss a dispute and try to solve the dispute. However, the participant mentioned that in many areas of the Tribal region, the Jirga is losing its value. Deewa is playing a role in reviving the Jirga as it can play an important role in bringing peace to the region. In their shows, they discuss the importance of the Jirga in Pashtun culture. Deewa also addresses and brings in for discussion the absence of women in the Jirga. He pointed out that the Jirga takes decisions about the life of the females who are involved in a dispute or influenced by a decision, but it does not hear her or let her participate in Jirga proceedings. It (Deewa) has done good efforts, done talk shows, we also send reports. In Tribal areas Jirga is an institution, which can perform a role in peace keeping, however, Jirga is getting weak in some areas of Tribal region, it does not exist. So, how to revive it, how Jirga work, about Jirga, one of the serious objection is that there is no female role, which is 50% of population, how to accommodate female in it if they do not come directly. If you see due to the conflict, females are more suffered wherever a person dies he is a female husband or females brother or females son, females suffered. Deewa is working seriously because it has serious concern of the issue and better reception; it reaches a larger segment of population.

Findings in this category indicate that Deewa, acting as a public diplomacy instrument, was initiated for information purposes and it is not a source for facilitating conflict resolution or peace processes. However, Deewa staff broadcast all the news and covers all international, national, local and even small events that promote peace. They broadcast shows on peace, and invite university professors and political leaders who discuss peace in the region. Handelman (2008), noted that public diplomacy instruments could be used to promote peace and could be a platform for people to exchange ideas and build peace processes among people and with diplomats. Thus, this category indicates that according to Deewa staff, Deewa as a public diplomacy tool is directing its efforts to inform and make people aware of peace and peace related activities. They Love It This category is derived from the open codes: participation, platform, radio culture, satisfaction, trust, locals perspective, listeners, and code in vivo: Deewa is a University, I think they value our broadcast, Deewa is a free source for them, prefer Deewa for news, source of

98 connection to the world, source of information, it is like a fresh air, they love it. These codes appeared when participants responded about the popularity or likeability of Deewa in the region. Participants pointed out that although Deewa is the only media channel in most of the Tribal region, it is also popular in the region and locals value Deewa broadcasts. They provided some examples of their callers who have called to note their appreciation of Deewa and mentioned that Deewa is like a university for them. Participants mentioned that Deewa is a source of information but is also a connection with the world for the locals of the Tribal region. Locals have expressed their gratitude to Deewa many times through their call-in shows and have recognized Deewa for focusing on Tribal issues and for providing a platform for locals to talk to the world. They say that it is an, it is an institution for them. They have learned a lot of things from them, they have learned about the Internet, what is going on in the national community. They tell us that they can talk and whenever they meet, other than VOA broadcast, they come together they talk to, they talk about the various issues and they even rate Deewa service and they said that they have (unclear) or many shows on women issues, they have shows on politic, they have shows on health, they have shows on education, they have so many other shows. They like their shows on literature and art and philosophy and so they think this is an institution. They hardly mentioned anything, they wanted and whatever Deewa was not broadcasting. They haven't, anyone think, that other than it, to give them more time to speak on Deewa.

Participants expressed the view that radio is like a culture in the Tribal region and locals love to listen to Deewa shows and prefer its news to other radio channels. They have shown their love and appreciation through calling into their shows and have shown a huge level of participation through call-in shows. Yeah people call us they they tell us that okay if we need to be on top of the news we need to listen to Deewa because it has everything that is happening in our region, in our areas. Which don't see it on GEO (Cable TV news channel) or you know ARY (Cable TV news channel) or you know all the the government sponsored channels.

Listeners have shown their satisfaction and trust in Deewa over and over again by calling into the shows and expressing their feelings to the anchors. A Deewa female staff called Deewa “fresh air” in their lives. I will give you a very simple example. I see it as if you take out Deewa radio from the lives of Pashtuns and Tribal people, it will be like you blocked fresh air for them. Like in the house there is window through which you get air and light both, so you closed that window for them. It means that you blocked them from the whole world. And I am saying it with so much confidence based on our listeners’ feedback. Because the callers

99 give us same kind of response that Deewa is like a school (maktab) for us, like an education institute that day and night gives us something to learn about, whether it is entertainment, political or social or women shows. This is like gives them world’s face (dunya makh khai), gives them light.

Deewa, acting as a public diplomacy instrument, is providing information effectively and its listeners are satisfied with its performance and appreciate the service. Findings in this category indicate that Deewa listeners recognize Deewa’s efforts in providing them with information and raising awareness. According to the Deewa staff, listeners consider Deewa to be a learning institute from which they get information and knowledge, and not only get awareness about the world but also about many socio-economic and political problems.

Two-way Communication This category is derived from the codes that appeared in the participants’ responses about their interactive shows and feedback from the listeners. The initial codes are: feedback, positive feedback, while open codes are: callers’ dedication, debate, feedback, filtering, interactive, positive feedback, re-use, Tweet, communication with Tribal people, communication with Taliban, meetings with IDPs, preventive strategies, encouraging female callers, and code in vivo: reasonable responsible discussion. Participants mentioned that hundreds of callers call in to their shows. All of the four telephone lines are continuously buzzing during the show. Most of the callers are so dedicated that they regularly call and they call through their cell phones. This costs them money, but most of the landlines are destroyed because of war operations, so locals cannot call through the toll- free numbers of Deewa. But people still call them from remote areas, and even make efforts to go to an area from where they can get telephone signals, like on mountains, just to call Deewa. There were, were instance, I don't know if it's from Baluchistan or it's from Tribal area, I don't exactly remember. But there is a guy he called regularly. He works for with with FC (Frontier Corps), he's working with FC and he says like whenever he is calling he goes up the mountain and he calls from there and everyone is listening down to Deewa radio. But he cannot connect his call or he cannot call from down down the mountain and therefore just to call us in our show he climbs the the mountain and he calls us.

Participants mentioned that their listeners who are now IDPs still call them from the IDP camps. And then from Waziristan people have been calling when the IDPs were moving from Waziristan during the operation in July, June, earlier last year. They did call several of our stringers. They have connection or telephone numbers from that region that it calls

100 us, like, before the operations. The MPA's, or the sorry, the IDPs, said we have included their voices. We have called and we get calls but sometimes nowadays majority of, they're from Waziristan but they are in Karak or in Bannu or they're in some other areas, so they do call.

Furthermore, participants mentioned that they do not filter calls and there are certain criteria that they follow. First, the callers are in line, like lines 1, 2, 3 and 4. Then, caller has to introduce himself or herself to the producer and has to say his or her question. Then the producer transfers the call to the host based on the relevancy of the question with the show topic. They do not know who the caller is; they only know where the call is from by looking at the code of the telephone number. It was not like this that we picked specific calls, suppose you called first than I called, than a third person called, the calls were in a line, our effort was to pick some calls from the beginning some from the center and some from the end. The simple thing is that everyone introduces himself in the beginning, and the reason is this that everyone who wants to call picks the phone to participate in the program the other reason is this that my name come in media, someone call from Islamabad, I say I am Aurangzeb talking from Islamabad, beside this if a call is from Tribal Area it has its own code, Peshawar its own code in same way Islamabad and Karachi, in the same way Swat, they do introduce themselves.

Participants provided examples of taking phone calls randomly. They pointed out that they do not know the callers and the purpose of their call. There is a case, a woman called, and this is even discussed in U.S. Congress, the woman said that I heard on Deewa Radio, a report on Polio, I did not give these drops to my children but the example case you gave that the body parts become paralyze, after that I felt that it is very important thing to give polio vaccine to our kids. That is as one simple case to me, such as that there is a call and they pick it, it is not like you planned a call, because on screen a number appears, name is not there, the introduction and all records are not there.

However, participants pointed out that they do not know who the caller is and what their intentions are, as these are challenges of the live shows. So sometimes they receive calls in which the callers use abusive language about Deewa. Participants mentioned that people do have negative perceptions about America, so they call Deewa and give their point of view. The Deewa staff does listen to them, but the Deewa host does not disagree or agree with their opinion and only allows them to finish. Yeah people always call us and you know whenever there's an issue people have different perception and plus there's also a negative propaganda about U.S. in the region. So

101 people tend to, you know how the situ-, the whole situation is. There's a negative perception because our religious, you know, leaders they are you know, they're spreading those kind of notions that okay, the U.S. is mainly involved in you know the the whole scenario that is existing in Pakistan. So we do take frequent calls where people are you know like blaming U.S. for you know the the whole situation and they they think the U.S. responsible. But VOA's policy is like we we cannot like we can take their, we can take the calls, we can take their voices but we cannot put our input in it. You know, it's, that's how they feel about the situation. We give them the facts and the figures and the whole analysis of the situation but we don't, yeah.

Furthermore, they do not filter but they do apply some preventive strategies. They allow the callers who have relevant questions or comments that fit with the show topic. Also if the show is for women, they only allow women listeners to call in and participate in the discussion. We have four different lines for our callers. We have two different systems. We call it Telos and Hybrid. Two different systems personally I'm, to be honest I don't know what does that mean and what was technically, does it stand for. So we have two different systems, we have four lines, four callers and we have a monitor in front of the producer and it shows the caller line. But we don't recognize by name because they are, as you have seen there. Everyone is calling every time and so and it changes. One drops and the other comes so it's very hard for the producer to understand or just to remember the number of any person. So we have Telos, Hybrid and we see that they go through a system and they show us on the screen monitor with the producer and we just randomly pick it. And if it, I'm producer of a show that's only about Baluchistan. When the host wants me to just pick out or attend the callers from Baluchistan. I just ask them and if I pick another place I just tell them that it's about Baluchistan and they're only conduct, or attend Baluchistan callers and they says okay that's okay and then comes another one. So this is we get Twitter and social media also.

However, apart from relevancy they try to take callers who either have serious questions or are calling for the first time. They want to encourage new callers and listeners. A participant mentioned that they screen calls in a way to give a chance to new callers and relevant questions and also to avoid callers who abuse hosts. He mentioned that they allow callers to talk against U.S. government or against democracy, but they do not allow abusive language or bad names to be directed to the hosts. You know the producer is basically in charge of the show and the calls, the producer, every call that comes to the studio is sped up by the producer and he or she talks to the listener and he decides, whether to pass on the caller to the host, I mean to the studio or just to tell him thank you very much, that’s not our show. You know there are, you know about the culture, there are so many people in the region who call us just to say Asalamolaikum (Hello) just to say couplet, so for example if you are being a show on cancer so we can’t entertain callers who want to recite poetry in the show so… and this is way we screen it and then there are some callers whom we know that they are frequently

102 coming so we don’t want to entertain them all the time and in all the call in shows, so we want to give a chance to new guys, new comers, so screening is going on, but still I mean one can’t avoid it fully, if someone wants to say something against America, against democracy, against . I mean you can say against democracy things but there should be a way but you can’t give bad names to the hosts just labeling everything as if America is our enemy.

Participants expressed the view that their shows are interactive and encourage debate. They bring in experts from the field that discuss pros and cons of the topic under discussion and allow callers to call in with their questions or comments. Participants pointed out that they are not allowed to provide their opinion but they forward the questions to the experts who interact with the callers. They do not filter any anti-American sentiments or pro-Taliban comments but encourage reasonable and responsible discussion. We engage the scholars, the Muslim scholars, in Pakistan from your university, Doctor, Qibla Ayaz was there. We had scholars from Afghanistan. We had scholars here from the United States. We got people from France. We got the guys who offered Friday prayers the next day and the next day of the event of this incident (referring to Charlie Hebdo shooting incident in January 2015) when the 17 people were killed. And he mentions that local imam in Paris says that this was not very appropriate to the publications of the prophet cartoons. So this was something big coming from Paris. And Muslim Imam says that. So we cover all these things yeah. I mean reasonable responsible discussion was there on Deewa platforms yeah.

Apart from their interactive shows, Deewa staff members visit locals and internally displaced persons (IDPs) in Pakistan. They meet them in person and talk about their problems and issues. After preparing reports on that they broadcast them. Their meetings and reporting on those meetings create trust and satisfaction among their listeners. Deewa staff mentioned that this trust and satisfaction has been expressed by their listeners in their phone calls. I was sent by our service to cover the IDP's situation. So I went there and I reported on their situation. It was mainly videos and reports but it was quite interesting, because I visited a camp in Jalozai. And there I visited a school where I talked to kids about you know their problems and what I see was, really, it was just heartbreaking. I went to Jalozai plus I went to Haji camp, where they they were distributed food items the ration. Which they collect every, every, on monthly basis. So I talk to IDP women there.

Regarding feedback from their listeners about issues, participants said that they reuse that feedback. They bring that feedback forward as a topic for the next show and discuss it in detail. They also discuss the feedback, comments and questions of their listeners in their daily staff meetings and try to accommodate the feedback of listeners as much as possible. Participants

103 gave an example that they took their listeners’ suggestions and feedback very seriously and accommodate it. We take their feedback very serious and, whatever they say we take this serious because, we are broadcasting to the region from where people would give us the feedback and they could make our broadcast more effective and more audience (unclear). So when he was saying that you know this is a very good issue but I suggest you should also do a show on the apple production in Baluchistan and because the Iranian apples have flooded the market and we are left with no other choices. So my answer with that is, yes thank you very much. We do shows on such topics because this is the show this is the place for it you guys. And I told him that I know that 65, more than 65% of, because KPK (unclear) for Pakistan. It provides more than 65% of the apples in Pakistan right.

Participants mentioned that they facilitate two-way communication. They encourage their listeners to participate in interactive shows, and have conversations with the callers, and gain their confidence and trust by accommodating their comments and feedback. The chief program officer was asked about the feedback: Does that mean the voices of locals or their feedback are somehow part of policy making? The program chief pointed out that as much he knows, his employers have never asked about it and as per his knowledge these voices are not part of the policy making. It ends here at the VOA yeah. It ends here at the VOA. Only I mean the, I at least I mean, this has never been asked from me and how many people I have changed in the last eight years, and how many pro American friends I created in the last eight years, it has never been asked from me. Neither I have ever been asked to file a report that what people say about America. It has never happen, yeah. So, it ends almost here, just for us within this building, impact is very important, I mean if someone says that I heard on Voice of America Deewa that all the IDPs can get their smart cards for cash money from bank this and that, so this is something good. And we share it among ourselves and to our bosses. That there is an impact, people quote Deewa radio or Deewa TV, they, they got this information on Deewa. This is what we do. But beyond that, no.

Deewa acting as a public diplomacy instrument is facilitating connections with their listeners with two-way communication. Public diplomacy employs two-way communication through dialogue and conversation that develops relationships and trust with the people (Cull, 2009; Nye, 2004; Rugh, 2006). They have provided two free telephone landlines to the locals, and every day they have six call-in shows on social, economic, health and political issues. They bring in guests who are experts in their field and open up the issues for discussion and debate between the guests and locals. They encourage locals to call in to the shows and ask relevant questions. They also take questions and comments through Deewa social networking sites.

104 Deewa staff try to accommodate all comments and suggestions in their shows. They also try to accommodate the feedback of their listeners, by broadcasting shows on their suggestions and demands and by bringing in the content that their listeners want to be discussed. Deewa encourages all callers, whether they have pro-American attitudes or have negative perceptions, however, they do screen or filter the calls. The screening is based on certain criterion, according to which the intention is to: broadcast new callers’ voices, to include relevant and serious questions, and to avoid abusive language by any caller. Moreover, two-way communication generates conversation, discussion and debate, and audience feedback is also used as an impact factor of the Deewa shows and also is accommodated in upcoming shows. However, they do not go to the policy makers or to State Department officials, not through an official channel. If the policy makers access the service through any other channel, then the Deewa staff is not aware of it. Based on findings, the feedback ends at Deewa. Findings in this category indicate that according to Deewa staff, Deewa is a two-way communication medium that provides a platform for the audience to call, chat, talk, debate and express their views.

Drone Strikes This code is derived from the codes that refer to drone strikes as a news event or issue. The participants were prompted to talk about the issue of drone strikes: What is their standpoint on them? How do they broadcast their standpoint? Do they discuss the drone strike issues in their interactive talk shows? The open codes that appeared in their responses are drone reporting, hard facts, hard power, sovereignty, and code in vivo: drones are counterproductive. Participants pointed out that drones strikes are a hard power instrument of the American government. Deewa is a media service, and do not have any connection with the hard power, but, it does broadcast all facts whether they are about drone strikes, deaths of militants, or causalities of innocent people in drone attacks. Oh yeah. We cover it as it is, as it is, yeah. No hiding. No excuses. The drone takes place and we cover it. A drone has killed this much many people. We quote whatever is available. If the Pakistan security forces say, most of the time these are the Pakistan security forces who claim that a drone has happened and 3 or 10 militants were killed, and they tell that they were affiliated with Al Qaeda, Taliban or Haqqani network and this and that group, so we cover it as it is. And we also cover the protests against the drones, all those six months seven months you remember when the whole of the Pakistan was against this Malala (Malala Yousafzai) thing? So we cover that. We cover this yeah.

105 They expressed the view that reporting news about drone strikes is a big challenge not just for the Deewa but also for the Pakistani media. Since journalists and reporters or Deewa stringers cannot reach those areas in the region where drone strikes occur, rather they rely on the news from ISPR (Inter Services Public Relations) of Pakistan to release news about drone strikes. Deewa stringers in Pakistan do try to confirm news from various sources if possible but most of the time they rely on the ISPR. Deewa in their broadcast mentions the source through which Deewa staff gets the news and also informs its listeners that the news is in progress. Deewa broadcasts the death and causality news that it gets from ISPR or from Pakistani news media. In FATA where there are excessive drone attacks, there is no access of media, we rely on local sources most of time that information is not correct. Now recently two weeks ago on Tribal area near Afghanistan drone attack was reported, till now it is not confirmed that either it is a drone strike or a missile strike or a counter attack between the two rival parties, this still is not clear in which five people were killed, that which is. In Waziristan our reliance is mostly on local administration, from security forces there or field forces. If it is against Taliban they do not give an immediate reaction, if you have a connection with them they do not respond. On telephone connection with them they either not respond or that number is changed, the contact with them is on their good will, it may take one day or two days. On Drone attack we have a speculative reporting.

They pointed out that the news coverage on any issue, whether it is a hard fact, a drone strike or any other international or national news, is based on set formula. Every news gets a standard time range of one to three minutes depending on the length of the news and any additional report associated to the news prepared by the stringers or reporters of Deewa. To one report I mean there’s a set formula. We are not in favor of very long reports. We are, we want brief reports because people get fed up with it. So two minutes, three minutes, is the duration of a drone attack. And if for example I, and it's always a developing story. The drone attack is always a developing story. Sometime it develops tomorrow in the sense that we know about the victims. So if it hits a very high value target then of course we can even do a one hour show that (unclear) Siraj ul Haq Haqqani for example. He's the chief of the Haqqani network. So we will deal with a proper time. Maybe one hour time to tell the significance of Siraj Haqqani, the Haqqani network, how far U.S. was entrusted in catching this guy. So all these things will be discussed in it but if the security forces tell the media that three militants were killed and then they don't know who they were, then they don't know their significance. So because of those reasons the report will get just two to three minutes yeah. But if the target is significant then yes we can say, we can give a lot of time to it.

106 Participants pointed out that drone strike news is always in the headlines but may not be the first headline. The priority depends on the importance of the news, as there are some more important and relevant news. Apart from news, participants mentioned that they have broadcast interactive shows on the drone strike issues and they have invited guests who are against drone strikes and American foreign policy and have criticized and objected drone strikes and U.S. foreign policy explicitly during the live shows. I had experts from UK, he was a lawyer, law in international affairs and he shared his opinion about the perspective about the drone attacks, the sovereignty and so many things as mentioned in the special report to the UN. And then we had expert here in Washington D.C. and we had shared his opinion about that, which was an interview. But in shows it was about the Pakistan government's reaction, we had expert from them then we had expert from political, like Jamat e Islami as I mentioned what they say about those drone strikes. Why they disapprove it that. Then we include the affected people or those (unclear) and the people, on it were a live show, always a live show. People from the area, they call us in our show and ask our experts and their several, if you have been through our shows you will have found several opinion. People thinking like the drones are good and they are doing very good job. So we have to include those people and those Pakistanis who are against it, it’s again, their sovereignty we have included that too. And so, we do the international newspaper what the paper says about the issue.

Participants pointed out that they have broadcast callers’ views about drone strikes that are anti-American or are anti-drone strikes but have not entertained the callers who get abusive or use inappropriate language. Yes people do call, people do call our shows. They condemn the drone strikes and they call it, like the Pakistan government pretends like it's against the sovereignty uh they are killing innocent people, we get these kind of voices. But Pakistani interior ministry and several of the interior minister or several of their officials that they talk officially uh the parliament as well as the media that they have cure most of the terrorist along with the or suspected terrorist along with affiliates but what alternative did they have. So we have included that, along with that we have included other opinion as well. If it wasn't effective, if it was with the permission of Pakistan government, what was the status of that? So we have included, if people are against it, I have nothing to say about that. It was with the expert opinion and how they respond to their or their denunciation of drones.

Findings in this category indicate that Deewa is serving as a public diplomacy instrument in that it is transparent in broadcasting any news related to hard facts. They broadcast news on drone strikes and also created special reports and shows on this topic. They invite experts who have anti-American or anti-drone attitudes or who support American drone policies and

107 broadcast their views. The Deewa staff also broadcast locals’ voices that condemn drone strikes or American policies for drone strikes. Propaganda efforts direct the sender to hide news, misinform or provide inaccurate, biased and unbalanced information or one-sided story to the receiver (Jowett & O'Donnell, 2012; Kelley, 2007; Lasswell, 1927; Shulman, 1990; Vincent, 1993). However, Deewa staff in this category indicated that Deewa news and views not only cover drone strike news but also try to include the voices of all stakeholders, even the anti-drone voices. Deewa news covers all the hard facts and broadcasts them to the target audience. Thus, the finding in this category indicates that Deewa as a public diplomacy tool does not employ propaganda efforts, however, we cannot generalize this finding to all public diplomacy tools.

Safety and Threat The open codes combined in this category are: low profile, threats, safety and travel to Pakistan. This category appeared when participants were asked about threat and safety challenges they face during their visits to Pakistan. The Taliban killed one of the Deewa employees, and in Pakistan a large number of people have anti-American attitudes. Deewa is an American service, and militants or various terrorist groups are against American policies. Participants were asked about threats and safety challenges, if they had any, and whether this affected their work. Participants mentioned that they or their families living in Pakistan have never received any direct threats, but when they go to Pakistan, they keep a low profile and do take some safety measures. These include not going outside their houses alone in the late hours of night, and avoid bragging in the markets about themselves. You know, personally I didn't get any threat, nobody has mentioned my name. But my reporters, those guys who are working in the field, they have been named in there, in the Taliban threatening letters and Deewa in itself has been named in their threatening letters. That they are going to do this and that, and they will do this and that. Sometime they say that we know the houses of all those guys working in Washington and we know all those guys working in Pakistan and we will teach them a lesson and that. So, this, those fears and those threats are always in my mind yeah. And as you mentioned I want to have a low profile, when I go to the market I don't tell people that I am that … that working for VOA Deewa. I mean we avoid bragging.

However, some participants mentioned that although they do not receive any threats personally, their family members have received some threatening, anonymous calls.

108 One of my colleague’s house was put on fire and as blown up, another colleague house was also blown up and threats have, I mean some of my family members have received some unknown calls, threatening them that he or she is the brother or sister of Nafees, but personally nobody has called me from Pakistan here to this office, they will do the same thing, it happened with my colleagues (unclear) underground.

Apart from personal threats, one of the stringers in Pakistan pointed out that the Taliban call him and threaten him and demand that he fix Deewa policies. He mentioned that the Taliban do oppose Deewa but do not want to block it as they know that it is the channel to reach all the people of the Tribal region. Whenever the Taliban want to reach the locals, they call Deewa and demand their news or event be broadcast. However, VOA’s policy is not to project a Taliban point of view, so Deewa does not promote these events. If it is some news, then they broadcast it. A participant also mentioned that his work is a continuous threat for him. No long protest nor a demand that Deewa should be blocked, because if you see the militant organizations which are banned even for them, Deewa is a source to reach the people, there is no newspaper, nobody reads, nor TV nor FM radio, Deewa is the only media which covers FATA, The Taliban chief whoever is Hakimullah, Fazlullah reaches to people in FATA through Deewa and that’s they are doing. He cannot go to take a loudspeaker and use it for entire FATA; one can hear it in Bajawar. The maximum areas of FATA are covered by Deewa. They telephone us two days ago, Adam Khail Taliban called me that one of their commander’s video they want us to post it on Deewa Face book page, you see they take news from it, they know that Deewa is also essential for them they never told that Deewa should be blocked. But the threat is there, they threat me that in militancy you highlight army achievements are highlighted more and ours are under mine, and said that you correct your policy otherwise you are in danger. Our one friend in Mohmand was killed; he was a very good friend of mine and was killed, as he was unable to project Taliban.

Deewa’s staff has received many threats, but they still serve their profession. Some of the staff members do get direct threats, and some do not get them, but they keep low profiles while they visit Pakistan. However, while the Deewa staff gets threats, Deewa itself does not have any threats from the Taliban or militants because these groups also use it to spread their news. Deewa, serving as a public diplomacy instrument, is not allowed to project Taliban messages, but they are reached by the Taliban who want Deewa to broadcast news about their events or their reactions to an incident or event. This category indicates that Deewa staff are aware and brave journalists that believe in journalistic freedom and broadcast correct news without responding to fear of Taliban or militants. Moreover, they do not care only for their lives and try to broadcast news and information to their audience.

109 VOA This category combines the responses that refer to VOA and other media outlets. Participants mentioned that the VOA is more overt than the BBC. They pointed out that the missions of the VOA and the BBC are the same, but the general perception about BBC is that it is not a British government-funded service. They mentioned that very few people know that the British government funds the BBC news, while the VOA explicitly informs listeners at the beginning of every show that this is an American government service. One reason is that I didn't find a huge gap between the missions of the two agencies. I studied the mission of the both agencies and they are more or less the same. Second it was an opportunity in the sense that in the BBC I was working as a producer but here this was something new and I was offered the position where I could where I could manage everything. To give something my own to the audience. So I thought that all those missing points that I felt in the BBC service will be covered up here as my new position so those were the main two reasons that I and then again, third, I think nothing is a static in journalism you sometime jump from one ladder, from one rank of the ladder to another rank. So basically those, all these three things were involved while coming here.

A participant who has worked in the BBC and other international media outlets compared VOA to them. He pointed out that VOA and the BBC have the same editorial freedom. However, very few people know that the BBC war service is also funded by British government, and therefore it is not accused of spreading propaganda or being the government’s mouthpiece. The participant pointed out that VOA states more explicitly that the U.S. government funds VOA. The editorial, I mean the bottom line is that there is a lot of editorial freedom. And comparing with BBC I think we are the same. No nothing. The good thing that BBC is good in the sense, there, they are, nobody in the region knows that they're also funded by the British government. People think that as if the BBC is funded by unknown [laughs] hands. But the fact is the BBC is funded. I mean I'm talking of the war service. The war service, all the languages are, funded by the UK government. It's not the license fee. Let me explain it to you. The BBC, the majority of the BBC broadcast is funded by the license fee. With the exception of the war service and the languages. The war services and the languages are funded by the British foreign office. And the same as here. We are also funded by the government but things are very much transparent. Every time, even in our press release. The BBC has never says that the foreign office funded BBC Urdu service has done this and that. They never say it. They're diplomat and they're wiser than us yeah I would say. But here we say the U.S.-funded Voice of America has this and that. We say it yeah. So things are very much transparent and clear. And that is why people say that as if you are a government mouthpiece and they're not.

Findings from these interviews indicate that VOA is a similar service to the BBC and they have similar missions and purposes. Both organizations have similar policies for editorial

110 freedom. According to Deewa staff VOA is more explicit in expressing its source for news and source of funding and as a result, it is accused more often of being a government mouthpiece than are other international state-supported media services such as the BBC. Though this is the Deewa staff view, but this category raises questions about why BBC is considered to be more credible than VOA. This question demands studies that could compare BBC and VOA and contribute to the public diplomacy framework. Moreover, while it is not found in this category, could the lower credibility of the VOA compared to the BBC be because of any propaganda efforts? This question also demands more studies. Studying and comparing BBC and VOA may bring new insights to the literature on public diplomacy and propaganda. However, this category indicates that Deewa staff considers their overtness about the source as the only reason for the people attitudes towards VOA that consider it to be an American government mouthpiece. They dismiss the fact that VOA was criticized for its propaganda efforts during WWII, the Cold War and in the Vietnam War. Deewa staff, as they indicated in previous categories, employs journalistic standards and avoid any inaccurate and unbalance information, and they can only think of this reason of overtness as explaining people’s attitudes towards VOA.

American Station This category appeared while the participants expressed their views about Deewa as an American media outlet. They referred to the VOA Charter and pointed out that Deewa is an American service. One of the missions of the service is to provide American perspectives on foreign policy or any international or national issue, but the service is not a mouthpiece. Participants denied Deewa had any role in forming American foreign policy or being a part of it. They pointed out that they just explain American foreign policy to their audience: “we (means Deewa) have no role in American foreign policy. We just explain it to the people”. Furthermore, they mentioned that they explain what America wants and why. They have never been dictated to broadcast only what America wants. In Deewa the staff has to be objective and balanced, so if there is any group of actors who oppose what America wants, Deewa broadcasts this story as well. Participants pointed out that explaining the American version of events is important because there are many conspiracies about the American invasion in Afghanistan.

111 We just explain it to the people. We tell them that what U.S. wants in Ukraine and why. Then it's up to the people to decide. We tell people what U.S. wants in Afghanistan and why. What U.S. wants in Pakistan and why and then it's totally up to the people yeah. We have never been told that that tell the people that what U.S. wants but don't tell them that why they want it. No we tell them what and why, both. So, we, can't, we have no influence of on the U.S. foreign policy. No influence and neither they have any influence on us. The only thing that we do is to expand it. To report it, yeah. To report it as it is. Whatever is known about it. I mean known in the sense that it it's not like gossips. I mean as we say in Pakistan that U.S. want to come to Afghanistan and then somehow make a plan to take away all the atom bombs of Pakistan. So this is something we can discuss it on. But I mean whatever is there, I mean a, delegation of senate, senators going to Pakistan and whatever is known about the meetings between them and government of Pakistan, representative of military, we report it. Good or bad. Some time they say very, some times there are some solid things in it but sometime, yeah.

The chief program officer of Deewa pointed out that Deewa was not started to promote the American government, rather VOA is a soft power tool that has many services in various countries to reach a variety of audiences. The formation of Deewa was a response to a need in that region. In the crowded local media environment that was spreading anti-Americanism, the American government saw a reason to initiate a service for that region. VOA was already serving in Pakistan through the Urdu service and the Pashto service in Afghanistan, but these services were not focusing on FATA. He pointed out that the majority of people in FATA are illiterate and do not understand Urdu, or cannot read newspaper, so they needed a source of information in their own language, Pashto. You know Washington is involved in in in approaching to different audience at different places, while two ways: one is the soft power and one is the hard power. So the hard power, I as a journalist, VOA as an agency have nothing to do with the hard power. Its work is basically to use the soft power to reach out the locals to give them the facts as it has. The news as it is and the news can be good and sometimes bad. But VOA mission is, I have it here. So basically they wanted to serve as consistently, reliable, and authoritative source of news. This was felt in those areas that Voice of America is missing in this crowded media market in 2006. Everyone now, I mean it's more difficult the media market is very crowded, competition is very tough. And you know that the local media is too much involved in anti-Americanism and everything. So basically this thing was felt and that’s why the service was started. Then as U.S. was massively involved both in Pakistan and Afghanistan, in Afghanistan the military was there. Then the issues in Afghanistan were so much relevant to Pakistan and then the whole area till this day is considered as safe havens of Taliban. So the best way to take the U.S. perspective to the target region is media and the U.S. has the, this, chance to avail that force, soft force or soft power and to reach out to the locals. I think it was just an extension of the then U.S. international broadcast media because we were already broadcasting to Afghanistan in

112 Pashto and we were already broadcasting to Pakistan in Urdu. But the Pashto was also added to it just to reinforce the overall broadcast media to those areas.

He further explained that to initiate Deewa in the region, a survey was conducted. The survey results indicated that a media channel is needed for the region that focuses on FATA and Pashtuns and could provide news and information in Pashto to the locals of Tribal region. And you know all these things have been done after a survey, after some research if we look into the target region. So Afghanistan, the service for Afghanistan was not that much covering the issues of the Pashtuns in Pakistan and uh the Urdu was covering the issues but again it was too much involved in Karachi and other stuff, the down districts of the country. And then the other obstacle, I mean if you want the broadcast to the FATA or if they broadcast on issues like, issues relevant to the Pashtuns, the problem was the language. You know and I know that language barrier exists there. Many people in FATA are in the whole Pashtun belt, they can't understand. They, they can't get the meaning of the political messages. They get it from different sources in other language other than their mother tongue. So I think all these things were considered and that's why the service was launched.

A participant mentioned that since the VOA has America in it, the first impression it gives is of U.S. government promotion tool. Furthermore, he pointed out that people consider it to be propaganda through which the American government can propagate their policies. However, he questioned how much Deewa can propagate in six hours of transmission? He mentioned that, if we broadcast an editorial on American policy for Iran, this is considered being propaganda, but if the Pakistani government covers the same news, it is not considered to be propaganda. He referred to the name of the broadcasting service, and said that their respective governments fund both BBC and VOA, but since VOA has America in it, people perceive it to be different than the BBC. As much as I know it was initiated in 1942, I mean it’s a State Department Radio. It runs on taxpayers’ money, it’s a non-commercial project, about their policies you can easily get from Washington. The VOA effort is this that the areas where in Pakistan you say is free, free but it is not that free if you see it through correct ways. If you see with the name of the radio, VOA is written. The first impression comes that it is an American Radio and it will promote American policy. It’s not like this. I will give an example that from six to 12 at night is our transmission it’s six hours, in this how you give U.S. Policy, I do not know about this that they do propaganda or something else. When I was in Washington in 6 hours 2 minutes or 3 minutes editorial we used to translate its name was view from Washington. Until I was there Iran tension was there, their view about Iran they give in the editorials that we translate. Suppose we give our view on Iran on our radio, it is not propaganda, on Pakistan, Iran and America has their own problem, on that problem we give two minutes of editorial, that what America wants and what Iran say. If you do not

113 call it propaganda than it is independent, it’s not like this that I work with VOA that’s why I take their side. Now it is BBC is an old institution, on BBC very little blames that it is British Government funded although the entire fund comes from foreign ministry, but it’s the name, in our name America is written and that is BBC, so people think that it’s not a propaganda radio.

They mentioned that the service is overt and transparent while broadcasting any American perspective. Sometimes an American government agency asks Deewa to broadcast a specific segment or public announcement, or news to the people. So Deewa says a disclaimer before and after broadcast, and explicitly mentions that this is from the American government and not from Deewa. This is an American government perspective and is not an opinion of Deewa. We do not have any role in American foreign policy or in this message or opinion.

Moreover, to discuss an issue they always bring all the parties into their shows for debate and discussion. They even invite guests who have anti-American attitudes and are against American policies for the Tribal region and especially are against drone strikes. They invite guests to debate on the issues, but encourage reasonable, logical discussion and positive comparison. The participants mentioned that they allow all callers to give their opinion even if they are against the American government or American policies, but if someone is using abusive language then they disconnect the call. Reporter is not supposed to give his own importance to the news, that’s not their job, when I joined journalism, first thing they told me your personal view that like Jamat-e- Islami or PPP (Pakistan People’s Party) are against each other you have to report what they say about each other. If there is American policy to which Pakistan does not agree or Pakistan policy which America do not like, in this case we can do to the limit that we put it to experts. We go to Peshawar University, we reach people in Islamabad, we ask them how you explain the policy which American government does not like, how you define it? Then there is an American policy, which is wrong to us than we put the responsibility on the shoulders of experts, what they say we present it.

Several participants mentioned that they follow their journalistic ethics and the VOA charter, and broadcast news even if it has something against America or American policy. They pointed out that they do not give their personal opinions; rather they call experts and guests to analyze the situation and give their opinions about the said news. The guests and experts are invited and they represent all the parties involved. Participants pointed out that they follow the VOA Charter for guidelines, so they have to broadcast a balanced view about any country even if

114 it is America. They cannot only broadcast the American government’s view on an issue; they have to present the whole of America and have to report on all versions of that issue in America. You know they follow three guidelines; to be accurate, objective, and comprehensive. And on American side, we have to represent America, not any single segment of American society. See for example, people would like us to tell them about the gays in America. But that is one particular segment. We have to give a full picture of American society. We can't just give the version of the ruling democrats. We have also to give the version of the Republicans. So in America we have to, when it comes to the American perspective we should give full picture of the story. I mean if there are, there are people and parties who support gay marriage. So we should also mention of those guys who are opposing the gay marriage. So there’s some American side. And then the third is, that all the policies of the United States should be delivered clearly and effectively. And should present it reasonable and responsible discussion on those, on those topics. So, this three point charter is always here in front of our eyes. So we try our best that each report should be, should meet the yardstick of accuracy, objectivity, and reliability. And that's why that when this, recently the BBG has conducted a survey and it said that VOA Deewa is the only product of all BBG that has 100% trust level among the audience. So I mean we can make, we make efforts to, to achieve those goals and people are good judges they can say that how far we are meeting those, those goals.

Findings in this category indicate that Deewa is an American government public diplomacy instrument and broadcasts all the news and views with journalistic standards by following the VOA charter. According to Deewa staff, Deewa broadcasts a balanced view of American policies and invites guests from various ideological and political perspectives to discuss and analyze polices. Deewa is an American channel but it is not propagating or promoting American policies. They broadcast public announcements or editorials of the American government with a disclaimer and keep the service overt and transparent. These characteristics are mentioned by Deewa staff and are found only in VOA Deewa, therefore cannot be generalized.

Propaganda The initial codes that is found and combined in this category are: covert, independent, negative perception, propaganda, public diplomacy, and soft power. These terms appeared in participant responses about Deewa as a VOA service, and when they were prompted to provide their viewpoint about: Why has the American government initiated and funded the Deewa service? How do they justify using Deewa as a soft power tool while there is hard power being used by the American government? What is their view about VOA, as either a propaganda tool or a public diplomacy instrument?

115 All the participants were prompted to define propaganda and to discuss the VOA association with propaganda, and how would they explain whether their work is propaganda or not. All the participants denied that Deewa was a propaganda tool or was involved in creating or spreading propaganda or propagating American interests. They pointed out that they work under journalistic ethics and independence, they have journalistic freedom, and they broadcast accurate and balanced news and views. They do not give their input in the views and invite all accused and aggrieved parties into their discussion panels. They also broadcast interactive shows where they encourage every listener to participate in the debate. When you are trying to inform or manipulate somebody in favor against something, that's called propaganda, in very general terms. Well I told you that honest journalism, reliability, objectivity, balance, all these values that matters for any journalist organization. VOA is part, Deewa is part of VOA and I will say it again. If you are not broadcasting something based on truth you are not a sustainable news organization because people know. They are very smart they know what you say so truth matters and truth is the best. Objectivity is everything. That's part of our broadcast and we do not operate as a separate entity from VOA. Those are our guidelines.

Another participant defined propaganda as twisting the story in one’s favor, and keep saying good things about oneself and spreading negative information about an opposing party. If I propagate for myself or it is propaganda for me it's like to twist stories in my favor. It twist things or just to press one issue that is against me and highlight the one that favors me more in a sense or just to create a kind of continues broadcast or continues info-, convey information, disseminating something information about me. Everything good of me and everything bad of others.

One participant mentioned that propaganda is to publicize one’s view or promote it. He explained that they only broadcast the American policy when the Congress approves it, and all other non-American channels also broadcast it, so it is news and not promoting American policy. He pointed out that his show focuses on FATA, so how can he propagate about America in his show? I am not in favor or against it; I will say from my own experience that in my view, in all the history of governments, kingdoms have considered propaganda a necessity. And have found and plan ways for it. If we define propaganda has positive or negative impacts on people then it has a different answer. But if it for providing their own perspective, but another name for propaganda could be it’s publicity like every second minute America publicizes that they support Pakistan, we support Pakistan, then this is propaganda, and propaganda tool is Deewa or VOA. But there is no exaggeration in it or lie in it. But in reality America is not helping Pakistan or is planning a conspiracy against Pakistan and is telling lies to us then yes it is propaganda. In American Congress if an issue is debated,

116 discussed and approved or in Whitehouse, both opinions agree and it becomes a policy then it reaches to us and we deliver it to people. So if it is propaganda and is not news information then we can analyze it that way but I think that it is a news information channel and people can give it any name. I would say that because I pick my topics from my region means like if I analyze my program and blogs on Washington to Khyber, so more than 95 % topics are from Tribal region social issues, problems of people and on war and terrorism, on education, politics or health. So how can anyone claim that I do propaganda for America? Or suppose I promote American culture there or impose it on people, or impose American government system on the people over there or impose American religion Christianity to those people or speak anti Pakistan. Then yes people can say that this is propaganda. So no I totally disagree to it that no one can prove it that I do propaganda.

Furthermore, they define propaganda as using media to spread one’s interests or opinions. A participant mentioned that it depends on the perspective; propaganda could be positive and negative, and for one party it could be news and for an opposing party it could be propaganda. He expressed the view that VOA is diplomacy rather than propaganda, and they start the service in the areas where they think that people need to be more aware of their needs and rights, rather than promoting American policies in that region. Whenever the word propaganda is used it’s for one’s own interest or a country wants to take benefit for itself or to impose its own policy on others or to change its opinion either the country is in peace or war, the word propaganda we used in our mind there are negative propaganda and positive propaganda, suppose there is fighting in Afghanistan there is something against Taliban and your channel broadcast it, Taliban will say it’s a propaganda against us, but if you see it closely it’s not a propaganda against them rather we are informing the world about them. I mean one party uses propaganda but the other party doesn’t think so. When I take VOA, diplomacy suits it well, propaganda word on it does not fit on it, then the VOA policy is this, where ever they want to start their transmission or influence, it’s never their aim that they start spreading their news, in the project their aim is that people should attain the level to get their rights and can raise their voice.

A female participant defined propaganda as projecting negative stuff against an opposing party and denied that Deewa is involved in it. She mentioned that they want the people to improve and therefore broadcast shows for their interest and betterment. Well propaganda is, it can be you know saying negative stuff about you know, something that one group of people think is and then the ways of propaganda it differs you know. So we don't do any propaganda here. And so it’s not because we’re not prop-, we're not propagating anything. We always talk about what is best for the interest of the people, for their advantage. You can listen to our shows and listen to it for one week and you'll know. It's always is about the good of the people you know.

117 Regarding VOA’s historic association with propaganda efforts, a female participant mentioned that in her Master’s course work, she learned VOA was a propaganda tool and she thought the same before joining the VOA Deewa. But since she has joined it and has worked in it, she is curious that why an organization like VOA is labeled as spreading propaganda. She pointed out that through this platform, she makes her listeners attentive to social and economic problems they are facing. She gives awareness through information about various problems and how they can be solved. She wants her Pashtun brothers and sisters to be educated and live a better life, so how can she call her work propaganda. She mentioned that just because the American government funds a radio service, people couldn’t call it propaganda. She mentioned that she found VOA Deewa to be contrary to what she learned during her journalism degree courses. Propaganda that we have studied it in our Master’s program of journalism and mass communication, so if you look at that means that in our readings in our syllabus it is mentioned that VOA was propaganda tool. Till we were studying that, in my mind I had this concept, and even I had argument with someone, I used to argue that VOA is a propaganda tool, this tool was developed for propaganda. But when we see something closely, like now I work here and I look at it daily in last six years, then all those readings are just theory for me because those things do not exist like, what do we call propaganda? Like if we give education to people, so do people call this propaganda? That giving education is propaganda, or if we want to aware people of about politics, is that propaganda? Then, are we saying propaganda to this? So then I get confuse with what we read in theory that in syllabus we study something else but practically it’s not. So, what I am doing now do I call my job propaganda? Then I would first I ask myself, what I am doing right now? And I know it is not propaganda, I am working for the awareness, I am working for the education. So then how can it be propaganda?

Moreover, she defines propaganda as imposing one’s ideas and ideology on others, and denies that she does propaganda. She defined her work as giving information and awareness to people. Propaganda, if I define it simply, then I would say that imposing your thoughts on other people in a way that they start believing you, like imposing a thought that what I am thinking is right and what others are thinking is not correct. But practically if I compare it with my work, then I would say that what I am thinking, I do not impose it on people but bring it in front of people and if they question about it and I tell them that no what you are thinking is wrong but what I told you is correct. So looking at the people from that angle but I do not do this. What I do, I take knowledgeable people from them and give them the message through their own people and ask them that this is the problem and how can it be solved. So I give awareness to people, so I will define propaganda like that. I do not impose my thoughts on people.

118 The program chief of Deewa was prompted to explain the reasons for starting a service for the Tribal region, as there were American interests there and they started the service. Why had VOA not started a service for other provinces like in Punjab or Sindh? He pointed out that VOA goes to the conflict regions and then in conflict regions VOA cannot reach everyone. He also mentioned that U.S. has interests in this region, because Al Qaida and their affiliates were hiding in the region. Also those militant groups started propaganda campaigns against American policies, due to which American government took this initiative. You know VOA cannot reach out to each and every one. All these services are Congressional creatures. Congress approves them launching, stopping of the service. But again it involves a process. There is a board of governors for the whole broadcast whether it's VOA or other entities. They decide all these things so basically Voice of America, the U.S. international broadcast, so far, trying to reach out to the conflict zones, not to the normal areas. For example, there is no conflict going on in Punjab, no conflict is going on in Sindh for example. And the U.S. has also some interests attached to its product. So the U.S. concerns were mainly in the Deewa target region. Those concerns were not that much there in the Punjab province or in Sindh province. So those are also I mean main reasons that there are so many people in, six billion people in the world, and more than 200 countries in the world. VOA can't reach out to all of them but VOA is trying to reach out to people and to the areas where U.S. considers that it has some concerns or stakes in those areas. And the fact is that U.S. had concerns, all the reports were sent that all Al Qaeda and Taliban guys, hard-core elements were hiding in those areas. And we have found it in the later years, Osama Bin Laden was found in our target region. The whole militancy Haqani network, Quetta shura and Taliban foot soldiers, they are not there in Punjab or in Sindh. They are in FATA, the Tribal areas, in the whole of the Pashtun belt, this side or that side. And from there they are launching their attacks on democracy, on constitutional government of Afghanistan. So and then you have well huge loudspeaker from Pakistan side, which basically tries to justify such attacks. What they call Jihad in Afghanistan. So there was a need to counter that propaganda.

Moreover, the program chief of the service mentioned that he is the editor of the service and Congress only approves their funding. However, Congress cannot dictate to the service about the inclusion or exclusion of any news or views. The program chief pointed out that he has the right to take the Congressman or any official or person to courts if they try to dictate the service agenda. Board of Governors; they basically decide whether a service should be launched, should be stopped, that's their job. But once the service is launched and once the funds are approved, they damn care about the rest of the things. They are, there is right now that we are talking; there is a firewall between Voice of America and Congress. This this things needs to be explained. There is a firewall existing between Congress, U.S. government, and this agency: Voice of America. Neither Congress nor State Department, nor DOD…

119 Defense Department, no one from the outside can come to the VOA and can dictate the editorial agenda for us. This freedom has been given to all of the journalists across the board. They have to decide the editorial agenda. We have to decide the editorial agenda. The agenda is not coming from Congress. It's not coming from senators or from Congressmen or from any government agency so it's a fact that the funds are coming from these, from the government of America but how to use those funds, this has to be decided by the services themselves.

Participants mentioned that people have negative perceptions about VOA as it is funded by the U.S. government and that this perception overshadows their work and efforts. They expressed the view that people accuse them of promoting an American ideology and policies, but they denied this claim. They pointed out that they do not promote, rather they inform the locals of the Tribal region about universally accepted and acclaimed rights such as human rights, women’s rights, education, health and the right to vote. They pointed out that the universally accepted rights are not American rights rather they are approved worldwide. If informing people of the region who are deprived of these rights is considered to be propaganda then it is people’s prerogative. The participants expressed the view they will keep doing what they are doing whether or not some people call it propaganda. Furthermore, regarding Pakistanis’ attitudes towards America, they pointed out that in Pakistan, it is becoming people’s habit to blame America or India for every incident and action. Participants pointed out that in Pakistan most of the people have anti-American attitudes and they would call Deewa a propaganda tool. They are under the influence of Pakistani media that promote anti-American sentiments. But in the Tribal region most of the people do not have this perception and they like Deewa since it has provided them with news and awareness about their problems. They mentioned that their organization is transparent and not covert. They explicitly mention in their service that this is an American government-funded organization. In Pakistan if something goes wrong they say there is a foreign hand behind it, foreign hands in Pakistan can be two; to blame either U.S. or India, it’s sort of habit formed. I tell you a sort of joke, in our University hostel there was a boy, in front of his room there was a locate (fruit) tree, the locats were stolen when he gets up in the morning he said America is involved in it. People adopted such habit and politician has this habit. Because the occupation forces of U.S. was in Afghanistan since 2001 anything was achieved was against the policies of Pakistan or Afghanistan. People of the area thought that U.S. Government is behind all these things, such negative attitude are developed. In our Tribal areas the clerics and religious leaders, they have and still have strong hold on the sentiments of people and that’s the reason that they, for their own benefit they projected that anything happens here, America is involved in it. The crisis in Afghanistan, the

120 governments that toppled all these are done because America for his own benefit wants to occupy, so this was the negative thinking.

A participant pointed out Pakistanis’ perspectives about Deewa as an American propaganda mouthpiece is because of the broader anti-American attitudes they have. He mentioned that because of the anti-American attitudes of people they associate everything connected with the American government with propaganda or a conspiracy. Moreover, he referred to Pakistani mainstream media and the Pakistani government as the two sources that propagate this anti-American attitude. He also pointed out that this anti-American attitude is more prevalent among the non-Pashtun. There are two kinds of views about that. One is that is propagated by the mainstream media and that is anti-Americanism. Anti-Americanism is very popular hobby in Pakistan. And, I have been reading some research that the pro-American views has never crossed the figure 27 in the Pakistan direction. Okay. I think it's a PEW research. And when as a journalist working for VOA you go around and people come to know they might associate you as a CIA agent. And uh, they have to conspiracy mentality indoctrinated by the state sponsored media outlets and it's it's not only the media it's the in-built behavior of the state in Pakistan. Which indoctrinates its people that we are Muslims and the rest of the world is conspiring against us. And the anxiety and the insecurity are very much inside the state and the people that indoctrinate people through the textbooks that we’re Muslims and everyone are against us. Americans; they want a [unclear] of nuclear weapons. The CIA guys are here and they are doing this and that so. With all this mentality the first thing that come into their mind is that you are the representative of America, maybe the CIA agent. But, they would like to enter into any argument on U.S. foreign policy. For example, from, and those questions I have dealt with typicalist [unclear] Islamic questions, “that you know America is the [unclear]. And you know they are doing this and that to Iraq and everybody and America will fall one day and you know this and that”. And I prefer not to answer those questions because I'm not supposed to. But if somebody in my personal capacity wants to know my opinion, I won't stop anybody saying anything about America and that's not my job but it gives me a good idea that how people are thinking about America. But anti-Americanism is very prevalent in Pakistan especially in those areas where the state has more influence. This is very interesting. It's not about like in [region] or anything. This is more about the non-Pashtun.

Furthermore, he expressed the view that there is an image crisis in Pakistan, and that image crisis originates from the media. This image crisis about drone strikes and anti-American attitudes of people affects Deewa’s credibility and overshadows Deewa’s efforts to improve life in the Tribal region. People are against drones because of that image crisis. Major terrorist leaders have been killed in drone attacks but people are not looking at the drone productivity. He

121 claimed that no media outlet produces a program on drone alternatives or how to control terrorism in that region. About the drone issue, there is an image crisis. The Pakistan government has on many occasions said that in drone strikes most of the time terrorists are killed, okay. Chaudhry Nisar (politician) at one point in the floor of the house said that I am not sure about the numbers but those big terrorist Hakeemullah Mehsud and Al Qaeda people, they were all targeted in drones. So it means the effectiveness. The image crisis emanate from the media. Again it's the policy lines of the Pakistan security establishment, which thinks, it’s the violation of the borders. We have not seen a single program or argument on the mainstream television channels that okay, what alternative do we have to the drones? Can we tackle them or not. If terrorist from around the world have a sanctuary on your land and they're threatening America or anybody, I'm not justifying the American version of this, but if I'm an entity I will take all those measures in my power to protect myself.

Furthermore, the participants stressed that media should give the overall picture with both positive and negative impacts of drone strikes. This is, Pakistan should not, Pashtun leaders been saying; Pakistan should not provide the opportunity to the rest of the world that you harbor terrorist on your soil. And Pakistani people have thought on many occasions that these drone attacks are counter-productive, which I, I'm not sure that how they can argue and justify that they are counterproductive but counterproductive for whom? If I’m affected by a terrorist and you are taking out these terrorist from the region, with the civilian casualties, which is the bad part, which is the ugly part, which you should mention in your reports. But with the overall picture. So that's the image crisis in Pakistan, it's more of the security establishment line of thinking, than a normal person, a street man or a farmer who's land has been hit by the drone, even I have talked to them. I have talked to the farmer whose land was hit, he talked to me and said that I know this drone attack is very good but I cannot say it on air because there are consequences. So this is the general perception but when they come on mic they will say something else.

Findings indicate that Deewa staff does not agree that Deewa is a propaganda tool of the American government. They consider Deewa to be a news and information service that works according to high journalistic standards and delivers balanced, accurate and objective news and information to their listeners. They defined their jobs as raising awareness in the region by informing people about their problems and rights so they can make informed and better decisions for themselves and for their communities. Participants defined propaganda as a lie, inaccurate, and information twisted in one’s favor, or promoting and publicizing or exaggerating one’s objectives. The association of propaganda with Deewa overshadows their efforts and work. Deewa is a service that focuses on FATA issues and their shows. News and analysis are focused on FATA issues, culture and

122 values rather than American ideology or American culture and values. The Deewa staff support universally acclaimed human rights that include awareness about human rights, health, education and women rights. The association of Deewa with propaganda is because it is an American service and people in Pakistan have anti-American sentiments. Conclusion Deewa is a public diplomacy instrument and information service offered by the U.S. government for the Tribal region of Pakistan and Afghanistan. The function of Deewa is not advocacy, like some other instruments of public diplomacy, but is to deliver accurate and balanced news and information to the target region. The service works under the VOA umbrella and runs according to the VAO Charter. The Charter defines the roles and it is reiterated in the work of the staff in Deewa and this is also found during the interviews. The VOA charter states that it is to deliver balanced, accurate and objective news and information, and to provide an American perspective and values to the target region. The Deewa staff confirms the news and information through various sources and strives to include all stakeholders’ views before broadcasting news. They broadcast both hard and soft news, and include, if there are any, anti-American accounts. Their job is not to provide opinions or persuade but to inform their target audience. They give equal time to drone strike news and their stringers prepare special reports on drone strikes and include all hard facts, the pro-drone sentiments, and the anti-drone sentiments. Deewa, as a public diplomacy instrument of information, broadcasts news and information to the target audience and explains American policies to their listeners. But their focus is more on FATA issues, values and culture than on American values and culture. Their shows discuss the American way of life, how people live in U.S., and mostly how the American Pashtuns are living in U.S. They also produce shows on various developed countries and societies in the first world. The initiative is not just to inform people but also to assist them in becoming more aware communities for contemplation and self-comparison. The Deewa staff is composed of experienced journalists that are native Pashtuns. The staff members are well informed about the problems, culture, customs and values of the locals of the Tribal region. They also know the VOA guidelines, which they do not cross. They produce interactive shows where they invite experts from a particular field who are also Pashtuns and well known in the region. Those experts are questioned about Tribal region problems and the locals’ basic rights. Locals

123 are also allowed and encouraged during the shows to call in and ask their questions to those experts or to comment on the experts’ arguments and discussions. Deewa, operating as a public diplomacy instrument, adopts characteristics of the public diplomacy framework that are employed through soft power. As Cull (2009) mentioned, public diplomacy could be employed by soft power. Nye (2004) defines soft power as “the ability to get what you want through attraction rather than coercion”. Furthermore, in applying soft power, one attracts the other party by utilizing their own values and customs. Deewa is not only utilizing values, customs of tribesmen and Pashtuns to raise awareness among locals but is also engaging locals to exchange their views with their fellow tribesmen through interactive shows to bring awareness, social change and unity among the tribesmen. According to Zaharna (2007), mass media have the ability to reach a large number of audience members through a single source and a uniform message. Moreover, “mass media is also valued for its ability to generate public awareness and influence on public agenda” (p. 218). Deewa, serving as a public diplomacy instrument, is reaching the entire Tribal region and is raising awareness and informing locals about the region. Cynthia Schneider, U.S. Ambassador, mentioned that media, art and culture through public diplomacy tools are reaching to people and empowering local voices, as opposed to simply promoting American ideas. She said that independent voices in media advance social change and hold governments accountable (CPD conversations in Public Diplomacy, 2011). Deewa staff includes qualified and independent journalists who believe in objective and reasonable journalism. They are Pashtuns, experienced and well-informed, and are concerned for their region. They ask critical questions and place all of the issues of FATA on the table for discussion between experts and locals. They raise questions about the negligence of the Pakistani government in regard to the Tribal region for not giving the tribesmen rights equal to those of other citizens of Pakistan under the constitution. These include the right to vote, and the right to have a fair trial. They discuss the need for public efforts to address the lack of health and educational facilities, poor infrastructure, financial instability, the absence of proper mining regulations, the lack of media, power shortages, and most of all the unjust system of FCR. Old customs of jirga and other blood feuds are not practiced well due to increased illiteracy. The region, due to the negligence of the government, has become a safe haven for religious and ideological militant groups and now locals are displaced and living in various IDP camps. Deewa

124 staff members are concerned about the poor conditions of the Tribal region. Their efforts indicate that they are using Deewa as a platform for raising awareness so the locals cannot only become aware, but also can speak and advocate for their rights and can have informed opinions that give them the ability to take better decisions. The efforts to raise awareness and empower the local voices are to foster social change and improve the conditions of Tribal region and its people (i.e., the whole Pashtun belt). According to Deewa staff, Deewa supports democracy, freedom, women’s rights, education for all, better health and hygiene, goals which it claims are universally acclaimed human rights and values, and not just American values. Staff denied that they advance any one agenda or ideology. However, ideology is one’s standpoint, and the staff of Deewa has strong standpoints that divert their show content. Advancing objectives and one’s point of view are characteristics of both propaganda and public diplomacy frameworks. Based on the findings, Deewa is not advancing or propagating American values or ideology but advancing any ideology is a characteristic of propaganda, too. However, based on one characteristic, Deewa cannot be called a propaganda tool of U.S. government, but can include some characteristics of propaganda in advancing a specific set of universal values and rights. This finding indicates that public diplomacy can employ some white propaganda efforts in the practice. Deewa, based on senders’ or Deewa staff’s views, exercises all the characteristics of public diplomacy that the literature describes: balanced, accurate, and comprehensive information, its objective and purposeful effort, being overt and transparent about the source and content, and broadcasting clearly identified American perspectives on their policies. Moreover, in this study, the case of Deewa describes it as information tool of public diplomacy of American government, but it functions more than an information tool. It extends the framework of public diplomacy as a tool, to raise awareness, to improve the quality of life and bring social change, and to empowering the locals’ voices.

125 CHAPTER FIVE

THE MESSAGE

Introduction

This chapter examines the content of the messages that Deewa broadcasts to the locals of the Tribal region through its Deewa radio service. To examine VOA Deewa as a public diplomacy instrument, it is important to explore the content that Deewa produces and broadcasts. The content of the shows indicate that Deewa, as a two-way communication instrument, is a source of information and awareness and acts to empower local voices. It is a platform for the listeners to speak, complain and demand their rights. Moreover, Deewa is an overt service of U.S. government that focuses on the Tribal regions of Pakistan and Afghanistan along with providing American perspectives on its target region. Deewa produces and broadcasts news and interactive shows. The interactive shows inform the audience and allow them to discuss the social, economic and political problems faced by Tribal people. Deewa broadcasts nine hours every day, out of which three hours are news and six hours are interactive shows. The interactive shows are call-in shows that are initiated to encourage two-way communication between local listeners and the Deewa staff in Washington, D.C. To encourage audience members to call shows, Deewa has facilitated contact with the locals of the Tribal region by providing two free landline telephone numbers. Audience members can call in on those numbers and can talk to the hosts and provide their opinions. To examine the content of Deewa broadcasts using the frameworks of public diplomacy and propaganda, it is important to select shows that represent different types of Deewa broadcasts. Therefore, three types of shows were selected for this study: news hours, morning shows and evening shows. The three types of shows provided material to answer the first question of the study: In what ways does the VOA Deewa service function as a public diplomacy instrument? Thus, this analysis also provides answers to the overarching question of the study: What is nature of public diplomacy in practice? Shows from 2013 were selected for the study since most of the drone strikes occurred in 2013. Because of the drone strikes, the Pakistani media and the general public, including religious parties, actively participated in anti-drone rallies all over Pakistan. These programs provide an ideal opportunity to study the content of Deewa, to examine whether there are any propaganda efforts in broadcasts by Deewa and if so,

126 what these are like. Thus, the shows selected for study were broadcast on the days of a drone strike and the following days, in order to provide a factual and accurate analysis of the use of a public diplomacy/propaganda instrument. These shows were examined to explore the second question of the study: In what ways does the VOA Deewa service employ elements of propaganda? Thus, this analysis also provided answers for the second overarching question of the study: To what extent does public diplomacy involve propaganda? Moreover, the content of all the shows and the new characteristics of public diplomacy found in the content of the shows, contributed to the framework of the public diplomacy. This relates to the third question of the study: How does the VOA Deewa service example contribute to developing a broader framework for public diplomacy? Just as every research study has some limitations, this study also has had to confront several limitations and challenges. In initial contacts with Deewa staff, access to show content was easy to obtain in that all content was available online on the Deewa website. However, when the content was accessed during 2014 for the study the web links were no longer active. At the request of author, some of the links were made available and were activated. Thus, for this study a smaller date range during fall 2013 was selected, and the shows broadcast on the days a drone attacked and the following day were selected from September 2013 to December 2013 (see Chapter Three). All the shows were listened to by the author once and were coded using Nvivo software. Initial code terms were drawn from the similarities and differences derived from the public diplomacy and propaganda literatures. The initial codes are: overt, truth, objective, strategic, controlled, purposive, branding, balanced view, two way communication that aim to bring conversation and debate, rational, logical, transparent, covert, lie, biased, inaccurate, incomplete, misinformation, disinformation, emotional, and non-transparent. The codes are then discussed and analyzed using the public diplomacy and propaganda frameworks.

Deewa Shows Three types of shows were selected for the study. The News Hour program selected for this study is from the prime time and is one hour long, from 8pm to 9pm. The shows are selected based on their availability and from the days drones attacked. The news hour is examined for its content and more specifically for coverage of drone strikes, focusing on a number of questions. Another show selected for study was “Saher Pa Kahir” that is a two hour morning show is

127 broadcast from 6:30 am to 8:30 am, Pakistan standard time, while it is evening in Washington. This is a two-hour interactive call-in show. The first hour of the show is for everyone and the second hour is specifically for females. This one-hour show is simulcast on both Deewa TV and radio. The first one-hour is called Saher pa Khair (that means Good Morning) while the second hour show is called Bibi Shirin (that means Sweet Lady). The interactive shows in the morning are about social, political and economic problems and issues. The women’s show is specifically for women’s problems and issues. The third show selected for the study was “Hello VOA,” a one-hour interactive show in prime time broadcast from 9pm to 10pm. The show is broadcast every day and discusses health, social, economic and political issues of the Tribal region. For the study, the political shows are selected on the day of a drone strike and the following day when possible. Findings, Discussion and Analysis This section provides findings from the review of the content of the VOA Deewa shows, the major codes, and discussion and analysis of these findings. News Hour – 8 pm to 9pm The major findings regarding the content of news are discussed below: Source announcement. In this category, the initial codes2 that appear are source identification, overt, and open codes are: repetition and recall of source identification, focus, radio strategy, and advertisement strategy. VOA Deewa announces the source in the beginning and after every five minutes of the news hours, and at end of the news report the announcement is repeated: “this is Voice of America Deewa (da da Amrikai ghag voice of America Deewa radio da)”. The beginning source announcement is just the name of the source. However, in the middle of the news hour, they use three kinds of source announcements: just the name of the source, the name of the source with the website address, and an advertisement style that addresses the Pashtuns and outlines the focus of the Deewa and also provides details like the timings of the transmission, and the website address of Deewa. All the announcements come with loud music, which is a strategy used in radio advertising to gain the attention of the listener.

2 All initial codes are taken from the similarities and differences between propaganda and public diplomacy derived from the literature. The meanings and list of the initial codes is provided in the methodology chapter of the study. All the open codes are coded by the researcher, employing the qualitative content analysis approach.

128 It also helps listeners to differentiate between the show content and the advertisement. For example: What is happening in Pashtuns’ house, village, city and land? VOA Deewa will give you the answer. Listen to it every evening from 6pm to 12pm and in the morning from 6am to 9am, everyday, also on Internet www.voadeewa.com. This is VOA Deewa.

The findings indicate that Deewa is like other radio services that keep on repeating the radio name and source. It also uses the marketing strategy of playing loud music to differentiate the content of shows and advertisements. The strategy is used to let the listener know what channel they are listening to if they tune in to the middle of the show. Deewa uses the repeat and recall strategy to draw the attention of listeners and to inform the listeners about the focus of their service. Deewa is found to be overt in announcing the source, that is a characteristic of both public diplomacy and white propaganda (Berridge & Lloyd, 2001; Fortner, 1994; Gilboa, 2008; Hart, 2013; Jowett & O'Donnell, 2012). However, based on this characteristic alone we cannot generalize it as propaganda tool or public diplomacy tool, but it is found that this characteristic is employed as a public diplomacy tool since it is overt and transparent. To be a credible source, similar objectives could be employed for white propaganda. Greetings and time. Deewa greets their listeners with “salam”. They announce the standard times of Afghanistan, Pakistan and of Washington D.C. to their listeners. They also announce the real names of the hosts. Dear listeners Asalam o alaikum. This is Voice of America Deewa radio. You are going to listen to our news. The time is 7:30pm in Afghanistan, 8pm in Pakistan and 11am in Washington D.C., This is … [the news casters names].

News headline. The initial code appearing in this category is focus, while the open codes are: pattern, anti-government sentiments, public aggression, grieve, and political views. News headlines take the first five minutes of the news hour. The headlines include three or four news items of the day. Some of the news headlines also have a snip from the detailed report of the news. The headline news is all focused on the Tribal region, KPK, and Pakistan, and there are very few international news stories. First headline: KPK government oppositions protest against militant bombings in the city and against the Imran Khan (PTI) march Second headline: Provincial chief police says they will start operation in Peshawar (snip of his press address in Urdu)

129 Third headline: The protestors protested against yesterday’s bomb blast in Peshawar, want peace in the region, and said “it’s Pashtuns genocide and if Pakistan government cannot provide security to them, then the Pakistani people will be forced to call UNO forces in the region to come for their protection” (8:01:35) Fourth headline: Baluchistan earthquake: operation to save and take people affected during earthquake to safe places is completed. Aid is given it to them. Details about the earthquake destruction, details of aid.

The headlines are repeated after half an hour at 8:30pm in the news hour. The findings indicate that Deewa news headlines’ focus is on the Tribal region or Pashtuns, and Pakistan. Headline news is focused on incidents like bomb blasts, earthquakes in the regions, and political and social problems of the people in the region. Some of the news headlines had snips that expressed the public anger and disappointment in the government for not providing security and protection to the Pashtun belt. In the shows analyzed for this study, only one show has a headline about an address by U.S. President Barak Obama, and points of view about Syria in the G-20 summit. However, this is not an indication that Deewa headlines do not include international news in the headlines. Findings in this category indicate that Deewa as a public diplomacy instrument emphasizes the news of Deewa target region. This strategy provides a sense of representation among the target audience and it develops trust and credibility (Perloff, 2010). However, the study of more news hours may bring a different conclusion. News details. The open codes appearing in this category are summary, facts, reports, variety, repetition, recall, and the initial codes that appeared were: editorials, focus, and American perspective. The news details include news from sports and other educational seminars and events, but they are not part of the headlines. Each news item gets a minimum of two minutes and a maximum of five minutes at one time. The headline news items get three to four minutes of detail every time they are repeated. In one hour of news, they repeat the news included in the headlines two or three times, but add a new report to the item, and do not broadcast the same report. During repeat news, for recall purpose, Deewa broadcasts the summary of the news detail first and then adds a new report with it. Similarly, not all the news items have reports, but all the news included in the headlines have reports. Each report was about four to five minutes long and had facts, figures and sentiments from all the possible stakeholders. The news details depend on the nature of the news. One news hour program analyzed for the study; for example, indicate that the news details about the Peshawar blast on September 22

130 took about half of the news hour. There were various reports that include the voices of people, government officials, and relatives of people wounded in the incident. The details were not presented for the full half hour; rather, they were broadcast in four parts. Each report was about one quarter of the show. Similarly, the news about drone strikes, a killing by militants, earthquakes in the region, and the U.S. President’s point of view about Syria in the G-20 summit news were repeated three times in the news hour and every time some new details were added to the report. Editorials, book reviews, and visits by Deewa staff to U.S. states to inform their listeners about America were also part of news hour details. Apart from that, every news hour analyzed for the study also had a special editorial from the U.S. government providing the American perspective. The range of airtime for the editorials, book reviews and visits were found to be from three minutes to five minutes long. This indicates that the news hour was providing more details on news included in the news hour and less time was given to editorials or sections that provided an American perspective. Thus, broadcasting the American perspective is characteristic of both propaganda and public diplomacy (Fortner, 1994; Gilboa, 2008; Hart, 2013), however, we cannot generalize it as a propaganda effort. Moreover, providing more details on the news related to the target region distinguish Deewa efforts from propaganda. Focus. Deewa News Hour shows coded for this study focused mainly on the Pashtuns, Pakistan, and Muslims all over the world, and on international incidents. The focus is analyzed based on the news included in the headlines, length of time of the news and the length and the number of the reports broadcast on the news. The news on a bomb blast in Peshawar, drone strikes in Tribal region, power shortages, education problems, polio cases, health issues, political problems and killings of ANP members (Awami National Party, a socialist political party of Pashtuns) in the Tribal region, Peshawar, KPK, and Baluchistan had detailed reports and were repeated two or three times. Moreover, any incident of terrorism in Pakistan and in the world was also included. In international news; a detailed report on U.S. President Barak Obama’s address at the G-20 summit in September 2013 held in St. Petersburg was broadcast. The findings in this category indicate Deewa as a public diplomacy instrument has a focus that is more on the target region, and provides balanced and objective news, rather than projecting the sender state’s ideology or propagating objectives of the state (Abubakar, 2014; Alexander, 1987; Cull, 2009; Fortner, 1994; Potter, 2009).

131 Editorial and report. Every news hour program included one or two editorials selected from the major national and international newspapers, or a report of the U.S. State Department, or a book review. The editorials included in the shows analyzed for this study were from British newspapers (Guardian and Telegraph), and from American newspapers (Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, New York Times), from an Indian newspaper (Hindustan Times). They also take editorials from other newspapers but they were not part of these shows. In these seven shows there were five editorials from newspapers while one was a book review. Two reports from the U.S. foreign policy office (State Department) were also included. The focus of this section of the news was also the FATA, Pakistan or Muslims of the whole world. The five newspaper editorials included an editorial each from the Guardian, the Telegraph, and the Los Angeles Times (about a car crash incident in Tiananmen Square that was a suicide terrorist attack and for which Chinese government blamed Muslims of Xinjiang province), and an editorial from the Hindustan Times about the opening of the BOL (which is a new cable channel starting in Pakistan, and which is claimed to be funded by Daud Ibrahim and the ISI (Intelligence Agency of Pakistan)). The editorial mentioned that Daud Ibrahim is the mastermind of the Mumbai attacks and was first hiding in Pakistan and now in Dubai and is on a wanted list in India. Also discussed was an editorial from the Guardian about the new jihadist militant group in Kashmir. An editorial in the Washington Post about the withdrawal of U.S. troops and allied forces from Afghanistan noted that that this raises concerns about the development of Afghanistan, since the Afghan currency has devalued and the withdrawal of American troops will also lower the aid to the region which will put the country in many financial crisis. An editorial from the New York Times noted the Pakistani government’s concern over the death sentence of Abdul Qadir that was announced in Bangladesh. Qadir supported Pakistan’s army in 1971 war and helped them in the war crimes that included the killing of innocent people, the rape of many women, mass killings and digging mass graves for the bodies in Bangladesh. The U.S. foreign policy report was about Afghan efforts to arrange peace talks and negotiations with the Taliban, its consequences in the region, and on Afghan/American foreign relations. Another report was on the American perspective about the Syrian use of chemical weapons and American government policies and actions against the Syrian government. The book review was about the book “The Last Refuge” by Gregory Johnson. The meaning of the

132 name of the book was provided in Pashto, and so was the book review. The book is about Al Qaeda and their growth in Yemen, how Yemen has become a safe haven for them, and how they planned their terrorist activities from there and organized their movement from Yemen to Afghanistan. The findings indicate that the editorials were selected based on their relevance to the region or to the Muslim world. All the editorials pointed toward the wars and terrorism activities in which Muslims are involved. Also it was found that Deewa, as a public diplomacy instrument, explains U.S. foreign policies to the target region. It is also evident that Deewa attempts to communicate the U.S. government perspective strategically, as Deewa broadcasts this perspective to the prime time news hour during which all the listeners are at home and listen to news. Broadcasting the American perspective on foreign policy is the characteristic of both public diplomacy and propaganda (Fortner, 1994; Gilboa, 2008; Hart, 2013; Jowett & O'Donnell, 2012), however, emphasizing target region news and views distinguish Deewa from propaganda efforts. Drone strikes. All the news hour programs analyzed for this study were selected on the days of a drone attack or the days after a drone attack. All the news hours had detailed drone strike news with comprehensive and long reports. Furthermore, drone strike news was also part of the headlines, except for one News Hour program on September 30, but the details on this date also have a long report about the drone strike. The initial codes appearing related to drone strike news are: overt, transparent, balance, mentions the news source, accurate, specific, detailed, while open codes are: anti-drone voices, pro-drone voices, repeat and recall, facts and figures. The headlines covered the drone strike news along with a snip from the report, and every drone strike news headline was approximately forty seconds long. Sept 6: headline: People have protested against two drone strikes in one day in North Waziristan, in which at least six terrorists from the Haqani group have been killed, and also one of their leaders Maulvi Sangeen. (20-second snip from the report) Sept 22: In North Waziristan drone strike at least six militants have died, (20 second snip of the report) Nov 29: Drone attack on one of the centers and three Taliban died in it and they are from Punjab (22 second snip from the report).

The details of the drone strike news include the day it hit, the exact place hit by the drone, the number of people who died in the attack, and their relation to the militant groups. The news

133 also adds the condemnation of drones by the Pakistani government. The news detail has two parts, the news summary by the newscaster in Washington D.C. and then the report produced by the stringer in Pakistan: Sept 6: Second news item about drone strikes, at (8: 02:52 till 8:03:36): In two drone strikes in North Waziristan one of the leaders and at least six terrorists have been killed. According to Pakistan security forces, these drones attacked an area of Dhulam Khan in which one of the main Talib leaders, Maulvi Sangeen, and six more terrorists have died. The terrorists are hiding in these regions of FATA. Pakistan’s foreign ministry has strongly condemned these drone strikes, and demanded that these strikes stop.

Deewa repeats the same news and adds some more details in the report. Deewa mentions all the news sources and the names of the stringers who prepared the report. Sept 6: (8:17: 51 to 8:20:51): Repeated drone news and added a report: In two drone strikes in North Waziristan one of the leaders and at least six terrorists have been killed. These drones attacked an area of Ghulam Khan in which one of the main Talib leaders, Maulvi Sangeen, and six more terrorists have died. The terrorists are hiding in these regions of FATA. The Pakistan foreign ministry has strongly condemned these drone strikes and demanded a stop to these strikes. More details are in the report from our reporter [name: names of the reporters are not mentioned in this study]

Report: Reports from Afghanistan says that in drone strike, Maulvi Sangeen Zadran of the Haqqani group and three militants from Al Qaida Abu Dozana, Zubair Al Mozi, Mohamad Abu Bilal Khurassan and two local people Arshad Dawar and Ajmal Dawar have been killed. An intelligence official speaking on the condition of anonymity said that Sangeen Zadran, a senior Haqqani commander who also served as the Taliban’s shadow governor of Afghanistan’s Paktika province, was among the dead. According to them, their funeral will be held today in afternoon in Miran Shah Mosque. These names were in the FBI list of most wanted people. They were foreign insurgents. People and officials living there in the region confirmed that Maulvi Sangeen’s and others’ funerals were held in various mosques after the afternoon prayers. This is the first time in Pakistan that funerals of Al Qaida militants have held openly. The American government defended the drone strikes, while the Pakistan government condemns them and said they violate our security policies. The foreign ministry of Pakistan condemned the attack and said this was the second strike in a week, and the attacks caused the loss of innocent civilian lives and continued to impact U.S.-Pakistan relations.

Deewa News about drone strikes also gives reference to the previous drone strike.

Sept 22: (8:05:15 to 8:06:33) A drone attack in North Waziristan killed at least 6 militants. The Pakistan Security forces have not identified those who died yet. The drone was attacked at Shawal tehsil, 70km away from Miran Shah, and close to the Makeen tehsil of South Waziristan. Sources said that those died are foreign insurgents but have not been identified. A few days back in another drone strike a senior leader Sangeen was

134 killed. People oppose drone strikes but due to the foreign insurgent militants, drone strikes have become necessary.

Deewa News repeats the drone strike news two days after the attack. The news of drone attack was not in the headline as it was not new but it was broadcast in the news detail. The News mentioned the sources. Sept 30: In a drone attack three days ago in the North Waziristan, at least three terrorists were killed and many others have been wounded. The Pakistani sources (ISPR), giving the details of the place the drone attacked, a house where suspicious militants were hiding. A few days back in another drone strike at least six terrorists were killed. The Pakistan foreign office stated that drone attacks are a violation of Pakistan’s security policies. America says that in North Waziristan Al Qaida terrorists are hiding and they attacked the international forces in Afghanistan (2 minute news, no report).

Reports on drone strikes provide the stances of the Pakistani government, opposition parties and international organizations and refer to various reports about the number of people who died, including an Amnesty International report on the number of people who died, and a Pakistan security forces report on the number of militants and innocent people who died in the attack. Almost five people died in it. In Miramshah, the people say that this house is where Taliban leader Baitullah Mehsud was living. It is not yet known whether he is among the dead or not. If he is dead in this attack then this will give support to drone strikes. Nawaz Sharif in his visit to U.S. condemned drone strikes. A few days back Pakistan said that many innocents have died in drone attacks that have targeted militants. There were 317 drone strikes after 2008, in which more than 2000 people died and of these 67 were innocent. Imran Khan (PTI leader. PTI is the leading party in KPK government) said that if there is another drone attack they will close supply routes for NATO forces. North Waziristan is the region in FATA in which every district has been hit by a drone strike.

In another report to cover the opposition stance about drone strikes and death tolls, Deewa broadcast the views of leaders of opposition parties who said that the figures are wrong and that the interior minister should apologize to the people and give the exact figures. In press conference senator Raza Rabbani said that government in Parliament has given wrong figures about the death toll from the drone strikes, and due to which is an embarrassment at the international level.

Another drone strike news item on November 29 covered a North Waziristan attack where three Taliban were killed, among which two were linked to Punjab. News sources mentioned that this is the third U.S. drone attack in one month. The station hit by the drone was

135 close to the Afghanistan border and is one of the important stations for the Taliban and Al Qaida networks. The Pakistan government strongly condemned the strike and demanded that the U.S. government stop drone strikes. In Deewa’s report it was stated that this is the same area where in a drone strike Taliban leader Hakimullah Mehsood was killed. People who wanted to remain anonymous said that in the target region Punjabi Taliban were active for long time and all the target militants are from Punjab. But it is not completely known. The report mentioned that according to the government after 2008 around 317 drones have attacked in which 2,244 people have died, out of which 67 were innocent civilians. The report further mentioned that these drones are mostly attacking in North Waziristan and South Waziristan, with some in Kurram agency, and a couple in Khyber and FR (Frontier Region) Hangu. After the report the news included a protest that continued on its seventh day and was organized by the PTI who are running sitting KPK government, and JUI leaders who are against the drone strikes in Tribal region. On the seventh day the leaders of Tribal region also participated in the protest. Findings indicate that Deewa broadcast detailed news about drones, and was overt and transparent about it, which are characteristics of public diplomacy (Gilboa, 2008; Hart, 2013; Potter, 2009; Rugh, 2006; Tuch, 1990). It mentions its news sources and provides all the details that it gets from the Pakistan security forces and from the ISPR. From time to time it mentions in the news that journalists are not allowed to go to Tribal region to cover news stories so Deewa has to rely on Pakistani sources. Deewa brings a balanced report and mentions the news, any condemnation, the impact of drones, and the views of people and Pakistan government and other international organizations. Deewa efforts, according to the findings in this category, are more inclined towards public diplomacy. Terrorist attacks. News in this theme included the entire bomb blasts, and targeted killings during those days. The news was detailed, had facts and figures, included all the news sources, and views of the public, officials, government, opposition, doctors, lawyers, businessmen, and security forces. News on bomb blasts and targeted killings was repeated in one hour and had a separate report by Deewa stringers. The initial codes that appeared are detail, balance, accurate, emotions, and trust, while open codes are: facts and figures, aggression, anti- government, problems, insecurity, unsatisfied, unsafe, unprotected, protest, grieved, trust (on UN), Pashtun genocide, and code in-vivo; enemies of Pashtuns.

136 Deewa news covers all the terrorist incidents occurring anywhere in the world. Peshawar is one of the big cities of Pakistan and the capital of KPK, and has been attacked several times with suicide bombings by militants. The News Hour on September 22 broadcast detailed and balanced news about a suicide bomb blast in a Peshawar church in an extensive report. The first headline added a snip from the angry and grieved public expressing their thoughts at the scene about the incident, while the second headline was the government voice that condemned the terrorist act and promised to end terrorism. September 22, 2013- First headline: Peshawar church blast, snip from the report about bodies of people, kids, women, half bodies, crying, screaming, Second headline - Government condemns blast on church and announced three days mourning. One provincial minister, Saad Rafique, said they would stop this terrorism “We will stop this terrorism and will use every sort of power and force to end this terrorism”.

The details of this news were repeated three times in the News Hour, and were recalled with a summary of the news each time and with a detailed new report each time. Apart from the death toll and details about wounded people, the reports included voices of an angry and grieved public who complained to the government for not providing protection and safety to the public and minorities. Moreover, they give details of protests held against terrorism activities: People protest outside the hospitals and blocked main roads and said that all minorities will protest against this.

Another voice of the local people contradicted the government figures of the death toll and said that the figure that the public here is mentioning is the right figure: “Government cannot give any security, this is very sad. Government needs to clear their policy, if they want to talk then start talking or if they want to have action then they should start an operation. But due to that, the whole nation will die, this is unbearable, and the public is right, almost 100 people have died and 150 are wounded, and this happened at the time of prayers.”

While repeating the news, the report further added the emotional statements and voices of the angry public who blamed local police and security forces for their irresponsibility. The report included voices of Christians protesting against this incident: Voice one: “Peshawar city has once again filled with innocent people’s blood.”

Voice two: “Local police on duty are irresponsible, do not do any checking, this is irresponsibility on behalf of government and local security.”

137 Voice three: “All Christians here will strike against it.”

Deewa broadcast a report and added the views of religious leaders. What does Islam say about the killing of minorities? The report included voices of religious leaders and scholars to provide balanced views to listeners; however, it also included anti-government voices that criticized government for not providing security to their minorities. According to Jamiat Ullamae Islam Samiullah group leader and Maulana Samiullah and Maulana Yousaf Shah says “that minorities’ safety is the responsibility of the government and all the Muslims and Islam does not give permission to anyone in an Islamic country so that any Muslim kills any non- Muslim.” They all condemn it and this non-Islamic and inhuman act. Religious scholar Professor Zahid Shah said, “Islam is a peaceful religion and has strict orders for Muslims to keep their non-Muslim brothers safe. He said that Allah has said that he will be looking after all religious places and whoever will harm it will be punished, so this is all Muslims responsibility to keep non-Muslims safe and to provide security to their religious places and will also provide them funding for that.” People put their dead bodies on the road and closed the road for protest.

To balance the anti-government voices, the report included a government point of view, and mentioned that the Federal government condemned the blasts: Government will take any action to end this terrorism, and we will support minority groups all out.

International points of view about the Church blast included a report on the British Prime Minister’s statement condemning the blast and demanding that the Pakistani government tighten their security against terrorism. On September 29, another suicide bomb blast incident occurred in one of the big markets of the main city area of Peshawar. The News Hour on the day the blast occurred is not part of this study, however September 30, the next day after the bomb blast incident, is analyzed for the study, as it was also a day a drone attacked in the Tribal region. On September 30, the Peshawar bomb blast and drone strikes were the two main news stories and both were covered with details and reports and were repeated in every quarter of the News Hour. The Peshawar bomb blast was covered for about twenty minutes of the News Hour. However, this was not continued but once in every quarter hour. The news coverage was detailed and balanced with death tolls, wounded people, hospital details, and included voices of the grieved public, relatives of the deceased and wounded people, protestors, government officials, and police officers.

138 In the headlines of September 30, the first three items were about the blast. The first headline was the protest of opposition parties of KPK to condemn the bomb blast and criticized KPK government for not providing security. The second headline was about the KPK government police standpoint stating they will start operations in Peshawar. The third headline was about the grieved public’s protest about the government not providing protection and stating that they will be forced to request UN forces to come for their protection. In the news detail, Deewa recalled the news and provided a summary of the details of the blast. In the report they broadcast voices of the protestors who were grieved and insecure and complaining against the terrorism on the Pashtun land. They questioned the government for not providing security to Pashtuns and for neglecting them. They also threatened the government and showed more trust in UN forces. The report broadcast the voice of an aggrieved protestor; his voice was full of emotions and grief: There is a great grief in the whole KPK, and we are surprised that why is this only in KPK? What sin have we committed? Are we not the citizens of this country? Are we not well wishers of this country? Have we not sacrificed for this country? I demand that those people who are wounded in this incident should have free treatment, government should pay at least five lac (500,000) rupees to the families whose loved ones have died and been martyred in this incident, and if the government does not announce this then we will consider that this government is enemy of Pashtuns, and then every kind of protest will be our right.

And other shopkeepers of the Charsadda district said that: Any common man’s life is no longer safe, ministers can have their safety by having guards. What will a common man do? The people who want to go to their offices and to meet their relatives, and are walking in the streets or going in the public transport, all are not safe anymore.

Another report sketching the current scene of the market mentioned that the shopkeepers whose shops were damaged were busy fixing their shops and people were praying for the dead, the statement of the Police IGP and their plan of operation, and protests. The report also included the voices of the protestors who were petitioning for their rights of security and protection and demanding that the government take action. Protestors who dispersed peacefully after the protest wanted to raise awareness among the people to stand up for their rights. They mentioned that if the people did not stand now they would keep on dying in these bomb blasts. The report also added the female protestors’ voices:

139 We want peace, we want peace, we are protesting because this is our right, and we want to live in this land, and for the last one week the conditions in our province, and Pashtuns are dying, and state is responsible for that and give us protection, what have we done wrong.

So if people are going to sit like that than they will keep on dying like that and the officials will have keep on having their fun and they won’t do anything. So we are protesting to raise awareness among people, to bring them back to life and to take them out of this fear. We are raising, no one is asking about it that “what is this?”.

Peshawar blast news was repeated in third quarter of the News Hour with a summary and also included a report on the family of the Shabqader who visited Peshawar city on the day of the blast. Seventeen members of same family died, including men, women and kids. A detailed interview with a female relative of that family was included in the report. She mentioned that her uncles, aunts, and their kids died in the incident. They were all looking for their family and relatives among those dead bodies, and almost 16 or 17 people of their family had been buried. They expressed their sadness, and were unsure how would they console those who survived and when they will come to know about the deaths of the loved ones. A news summary of the bomb blast was repeated in the fourth quarter of the hour, along with a report on another protest by the shopkeepers of Shabqader Bazaar. They protested against the Peshawar blast. In this protest lawyers and people belonging to all walks of life participated. Lawyers said that if the government cannot provide them protection, then they would request other countries and UN forces to intervene and give them protection. Lawyers also said that in this war Pashtuns and their kids are dying. This is a sad incident, this is the third bomb blast in short period of time in which Pashtuns’ children have died, and it’s like a killing field. We want to say why aren’t there blasts on the other side of Attock in Punjab? Why is this happening on the Pashtun’s land? This is Pashtun’s genocide, and we want complete peace in this country, and if they cannot bring peace here than people will be forced to ask the UNO forces instead of Pakistan’s security forces, to come and bring peace in the region.

People in the protest demanded special financial assistance packages from the government for the aggrieved families. And the president of the shopkeepers’ organization said that if this package was not announced for the aggrieved families then they would keep on protesting. Another shopkeeper said that common people are under continuous threat of death:

140 It is very difficult for a common man to be safe, and we demand it from the government to provide us protection, and strengthen their government or if they cannot do it then the government should resign, so a sincere government comes that can do something for us.

Another report covered the stances of KPK’s opposition parties, Jamat-e-Islami, Awami National Party, and the People’s Party, whose leaders met in the provincial assembly and criticized the government for the security loopholes due to which these incidents happened. They complained that wounded people did not have good care in the hospitals and the death toll had increased. Moreover, Pervaiz Asker said that the death toll was not 84 rather it was 121. Deewa provided a balanced report and also broadcast the views of government officials and police. Reports included the statement of the IGP (Inspector General of Police) Peshawar from his press conference, where he promised to start operations in Peshawar, and to take strict measures to control terrorism. Moreover, the statement of KPK provincial Health Minister Shaukat Yousafzai mentioned that wounded people would have VIP treatment. He announced that in next six months a monument for the burned people would be built, which has not been built by other governments. He also announced that if anyone died in the terrorism incidents, their families will get five lacs rupees instead of three lacs rupees. Apart from bomb blasts, Deewa broadcast reports about the targeted killings of two members of the Awami National Party. This is a secular and left wing party of Pakistan, one of the main parties of Pashtuns, and mainly represents the Pashtun region. One of their members was targeted and killed in Karachi, Sindh, while Anwar Khan, who was actively working in Swat for peace was targeted and killed in Buner near Peshawar, KPK. Reports were broadcast that included details of the incidents and ANP criticism of the government for not providing security and protection to the political leaders. The reports also included voices of law and order officials who mentioned the efforts of Rangers to control terrorism. In another incident on November 1 in Baluchistan militants killed six Shia Muslims who worked in a coalmine. Detailed reports, however, pointed out details but also added voices of locals and police forces about security measures. Locals criticized the government for failing to control terrorism: Targeted killing has increased in Baluchistan, and government has totally failed to provide security.

141 Deewa focused on the Pashtun belt and gives substantial coverage to terrorism attacks in the country and, more specifically, attacks in the Pashtun region. News coverage and reports were detailed and balanced in covering the standpoints of various stakeholders. However, the practice of repeating and recalling of the same news items points towards the characteristics of publicity and propaganda. Not all news is covered repeatedly. The Peshawar bomb blasts were that day’s big news story and the major terrorist incident of the region. Moreover, the reports covered public voices that accused the government of differentiating Pashtuns as a group, and for not taking strict actions to give them protection. The question that raises is whether the anti- government and Pashtun genocide slogans were the only voices included, or were other voices excluded that did not differentiate Pashtuns but only expressed their grief. The findings indicate that Deewa as a public diplomacy instrument brought all the hard news and broadcast special reports that include voices of the locals. This indicates Deewa efforts to broadcast objective and balanced news. This inclines Deewa towards public diplomacy (Farwell, 2012; Rugh, 2006; Sharp, 2005), as it broadcasts voices of all stakeholders: locals, grieved party, experts, political leaders and government officials. However, we cannot generalize this as it was not known in Deewa reports what voices were excluded or included. Were there any voices that were excluded by Deewa reporters in the recorded report? If any voice is anti American and is excluded in the recorded report, this will indicate that Deewa efforts are propaganda. It was not the aim of this study to investigate this broader context, as this would require more time and finances. However, Deewa live reports were not found to contain propaganda efforts as all the voices were broadcasted. The researcher did not find any interruptions in the live reports, and this also indicated Deewa efforts were transparent and objective. KPK and Pashtun news. Apart from drone strikes and bomb blasts, Deewa News Hour during prime time covers various news items related to education, health, power shortages, political problems and natural disasters in the Pashtun region (that includes KPK and Baluchistan provinces). News on every issue was detailed, and included arguments of all involved parties and protestors, the timings and names of the places where incidents occurred, and also mentioned the names of the people who provided their points of view. Baluchistan is also facing many terrorist attacks, ethnic and sectarian conflicts and natural disasters. The conditions in most parts of the province are unstable and local people are

142 insecure and unprotected. Baluchistan is also deprived of education and health facilities, especially in the rural areas. One news story about education mentioned that there are some areas in Baluchistan, which have only one school with one teacher and only a couple of students. Poor infrastructure of schools in Baluchistan. There is one school with one room and one teacher and one student, also there are regions where there is not a single primary school in 10,000 Km.

Moreover the province has ethnic and sectarian conflicts among the locals and there are many incidents of targeted and mass killings of Shia Muslims. As a result, the conditions are unstable and locals are complaining about insecurity and the failure of the government to provide them with security. This insecurity has affected people emotionally and psychologically, especially children. Deewa prepared a report on the issue and added a statement by a scholar, Professor Khadim Shah, who stressed the importance of engaging people, especially children, in creative activities. All the terrorism in religious places, on the roads and everywhere in Baluchistan have created many psychological problems in the region. It is important to involve kids in creative exercises.

The report covered news about General Ashfaq Kayani, who in his statement mentioned that the Army would bring stability to Baluchistan. Baluchistan suffered from a major earthquake on September 24, 2013 that killed almost one thousand people, and many were wounded and displaced. Pakistan Peace Corps were busy in rescue work and taking people to safe places. However, Deewa broadcast news that people were not satisfied with the efforts and mentioned that many people who lost their homes in the earthquake were waiting for rescue workers under the open sky without any food or shelter. Fourth headline – September 30: Operation to take people affected during earthquake to safe places are completed. Aid is given it to them. (Details about the earthquake destruction, and aid was also provided in the headline.)

The news details report mentioned the facts and the total number of people who died and the houses and buildings that were damaged. The report mentioned that the army, police and other security forces were helping people to reach secure places; however, many people were still sitting without shelter and had not been helped by any forces. Locals complained and were raising their voices that army and government officials come here in helicopters and visit the area. It’s like sightseeing for them. They enjoy the sight and talk with a few people and leave.

143

The same report covered the government point of view and added the voice of a government official, who claimed that the reason people cannot be reached is because of the rocky and mountainous terrain and is not the fault of government. Whatever is the problem that is in the field and because of terrain and not at the end of the government.

In news about increasing education and creating an environment supportive of education in the Tribal region, the Governor of KPK demanded that the office of education for the Tribal region start a second shift or an evening shift in schools. Deewa broadcast detailed news with a report that provided the news along with facts and figures about primary schools and overtly pointed toward the ministers and government officials’ misuse of school property and resources in the Tribal region. The report mentioned that the Governor of KPK had asked the Department of Education to start a second shift in the schools so the children left out from admission for the morning shift could have the opportunity to attend in the evening. To increase education at the primary level, to increase the number of students, and to create an environment of education in the region, the Governor of KPK ordered that no one should be given the permission to stop their children from receiving an education. The report further said that in Tribal regions there were less than 3000 primary schools. Thirty-two schools had already accommodated more students than their capacity and therefore there was a need for a second shift. The governor promised to build more schools in the region. But the reporter raised the concern whether the Department of Education had funds to accommodate a second shift. They said “that on temporary basis they will ask the schools and colleges to use their funds for right now and then later on they will make a proposal for funds and other plans.” The report criticized the Governor, saying he had forgotten many points that many schools in the Tribal region are built on the properties of the MNAs and MPAs and other officials. All of them have their family members recruited as teachers in those schools. They take salaries in their houses and the so-called school buildings are used for those owners’ personal use. The report criticized all the corrupt practices in the education infrastructure in the region. The reporter noted that now they have to see whether the department of education was going to do it.

144 Another news item about KPK education was related to the issue of uniforms for students in the old and biggest medical college of the province. A detailed report mentioned that some students did not accept uniforms and were protesting against the administration and the principal of the college. The report added the principal’s view that said it would bring discipline in the college. All girls should wear the white “burqa” or “Abaya” (long coat), but all girls opposed it and they said that it is their own decision what kind of dress will they wear. The report included the voices of the principal and of students who both opposed and accepted this decision. Students demanded that the college discuss with them critical issues related to education rather than uniforms, and some students said that the principal is imposing and dictating to them. The principal, however, claimed, “it is being done with the permission of the parents and the students.” News related to polio cases in the Tribal region was also in the News Hour analyzed for the study. News items included details about the region’s name, the number of cases, the total number of cases in Peshawar and KPK, a comparison of cases in the Tribal region with those in the rest of KPK, and the number of children who are not vaccinated. Five cases of children having polio have been found; three children belong to North Waziristan and one is from Khyber agency and one is from Peshawar. The total number of polio cases in Tribal region including these five cases in this year has reached to 24, while the total in rest of KPK is seven cases.

Another news item on polio in Syria, where 12 cases were found, connected this to the polio that was endemic in Pakistan. The report included details of the polio cases and the link to Pakistan’s polio cases. Moreover, the report mentioned the disabilities and paralysis that result from a case of polio. The report mentioned the 12 cases in Syria of victims whose legs were paralyzed. The report further raised awareness among their listeners that since children in Pakistan do not get vaccines that leads to increasing rates of polio in the country. The international health organization WHO has demanded all Pakistani children leaving the country should be first vaccinated. The report warned that if polio cases increased in Pakistan, the international community could impose a ban on Pakistanis travelling to other countries, which could create numerous problems for the people, and the country. A statement from the health official was added, who wanted to be anonymous, who said that the cases appearing in Syria and their link to Pakistan could bring travel restrictions for Pakistanis going to foreign countries.

145 News discussed three cases of polio found in North Waziristan and one in Khyber agency, and was broadcast along with a report that pointed out the increasing number of polio cases in the Tribal region, and the ban on polio vaccines that deprived thousands of children from vaccination. The report provided important information for people who have been indoctrinated by various militant groups that the polio vaccine was unIslamic, and noted that religious scholars have issued a Fatwa (a religious decision by senior religious scholars) in favor of the use of the polio vaccine. The report mentioned that in the Tribal region since last year the total number of polio cases had reached 48, while in the whole Pakistan it was 70. Among these polio cases, two girls were from Miramshah while one girl was from Mir Ali, where for last few years’ militants had banned the polio vaccination campaign. And, according to the WHO director in Pakistan, Dr. Sarfaraz, almost more than two lac and thirty thousand (230,000) children in North and South Waziristan did not get polio vaccinations in the Tribal region. Dr. Sarfaraz also said that they have the support of many religious scholars in the campaign and they have provided their Fatwa (religious decision by religious scholars) in favor of polio vaccinations. He further mentioned that even some militant groups have also supported them from time to time during the polio campaign. Hafiz Gul has supported us in the campaign many times. We remember that time when Mujahedeen even went with our workers to each corner of the area during the polio campaign. So they give us the names of the Ulema karaam (religious scholars) that they want a Fatwa from, we will try to bring a Fatwa from those scholars and if they want we can bring those Ulema to them.

The report also mentioned that, according to the Pakistani media, a few days back eleven teachers were kidnapped from Khyber Agency for supporting the polio campaign and that they were released after few days. In KPK power shortage news, Deewa broadcast a report where the KPK public was angry over power load shedding and the per unit price, and were protesting against the government. The report added voices of the members of public who were protesting, and who claimed that electricity was produced in KPK but since it was provided to Punjab, the KPK people have to suffer the power shortages and pay higher prices per unit. The report provided exact figures for per unit prices in both cases.

146 People demanded that Chief Minister KPK orders it, and we will not give any single unit to other provinces, as electricity is produced in KPK, and we need to end power load shedding in KPK.

Another news item was about protests against drone strikes by KPK government that closed a road for the NATO supply trucks and did not let the tankers pass through the route in KPK that led to Afghanistan. The news also said that the tankers’ association president said to the PTI government in KPK that if they did not open the roads and did not allow tankers to pass through, then the association would go in courts against Imran Khan as this closure has caused financial losses to the tanker owners. Deewa also broadcast live from any protest or any event. There were protests against the KPK government because the provincial government was forcing locals to sell their land to government to construct an industrial town. People did not want to sell and the local farmers and landowners were protesting against the move. A Deewa reporter reported live from the protest. Protestors were shouting no to the government, no to the mega city and the China zone. Report mentioned that many people came from Nowshera and were protesting in Peshawar against the KPK government. The reporter talked to them and asked them why they were protesting. Protestor one’s voice: I am Inayat ur Rehman and the government first bought 8000 kanal (a unit of area that is equal to one eighth of the acre) land for industrial state, then bought 5200 kanal land for the housing scheme and few days back bought more 9000 kanal land for mega city and housing scheme. Now in Khattaknama council none of us have any land. They bought all our agriculture and housing land and now we do not have any land. We want to tell the chief minister that you are a Feron (Pharaoh) that you are not even listening to us.

Then the reporter asked another protestor: How much land do you have? How much did they pay you for the land? Did they buy it at the market rate? Protestor two’s voice: We have almost 24000 kanal lands, and it is agriculture land. We grow peanuts and other nuts, sugarcane, and wheat on it. They are not doing industrial development, it’s not economic activity; they just want to deprive us of this land. We request Chief Minister KPK to leave us for Allah and the prophet’s sake. I you want to build school and colleges, we are ready to give you our land but we are not ready for this.

The reporter further asked: Can’t you sell it to anyone else? Can you only sell it to government? Protestor two’s voice: They are saying that they will build a China zone and industries here, they are doing business, they want to buy it from us for 100 and want to sell it for 1000, they want to occupy it. The PTI government has given us a deadline of second and

147 now if they kill us, we are not giving our land and they are saying that they will get it. We are here to have a request, at least give us some time, give us two three months, we will meet him, and will talk to him but he is not meeting us.

Another protestor mentioned that this land is the only source of income for many poor people and they do not want to sell their land. Protestor three’s voice: There are few poor people who only have 2 jerib land and they are saying that they do not want money. They have given us a deadline of the second and this is the population of 60,000 of this union council. All the 60,000 people of the union council will protest against government. Now if they want to call the police or whatever they want to do. You will see what happens on the second. This is all Khattaknama land and is next to the motorway.

This report only covered one side of the story, as it was live. Apart from the protest, the movement of IDPs back to their village Tirah in the Khyber agency and some other incidents about the region were also part of the News Hour. Deewa news indicates the focus of news is on the Deewa target region, and provides details of all the issues and problems of Pashtuns. Deewa covers various issues that Pashtuns have related to education, health, politics, and finances. Deewa stringers are going to people and asking them about their views, and then broadcasting the voices of their target audience to build trust among locals that the media is listening to their protests and is broadcasting their concerns to the world. However, the news covered in the News Hour items selected for this study indicate that all the news items have anti- government sentiments or express aggression and dissatisfaction among the public. The government cannot be declared as part of the Deewa agenda or objectives. Or, can we argue that there is propaganda against the Pakistani government and in favor of Pashtuns on the basis of this small set of examples? The news content, howbeit, indicates that the focus of Deewa is on Pashtuns’ issues. However, claiming Deewa was propagating against the Pakistan government and favoring Pashtuns would require more studies and evidence. Findings in this section indicate that Deewa’s focus on Pashtuns’ views include anti-American views as well as anti-Pakistan views. Broadcasting anti- American voices and anti-government voices, and focusing on the target region’s issues and problems incline Deewa to be a public diplomacy instrument of information for being balanced and objective (Farwell, 2012; Hart, 2013; Rugh, 2006; Sharp, 2005). Negotiations and peace talks. The efforts of the Pakistan and Afghanistan governments to initiate negotiations and peace talks with the Taliban and the American government’s

148 disapproval of these efforts were one of the major themes of news broadcasts in these days. News stories mentioned that the Pakistani government had asked all the political parties of Pakistan to meet on September 9 to talk about peace in the country and to discuss whether the government should negotiate with the militants. News reports mentioned the names of leaders of political parties who were requested to attend the peace conference. The government invited leaders of all parties to the General Assembly conference on September 9 to discuss the security issues and policy for bringing peace in the country. According to Radio Pakistan, the current government, even when in the opposition, condemned terrorism and now in government is also finding ways to have peace in the country.

However, in further details on the peace conference, views that were not in favor of the peace conference were also broadcast. Reports included views of a Peshawar University Professor who said that: Government should have first discussed it in Parliament and then arranged separate sittings with the Army and other organizations. If there is no detailed strategy and implementation plan before the conference then I do not think that there will be positive results from this conference. This is the fourth conference on peace efforts and to control terrorism in the four governments from 2001 to till now. Governments of the Pakistan People’s Party, Awami National Party, and Jamat-e-Ulema Islam, have arranged all parties’ conferences for peace but none of them have had positive results.

A report mentioned that in Pakistan there are differences between various socio- economic groups and that one group may want to have negotiations with the Taliban, while another group wants hard power to be used against terrorists. A third group wants to have hard power along with political solution. At the same time the militants’ stand is that they are not ready to accept Pakistan’s constitution, democratic system and law and order. Also included in the report were experts’ views that the basic reason for this conference is to take a decision about using force against militant groups or to solve the problem through negotiations. Deewa also broadcast the views of the Student political party, who demanded that the Pakistani government bring about changes in their foreign policy. Due to the current foreign policy, militant groups are increasing day by day. Student political party voice: Pakistan has a constitution, law and order, parliament, judiciary, every system is there but they need to look at their foreign policy. This is a very dangerous situation in that in one of the nuclear power states, militants are growing. This is very dangerous situation not only for the country but for the whole world peace. During ANP government all parties’ conference, controlling militancy was a big priority.

149 Apart from Pakistan, the Afghanistan government was also initiating efforts to advance peace talks and negotiations with the Taliban. In the editorial section of the same day’s (September 6) News Hour, a report by American government foreign policy office was included. The foreign office report pointed to the U.S. government disagreement with the Afghan efforts for talks with the Taliban and stated that this peace negotiation could have negative consequences for the peace of the region and for the whole world if they form an alliance with the Taliban or if the Taliban were given any sort of governance role. An editorial mentioned that the U.S. foreign policy office had published a long report on the negotiations with the Taliban. The report in the beginning mentions that the Afghan government was having talks with the Taliban, but stated that thinking this will solve the problems is wishful thinking and it is a waste of time. The foreign office report mentioned that American efforts in Afghan towards stability would be wasted and also all the suspicions about American forces would become more powerful. Moreover, the foreign office report pointed out those American relations with Karzai that were not very positive would become worse. President Hamid Karzai had kept the American Embassy out of these talks with the Taliban. The report also mentioned that Pakistan and Afghanistan having talks with Taliban would bring great damage to the region and would divide Afghanistan. Moreover the report said that having negotiations with the Taliban is that Afghanistan government’s own decision and only a few Afghanis want the Taliban to rule Afghanistan again. A possible Taliban comeback had caused worries among the Afghan people. After the Peshawar bomb blasts on September 22 and 29, Deewa broadcast a report on the all parties’ peace conference and pointed out that these incidents had happened when the Pakistani government was initiating efforts in negotiations with the Taliban. However, the report pointed out that militants had answered them in this way. A few days before a Pakistan Peace Corps leader was targeted and killed and now came these bomb blasts. Furthermore, on November 29 Deewa News mentioned Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif’s first visit to Kabul to meet President Karzai, and said after the meeting he would decide upon the peace negotiations with the Taliban. The report mentioned that the current government had mentioned yesterday that they will have good relations with their neighbors and will implement this strategy. The news had a detailed report on Pak Afghan relations and Nawaz Sharif government’s efforts to promote peace negotiations with the Taliban. However, the report posed

150 questions for the current government about the peace negotiations with the Taliban and challenges that could bring more problems to Pakistan’s already unstable conditions. Deewa News broadcast all the details and voices of the government officials and political parties about the peace talks, and some voices that raised concerns about the strategy. Deewa, as a public diplomacy instrument, followed the VOA charter and made an effort to provide balanced news and views. However, at the same time the broadcasting editorial that explained the American foreign policy perspective on the issue under discussion fulfills the characteristics of both public diplomacy and propaganda. Deewa, following the themes raised in the VOA charter, has to explain the American foreign policy perspective to the target region; howbeit scholars of propaganda define this as projecting one’s objectives. National and international news. In the news hours analyzed for this study, Deewa included various national news items related to health, sports, politics, and the Army. The Army Chief of Staff General Kayani who was about to retire, stated in his farewell gathering, “we are proud to say that Pakistan force is ready to fight any national and foreign threats.”

Deewa news reports regarding diseases and health also had detailed reports to raise listeners’ awareness about the diseases. News about dengue patients included a broadcast report in which a doctor informed people about symptoms, safety precautions and care of patients. Furthermore, a scientific research report was included on nuts and their benefits for health. Cricket is the most popular sport in Pakistan, and Deewa in the sports segment covered Pakistani cricket matches with detailed reports. In national news on politics the focus was on Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif’s visit to the G-20 summit, his meeting with President Obama, and his demand to stop drone strikes. Details of his meeting with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and discussion of the Kashmir issue, foreign relations with India and peace of the region were also broadcast. In international news the Deewa focus was mostly on American foreign relations and perspectives about different countries. Detailed news with reports were related to America relations to South Korea and North Korea, President Obama’s telephone conversation with the President of Iran, American foreign relations with Iran, terrorists attacks in Iraq, sectarian conflicts of the Shia and Sunni, the meeting of the Israeli prime minister with President Obama

151 in the White House, Congress debates over budget, and one of the major international news events, the G-20 summit. The G-20 summit and a snip from President Obama’s address explaining his standpoint on Syria’s use of chemical weapons was main the headline, and provided a detailed report later in the news hour. First headline – September 6: American President Barack Obama’s address to the G-20 summit about the Syrian use of chemical weapons. Second headline – September 6: in St. Petersburg in G-20 summit, Russian president said he does not agree with U.S. President over Syria, as the chemical weapons are used by the opposite party in Syria.

A detailed report on President Obama’s address in the G-20 summit was broadcast (8:11:00 - 8:17:36). The report added a translation of President Obama’s speech while running his voice in the background. The report also added other leaders’ views of those participating in the G-20 summit about the use of chemical weapons by Syria. The report on the G-20 summit also mentioned that leaders have differences about the Syrian issue and that the U.S. President said that if leaders of the countries do not agree then U.S. does not need permission from anyone. Deewa broadcast the translation of President Obama’s speech that: If we did not do anything to stop the forces in Syria then all the terrorist organizations will get encouragement from this and will also use weapons, and this is why nations around the world have condemned Syria for this attack and called for action, it is a big threat for the Syrian neighbors.

The report also broadcast the Russian president’s view that he had differences with U.S. President Barak Obama on Syria. The report did not add the voice of the Russian president. Moreover, report was almost six minutes long, while a regular report is three to four minutes long. In the six-minute report, only forty seconds was given to the Russian president’s point of view. Howbeit, the report added the Russian president’s point of view about Syria and the American perspective but did not give equal coverage to both parties. Deewa, being a public diplomacy instrument, has a charter to follow and is supposed to provide the American perspective to the target audience. However, according to the charter, Deewa should be balanced and not biased. In this case, Deewa news was biased toward the U.S. perspective that indicates a propaganda characteristic. American government perspective (editorial). At the end of the every news hour, three to four minutes were given to the U.S. foreign office report or editorial. As the charter mentions,

152 the VOA has to broadcast a clear and detailed perspective of U.S. foreign policy to the target region. However, Deewa before and after the editorial mentioned that this is an American government perspective. Moreover, in the end of the every editorial, a disclaimer was added: This editorial gives American government perspective; if you have any observations then send it to this address: editorial VOA, Washington D.C. 20237 U.S.

The seven news hour programs analyzed for this study each brought an editorial perspective on a separate topic. In the September 6 news hour the editorial was an announcement of the reward money offered by the American government for a wanted terrorist. Adel Radi Saqr al-Wahabi al-Harbi is a terrorist that lives in Iran and is a correspondent of Al Qaida and is vice of Mohsin.He is helping in the networking and sends militants to Iraq through Iran. He raises funds for AQ and is also known as Abu Ali Maharib. Since 2011, Saudi Arabia has added his name in the list of terrorists and has accused him of having connections with AQ online and has travelled to Afghanistan. There is a prize award of $5 million dollars, to whoever provides information about him. America provides a guarantee that the informer will not be disclosed to anyone and will be given full security, and if needed America can take him or her to other countries. Anyone who has information about this person, inform the closest American council or go to www.awardforjustice.net or email at [email protected].

On September 22 the editorial was on an American foreign policy report about the American perspective on the Syrian government’s use of chemical weapons. The editorial explained the American view and policy action that the American government wanted to take, and, if the action were not taken, what the consequences would be. In the September 30 news hour, the editorial was on the green card lottery procedure; how to apply for the lottery. The form, details of submission, the date and time were mentioned. The address of the website to fill out the electronic form and all details about the immigrant visa were included. On November 1, the editorial was again about a terrorist group, but the terrorist was an American who had become part of the Al Qaida network and was wanted by the American government: On 22 October, 2004, AQ (Al Qaida) released some video, in previous videos AQ leaders and Osama Bin Laden were shown, in this video the new thing was that AQ changed their way of propaganda and in this video an American who is treacherous to his country now, is propagating against America and American government to his fellow Americans in the video. This American name is Adam Gadan, and is also known as Azam Al Ameriki, was born in 1987, and has got education in America by the name of Adam Pearlman. He went to Pakistan in 2001 and did meaningful work in AQ media branch. In 2005, 2006 and 2007 through radio and videos work for the terrorists, he tried to

153 propagate against America in his video and broadcasts and wanted the American army to be disloyal with American government. He is been accused of disloyalty and propaganda against the government. In the last fifty years, this is the first American who is been accused of treachery and other charges. Last year there was a rumor that in one of the AQ fronts he was wounded. But the officials have not verified this. He is still hiding somewhere, and according to award program for justice, anyone who has news about this person will be awarded $5 million prize money. America provides a guarantee that the informer will not be disclosed to anyone and will be given full security, and if needed America can take him or her to other countries. Anyone who have information about this person, inform the closest American council or go to www.awardforjustice.net or email at [email protected].

In the November 29 editorial broadcasted on Deewa, the U.S. government mentioned that America would support China in the reforms that will contribute to the world’s economic and social development. China has announced reforms in the one child policy and will allow families to have two children. The editorial mentioned that America strongly condemns oppression by the Chinese government. As there are many cases of abortions, America has strictly asked the Chinese government to end all the oppressive policies related to families and childbirths. Furthermore, the editorial mentioned that America wants the Chinese government to employ international human rights policies in the country. On December 14, the editorial was about the United Nations’ article that is very important. According to that article, to have peace and stability, to end wars, to have a stable society and for restoration work, women’s participation is very important. For these objectives more work has been done last year. American UN Ambassador Samantha Power in her address said that women have participated in all peace making activities. Women have played important roles in Darfur and other conflicts. After 2009 many countries have included women in the commissions that take decisions against women’s rights violators. The United Nations has demanded that nations include women in every peace making activity. In this regard, women have been included in the peace activities of Mali, in the improvement of law and order in Columbia, seeking to obtain justice in Haiti, giving more power to women in the Zambian police and to women in Sierra Leone’s elections, and in Sudan against the conflicts and in development of technology women are playing a very important role. Samantha Power in her speech demanded equal rights for women and the inclusion of women in all activities. She said that as peace is for everyone, similarly everyone should play his or her role in bringing peace.

154 The December 26 editorial was about the Christmas event, and why and how the event is celebrated. A four-minute editorial gave the background of the religious event and why people give gifts to friends and families. Deewa is a communication source of the American government, and operates based on its charter to broadcast the American perspective. America is overt and transparent about this policy and about the use of Deewa as a source to reach its target region and to explain American perspectives to them. It is evident that Deewa is broadcasting an American standpoint on democracy, freedom, women rights, the use of chemical weapons, and who is wanted and why by the American government. Women’s rights, freedom and democracy are American values and they are been promoted and uplifted in various ways. Editorials on American policies and values imply a strategic selection of reports that have specific and purposive messages for the Tribal regions, as the region lacks these values and America supports and promote these values. The editorials seem to serve two purposes. They are informative and they raise awareness among the target audience, and also project and promote American policies and values. Women in the Tribal region are deprived of many rights, including the right to sit in the decision discussions of Jirga, even in the decisions that are directly linked with the lives of those women. Women do not participate in any peace-related activity, and the majority of women are not allowed to go outside their houses without a male chaperone. Women’s rights are one of the values of America and Deewa always promotes these rights. The editorials, with purposes of being informative and raising awareness, provided information to the listeners about women’s participation in different countries while the same examples were food for thought for the target audience. Moreover, the claim that should also be part of peace-making process is a persuasive argument that is an invitation to the target audience to take action. However, propaganda shares similar characteristics. With propaganda, however, the source could be covert or the objective could also be covert, and that distinguishes propaganda from public diplomacy efforts. Moreover, Deewa did not repeat the same message in any other news hour; rather it brought out a new message on a separate issue. This also distinguishes Deewa’s practices from propaganda efforts, as they did not repeat and propagate the same message again and again. However, this claim is based only on a review of a small number of shows.

155 America and American life. In the September 22 news hour a segment on information about America and American life was included. A Deewa staff member, who is a well-known journalist and reporter, was in Texas and was reporting live from Dallas. He mentioned that Texas is the agriculture state of America. The anchor did a small interview with him over the phone and asked questions about Texas: Anchor: Where are you in Texas right now and what is famous about this city? Deewa Staff: I am in Dallas, and this is famous business city of Texas. It has famous museums about Art, a museum on Kennedy and his murder incident that has the bullet that killed him, and the car in which he was riding at time of his murder. People take a lot of interest in it. Just like American other cities this is also famous for its business and apart from small business it has offices of multinational companies. In the south there are famous cities like Austin, Houston, and its population is more than other cities of the state. Anchor: If we compare it with D.C. based on population, so is it very populated or not? Is it like D.C? Deewa Staff: Well I am here and I saw very few people, but D.C is more populated during weekends, the roads are narrow, this has wide roads.

This interview indicates that Deewa is informing their target audience about America and American life, which is a characteristic of public diplomacy (Hart, 2013; Rugh, 2006; Sharp, 2005). As the interview moves on: Anchor: What about food, do they like traditional food or do you see variety of food? Deewa Staff: There is a restaurant called AlMarkaz. Bangladeshi, Nepali, Indians and Pakistanis come here. People uses more spices here than in Washington. And as we are talking about food let me tell my listeners that Texas is famous about agriculture and Texas claim that they can produce so much that the whole world can eat. I will also tell my listeners that there are universities, centers organizations and they are working hard there.

Moreover, it increased the general knowledge of the Tribal people who are mostly illiterate, raised awareness about developed countries, and most of all provided an example of Pakistanis living in America or in the other developed societies. However, an example of a mayor from Pakistan implies that Pakistanis are capable and can even be selected and elected to powerful and respectable positions: Deewa staff: Texas is as big as Pakistan; there are more than 50,000 government offices. Pakistanis here mostly are involved in politics. There is mayor, he belongs to Pakistan and is a doctor, and he is the mayor of the county where mostly Christians live and it is a Republican county. I asked him that you are a Muslim and is a mayor of Republican County, so how does it work? He said that Americans do their work and their work has no link with anyone’s religion, race, nation or name. So they can vote for anyone who is capable of work.

156 However, the message in the interview about American people: “Americans good behavior towards Pakistanis” and “their preference for hard work,” is an attempt to create a positive image of American people, but based on one example it cannot be decided that this was a deliberate effort of persuasion. Persuasive messages calls upon the target audience to take action (Lasswell, 1927; Perloff, 2010), while this story fits more into an informative message framework. It is not a completely persuasive message as it is not calling for action but is an attempt to change the attitudes of local people of the Tribal region towards Americans. The efforts tend to build trust among the tribesmen for Americans by providing them with positive examples of Americans’ hard work, and their preference to work hard, and their treatment of foreign people, especially Pakistanis. Information about American perspectives and American life is a soft way of addressing the target audience’s thought process and changing their perspectives about America and the American way of life. Saher Pa Khair (Good Morning) The major findings from morning shows are discussed below. Introduction. The show starts with announcing, “this is VOA Deewa” just as every Deewa show starts. The same announcement is repeated several times in the show and further details, the Deewa website address and phone numbers, are also added to the announcement. Moreover, anchors mention their names and the dates and standard times of the three regions that are directly part of this service, both times of the source and the target regions: Today is September 8 in Pakistan the time is 6:30am, and in Afghanistan 6am, and in Washington D.C. it is 9:30pm of September 7. Topics for the show. Everyday a show is conducted on a specific topic, and this is given to listeners in the beginning of the show so they can call Deewa or send a question on Deewa’s Facebook page about the topic of the day. The topics seemed to be carefully selected so that they represent a wide range of socio-economic, health and hygiene and political issues prevalent in the Tribesmen’s lives. Topics are either selected from that day’s major news events, or if it is a special international or national day. Deewa also selects topics for the show based on the requests and demands of their listeners. Topics of the eight shows analyzed for this study range from social, health, business, to political topics. They covered education, because of world literacy day on September 8, domestic violence against women, water and its benefits for health, rumors and their affects, Peshawar blasts and peace talks and negotiations with Taliban, seasonal

157 change and preparation for it, your first action if you were to become the prime minister of Pakistan, and the lives of people working in foreign countries. Nature of the show. The show is for two hours. The first hour is for everyone and the second hour is only for female listeners. This is an interactive show where callers call in through telephones or send a message on the Deewa Face book page. The listeners talk about their experience, ask a question, or give a message about the topic of the day. This interactive show is a chitchat format of a friendly nature. Most of the callers seem to be regular callers and the hosts seem to be very familiar with them. They talk informally in a friendly environment and share jokes with each other and discuss the topic: Caller: How are you (names of the anchors) Anchors: We are good Caller: How is coat, is it sick or not (laughs, seemed like a caller who participates regularly and was sharing a joke with the anchor) Anchor: Today we will not talk about coat rather will talk about black coat of collegian (laughs, Black coat is a uniform of the famous Boys college in Peshawar city and they were referring to that black coat).

In the chat the anchor shared his story and experience while the female anchor and caller equally participated: Anchor: When I was in the college, and then trying to recall the shop in Peshawar city from where people can get old coats, Female anchor: landa bazaar, kabaar (thrift store), sadar bazaar (laughs) Caller: Sunday bazaar Male anchor: No I am referring to shops at the back of Qissa Khawni bazaar (famous and oldest market of Peshawar city) we had sherwani (long black coat) in our college, that black coat Quaid e Azam Baba (founder of Pakistan) used to wear, that long black coat that reaches to your knees. We bought sherwani from there and those did not even look as old, they were washed and ironed so well that they looked new (laughs)

The whole chat was a friendly conversation that went back and forth between the caller and the anchors: Caller: Do you still have that coat? Male anchor: No, it was many years ago Female anchor: (laughs) After the graduation people even sell their books Caller: There are people who even graduation, keep their books in cupboards and take care of them, humans that value their books can get education, but people who do not value their books, pen and pencils can never have education. We need to value our books. This is not the topic so I will come towards the topic.

158 The characteristics of public diplomacy indicate two-way communication, trust and relationships (Hart, 2013; Nye, 2004; Rugh, 2006; Potter 2009; Sharp, 2005; Tuch, 1990). The findings in this category indicate that anchors do back and forth questions and answers to have a conversation, and build trust and friendly relationships by sharing jokes and experiences of each other’s lives. This category indicates the Deewa as a public diplomacy instrument develops trust, and friendship through two-way communication. Pashtun culture. The show was a true representation of Pashtun culture; the chitchat between hosts and listeners echoed the informal and pleasant way of greeting and meeting of the Pashtun people in the villages, calling each other “zama rora” (my brother) and “khoaga khor jaan” (sweet and lovely sister), blessing each other “khodai hum kor wadan sata” (May God bless you and your family), gratefulness and humbleness “yau jahan manana” (Thank you so much till infinitely), greeting and asking about each other’s health and saying many salam “dair dair salamoona” (many greetings). Listeners sending greetings to their relatives and friends through the Deewa show also symbolizes Pashtun customs. In Pashtun culture, if two people meet, it is customary that they ask about the life and health of whole family and relatives, and will send their regards and salam (hello) to the absent party. Relationship building and enthusiasm. The show is conducted to create a very friendly environment, and listeners seemed to be enthusiastic and excited during their conversations. They show their happiness by saying (daira khushaala shoam sai tasso sara khabara kom) “I am very to talk to you.” Throughout the show the hosts and listeners share laughter and jokes, even the female participants are very enthusiastic. Listeners share their experiences and raise questions and give ethical and moral messages to the Pashtun society. Listeners’ enthusiasm, excitement, questions, messages and conversation indicated their satisfaction and trust with Deewa. Deewa, through its chit chat show, was building relationships with their listeners and also between the listeners. Moreover, the informality between the callers and hosts indicated a friendly bond and Deewa efforts to build a trustworthy relationship with their listeners. Moreover as Cull (2009) mentioned, international broadcasting brings their listeners together and closer. Many callers knew each other through their calls to Deewa. They did not know many other callers personally but they knew them through Deewa shows. If one caller sends greetings to another caller, the second caller will return those greetings in her call. In one of the shows,

159 during the call of one female caller, the host informed her that if you are done with your message we have another caller (mentioned her name) on the line, so we would take her call now. The caller on line requested the host to put her online so she can talk to her too as she really liked her messages, and the host put both callers on air and they greeted each other. Their conversation indicated that they do not know each other personally but are familiar with each other through Deewa shows. Trust and confidence. Each caller is given plenty of time to greet others and to communicate his/her message. In all the shows the listeners who called and sent their questions and messages through Facebook were lucid, clear and open. They were blatant in their criticism of government and militants; they were straightforward and direct in raising their questions and complaining about the government and the militants. They were vivid in sharing their experiences and messages. Deewa provided a platform to them to share and to raise their voices. Moreover, the listeners seemed confident in sharing their experiences and sending their messages to their Pashtun community. They expressed their trust in Deewa to listen and to share their messages. They believed that someone was listening to their voices, indicating credibility for Deewa. Information, awareness, empowerment and social change. Moreover, in a friendly environment the show discussed topics that provide information, brought greater awareness to their listeners and gave them insights about a topic. Deewa put a topic on the table and invited its listeners to discuss it and share their experiences. In the September 8 show, the anchor brought up the topic of education, as it was world literacy day. He introduced the topic, its importance and put forward questions for listeners. Anchor: We will talk about International Literacy Day, as international scholars say, “Nation that educate their people, many of their problems just solve themselves.” We will talk to our listeners about what are they doing for the education of their kids, and for neighbors, kids’ villages and friends’ kids, all the kids, for orphan kids, what have people done. We can see in history too that nations that have developed, it’s because of their people have education; every person had got education “taleem daulat aghashtai ai” (calling education a treasure).

Anchors expressed the importance of the topic by providing facts and figures. An anchor requested that teachers listen to their show because in Pakistan 5.5 million children are not going to school, and teachers also play important role in children missing school, or in their running away from the school. As it was a chit chat show, the anchors maintained a friendly environment

160 and did not offend their listeners. To keep their listeners following the show, anchors delivered their message by sharing jokes about aggressive and emotional teachers, who can also be a reason for dropouts in school. They joked about the teachers who use sticks of different trees to spank children, and they shared the joke about local Pashtun teachers’ saying to students, “bring the stick of your choice and spanking will be on my choice.” Anchors brought the attention of their listeners to the fact that they acknowledge the importance of education, but most of them are either not educated or have little education. All our listeners acknowledge the importance of education, but when we ask them then they say, “I left school in tenth grade.” Some will say in the eighth and some will say in the fifth grade.

Anchors informed listeners about the importance of the issue and the current conditions in Pakistan, and then asked their callers to not only talk about the importance but to talk about what they have done to promote education on an individual level. Many callers called and shared their experiences. Deewa not only connected Pashtuns with each other through the air waves, but they motivated listeners by sharing each other’s stories, and empowering them with ideas and the ability to do something on their own. The idea that one can do something on an individual basis allows others with the same idea to believe that they also have the ability to act. A listener called and talked about the importance of both religious and school education and shared his efforts of building a college. Caller: One is religious education and one earthly education and both are needed and are linked with each other. If someone has the world’s education like algebra, geometry, biology, science or journalism like you, but if he does not have religious education then he does not know how to live a life. Biology does not teach respect for each other or elders and younger people, prayers or the Day of Judgment. These are not in the worldly education, not in chemistry. So education is a like a light, like a car’s headlight gives you light in the dark, but these days worldly education is a big necessity because you cannot compete in this world if you do not have education. Female anchor: It’s like two sides of the coin, each side gives authenticity to the coin, so religious and world education is the same example.

The anchor further emphasized school education and provided an example that education is the need of the day:

Male anchor: I will give an example that, if all of us go for only religious education, then who will be an engineer, and doctor and lawyer. So how will schools work, and how will people get health care?

161 Caller: As I said both are like a car headlight, if one light is fused, the driver cannot see properly in the dark and has to move very slowly. Anchor: Yes and if you look at syllabi of schools in Pakistan, you will find religious education in every grade, like in Islamiat (Islamic Studies), and have many surah (chapter) from Quran that teach ethics. So if a person gets a high school education, then he is able to get a great amount of religious knowledge Caller: Agreed with anchor, as you said that doctors, engineers, computer scientists, we need people like that if we want to compete in this world. So we cannot do this with world education, like we need pilots to fly aeroplane. Education is the need of the day, and I say that person who does not have education is like a blind person. He has eyesight but I will still call him blind because he does not have education.

The caller further mentioned that he and his cousins with their combined effort built a college because there was no college in his area. Now they have extended it and started a school. He pointed out that they do not charge any fee from people who cannot afford it. Caller: Everyone owns private schools that are like money generating machines. But my cousin was principal of a school. I gave him an idea fifteen years ago, that the school which is not high but it used to be middle school, and people cannot afford it or it’s far like going to Sawabi. How about we start a private school in our village, that is right we will have income and profit but I am glad that we started that school and today we have even college that has 230 students, and almost 1200 in high school, and our boys went to engineering and medical school from here. And thank God that our school is well respected in the district. And from poor people we do not take monthly or registration fee from them. They bring their books but we waive fees for them, because we want to spread education. So people should not be blind. Poor or rich everyone should get education, this is the right of the whole humanity.

The stories to motivate and empower their fellow Pashtuns with ideas were not only coming from listeners. Anchors also participated in sharing their experiences and assured their listeners that they practice what they say. An anchor agreed with the caller and shared his experience that he started a girl’s college and then the conversation diverted towards the lack of female teachers in the area, which is a big reason for not having girl’s schools. Anchor: I myself have started a Girls College in my area and I am proud that it is working very well and now we have added a school section to it too. And our college is in the Peshawar top ten colleges. Caller: You will have female teachers easily available in Peshawar but in my area, it is very difficult to have female teachers, though we had a plan of co-education till grade five. But then the conditions here are not feasible and you also need female teachers, then there are many other responsibilities. And if we want to bring them from other areas, then we need to provide them a lot of safety and protection, so there are many issues, so we could not start the girl’s school.

162 Anchor: So when the girls of any area get education then they will spread education in their villages and will improve the conditions.

Listeners shared famous Pashto idioms to deliver their messages. A listener sent a message on Facebook that one drop of honey comes from 200 flowers; so hard work has very sweet results. He further said that not only does education matter, but also that ethics are important: “and if you get education, you will learn all ethics.” He further stated that: “I have helped people on an individual basis, and one of my friends left school in 8th grade and I helped him and he joined school again. I have helped many children and still do that so they can go to school.” To highlight the education crises in Pakistan, anchors provided more facts and comparisons. They mentioned there are 2.5 crores of children (25 million) in Pakistan who are deprived of schools and education. Moreover, they asked their listeners to take action if they see a child on the streets during school timings. They requested that their listeners take an initiative to help children in getting an education. A female anchor referred to an example of one of the government programs in which educated individuals were requested in their free time to teach a child in their neighborhood who cannot afford school or cannot go to school. Anchors efforts were not just to make audience members aware about the alarming conditions but embedded the whole narrative with religion to persuade them to take action: So if we analyze it like Pakistan has 18 crores population, among which almost 9 crores are women. So imagine 2.5 crores children are out of schools and most of them are girls. Dear listeners if you see a child who goes to school every day and then you see him in streets at school time so ask him why is he not in school and help him. I do not remember but one of the Pakistani governments initiated a very practical program to teach one child that cannot go to school. So people did adopt it and used to teach a child in their free time. It was initiated at that time but we can still work on it, if you have any child in your neighborhood, or in family or relatives, or the kids that gather old stuff from houses (Kabaar), or get old food from people houses, or gather bushes from outside for their animals, so you can teach those kids, at least something that they can start reading and writing. You can help a little bit, this is not a difficult task, you do not have to pay anything, you only have to give some time and this time is like a sadqa e Jaria (perpetual charity).

A female anchor mentioned an inspirational story about Farid Gul and again embedded the message in religious stories: A famous Pashto writer and poet wrote a famous poem “a poor poet versus Paris Hilton” and later on published a book. The writer studied Criminology and is currently living a

163 successful life in United Kingdom. Last week in one of Deewa shows, the Deewa correspondent interviewed his father, who said that he had worked very hard to send his son to school, and his mom sometimes used to make ink for him from “gura” (brown sugar) so he can write with it as some days they did not have money to buy ink for him. When he walked to school with his writing board, honey bees used to follow him. Then Farid Gul father sold his house and sent his son to a foreign country for education and now “he bought two houses for me.” So education never is wasted, especially for those who are passionate about getting education. And Hazrat Ali (companion and son-in-law of Prophet Mohammad) once said about that the importance of education was that “if someone taught me one word of wisdom and learning, then I am his servant for my whole life.” So education has so much importance that Hazrat Ali said that he or she can make me their servant.

Listeners’ participation was noteworthy. They shared their experiences and highlighted the problems and reality of the region, and their wise messages were directed towards peace making. A caller who worked in the hospital mentioned that in their village, a lady doctor comes from Punjab and females have to face many problems when the doctor is not available and is out of town. He stressed the importance of girls’ education so they can serve their communities. It is very important that our girls go to school and get education so they can later on serve their village. Our females have to face many difficulties in the absence of female doctors.

The anchor agreed with him and mentioned that this is the basic element that we have to overcome. A caller asked fellow Pashtuns to take action and to follow the right direction that will bring peace and development in their region. If we want to have peace and improvement in our life, then we need education, and these weapons cannot give us success or a better life.

Awareness of the alarming situation was highlighted with music and songs. Songs with messages were also part of the shows. In the show on education Deewa emphasized that one of the reasons for children not going to school is poverty, due to which they have to work and earn money. To emphasize this prevailing social problem Deewa broadcast a song on the life of a child who works to earn money for his family members and to buy medicine for his sick mom. The song was a message about a boy who sells berries in his basket and is poor, does not have a slipper to wear and his mom is ill and he has to buy medicine for her. Moreover, many male listeners agreed about the importance of girls’ education, and this indicates a slow and steady social change in process among the Pashtuns. Apart from calls,

164 listeners post messages on Facebook that emphasized the importance of an educated mother: “having educated Pashtun mothers can build an educated society.” Anchors alluded to the fact that Pashtuns are known as warriors, but they requested their listeners to change this image and bring more positive examples to this ethnic group. They alluded that people have brought revolutions through pens and not just weapons. We would like to hear something positive, we do not want to be known as Pashtuns who are fighters and that is it and that is the reason that we are behind. Look at the whole world, where the world is heading towards and what are we doing. Anchors mentioned that pen has more power than sword, people through their pen have brought revolutions in the nations, people follow an ideology, and that comes because of education and not because of weapons.

The last thirty minutes of the show were dedicated for children, as it was world literacy day. They started the show again with a song that had a message for kids that emphasized education. An anchor addressed the children and said that the number of children out of school is alarming. If he sees any children in the streets during the school day, then he will take them back straight to school. The anchor also asked parents to pay attention to their children and talk to their teachers if the children are having problems in school or if the teachers hit them. He further mentioned that many of his friends left school because of aggressive teachers and did not complete their education. It is very sad that now they drive a taxi or are doing any odd job. He informed parents that under the constitution the government will provide free education if they cannot afford schooling for their children. If you cannot afford your childrens’ education let me tell you that according to Pakistan constitution article 25A, the state is responsible to provide free and compulsory education to all children of the age five to sixteen. This is government’s responsibility and you should make yourself aware about your rights. Do not say that education is expensive; your child can easily attend school till tenth grade, so get the benefit of your right.

Anchors encouraged listeners to be specific by asking them specific questions. A listener called and the anchor asked him, “What are the disadvantages of illiteracy to Pashtuns?” He pointed out that the solution to problems is education and not weapons. Caller: The main disadvantage is that because of no education we cannot solve our problems by our self. Like, if we have land dispute, then first we will pay a big amount of money to the elders of the community and then they will sit and solve the dispute. So if we were educated we would be able to solve it.

165 However, he argued and pointed out towards the right use of the pen. Caller: But I also want to add that the right use of the pen is more important than just the use of the pen. The people who make weapons, bombs and throw bombs on us are all educated people. Educated nations like America, England, Germany, they utilize their education in making of weapons. Because of war, I have been displaced from my area and I do not know how long I would live like that.

Anchor did not agree or disagree with the caller but defended the educated countries that made weapons and are involved in wars. Anchor: If we become developed like those countries and get education, then those people (anchor was referring to militant groups) would not have come to our place and our villages would not have been bombarded by other developed countries.

Furthermore, he shared his happiness, as his daughter’s likes to go to school. Caller: I want to tell everyone, that I am very happy. I put my four-year daughter in school but she did not have the uniform so the teacher asked me to take her back, and when I brought her from school she cried and asked me to send her back. I was so happy and I asked my boy to go buy uniform for her right away and take her back to school. So I pray that all my Pashtun brothers send their daughters to school and all our children become passionate about education.

To highlight the message, they broadcast a famous poem by Daud Shahid composed in a song. In the poem he mentioned the perspective of a boy who wants to go to school and also wants to take his sister along him, and says that when he gets education he will contribute in developing his country. I am going to school, taking my little sister with me, Mom I am learning, Mom when I get wisdom, all the village will become wise, the village will be very beautiful, I will go to school and will learn everything, Mom when I will go to school I will get smarter and will go on right path, I will benefit my country, today I am on earth and tomorrow I will fly, Mom my younger sister is very good in studies, she is very good among her age group, Mom and when I get education, I will turn soil into gold, I will make myself aware about the world, … Mom replied and says go my son for education and for learning you can go to China, Arabia, go my son. go to school.

Many Pashtuns go to Dubai and Middle Eastern countries for laboring jobs. Among tribesmen and in the Pashtun culture, it is famously said that, “whatever one does, in the end they have to go to Dubai.” A listener sent a Facebook message and pointed out that in his area it is also famous that, “what will we do with education, anyway all will go to Dubai”. The listener demanded that the anchor address this point. In response, the anchor highlighted the fact that

166 going to Dubai without education means a laboring job and with education it means a respectable job. Female anchor: I will answer it to my listeners that what you want to do in Dubai is your choice. Do you want to go there without education and be a laborer, construct buildings for them, be a carpenter, or paint their buildings, work in the heating sun and break rocks there? Or do you want to go to Dubai with a degree and work in an office, or be a manager of that business or engineer or supervisor of that building, or invest in business? It is your choice. How you want to go to Dubai? This is your decision, and we only tell you about the options.

The anchors wound up the show by highlighting their purpose to the listeners and left them with problems and issues to think about. Our purpose of this show was to bring your attention toward the number of children deprived of education, if these 5.5 million children get education, this can change Pakistan’s fate, and they can change the conditions of the nation.

Apart from education, Deewa has discussed topics based on their listeners’ demands. In this study, it is also been found that Deewa listeners are not only in the Tribal region of Pakistan and Afghanistan, but there are also Pashtuns living in other parts of Pakistan and in many other countries that listen. Listeners from Middle Eastern countries and Malaysia called or sent Facebook messages to the show that are analyzed for this study. Many Pashtuns, due to poverty and unemployment in Pakistan, go to Middle Eastern countries and Southeast Asian countries for employment. Based on their demands, once a month Deewa broadcasts a show for Pashtun foreign expatriates. The September 22 show was about the life of foreign expatriates, or even the Pashtuns working in other parts of Pakistan and who are away from their homes. Anchor: Many of our listeners live in Dubai and Malaysia who complain that they want to participate in the show but cannot connect with Deewa. So Deewa decided to do a show once a week for those listeners who live in other countries for work purposes, so they can inform us about their life and work. Also, those people who are travelling within the country can also participate.

In the show callers talked about their experiences or their friends’ and family’s experiences with travel. They shared sad stories where their loved ones had to go to Dubai, Saudi Arabia, Australia or other countries for work. Due to poverty they have to go and most of them go illegally, with various organizations taking people through illegal procedures to other countries in boats. The message was not to go illegally, as it is dangerous and one can lose both their life and money. On the other hand some people living in foreign lands for many years have

167 now earned enough to own houses and have spent on their children’s education. They expressed the view that they could not have achieved all of this if they were in Pakistan. They also mentioned that if Pakistan’s conditions were better and there were opportunities for investment, then they would have stayed in their country. Listeners who participated in the show provided information, guidelines and tips to their listeners who are planning to go abroad for work. Anchors asked questions to the callers about opportunities for work for educated and uneducated foreign expatriates to bring the attention of their listeners towards the practical importance of an education. Caller from Dubai: If one is illiterate and knows driving they can be a driver and can earn a good amount of money. But it is better to learn driving from Pakistan and bring license from there as it is very expensive in Dubai.

Anchors inquired about jobs for educated people. Caller: Educated people could get good and respectable jobs in banks, businesses and many other companies.

Moreover, anchors touched upon some habits that can have many social implications, like spreading rumors and not confirming information before passing it to others. This can cause chaos among people, and can affect their beliefs. Anchors introduced the topic with a rumor to bring their listeners’ attention to the message they wanted to give in the show. Anchor1: What do you want to say? A2: In few days there will be a big storm in Pakistan and after the storm nothing will be left there A1: (laughed) I know what you are referring to. Remember, a few years back, there was a big rumor that a big earthquake is coming. In the middle of the night, the Imams of mosques all over Pakistan announced in their loud speakers that an earthquake is coming and to leave your houses now. People believed their Imams, even the educated that knew that earthquakes couldn’t be predicted. But people came out of their houses in the middle of the night and media broadcast stories that people spent most of the night outside their houses and in the cars.

The anchor’s other example was Pakistanis’ perceptions about Americans and their families. A2: Then in Pakistan people think that American children do not have fathers and mothers and if you talk to anyone, they will say, “yes it is like that.” Rather reality is different, we see here that American children also have parents and they take care of their children the same as our parents. Life is similar here but who confirms it. A1: They do not understand it, they have parents but unmarried rather that married.

168 Similarly, many Pakistanis have various perceptions about the Osama Bin Laden incident. Some believe that he is not dead and the story was a big plot created by Americans, and some even say that Pakistan’s army was aware of the operation. The anchor pointed towards rumors related to this incident and attempted to defend the American standpoint. Anchor 2: Similarly when Osama Bin Laden was killed, and the Pakistan president, army and security organizations, the American president and security officers, and international media also confirmed that news. But in Pakistan some people think it is not true and have created many conspiracies around this event. Anchor 1: And in newspapers there are rumors that a man has been seen and people think he is Hitler (laughs).

The anchors pointed out that people just hear something and start spreading rumors about it and do not think or confirm the information before spreading it. Anchors asked their listeners to call into the show or send Facebook messages and answer the question: When someone gives you information, do you confirm it with other sources or do you just believe in it? Many listeners participated in the show and shared a few incidents where people spread rumors without confirming them, and then later on realized that they were not true. They also gave messages to their fellow Pashtuns to not rely on one source rather to confirm the message with some authentic source and then pass it to others. A caller referred to an interesting rumor about a Gold rupee bill that spread a few years back. He mentioned that many people believed this and were spending a thousand rupees to buy a one-rupee bill from a (name of the company unclear) company. Later on that company vanished and they realized that it was just a rumor and a fake, and they all wasted their money on it. Another interesting topic discussed was: “What would be your first priority if you became a prime minister of Pakistan?” Listeners seemed to be very excited with this topic and many callers participated and shared what would be their first step or action if they became the prime minister. Most of the callers said they would work for education, some specifically mentioned girls’ education and starting girls’ schools. They all acknowledged that for a happy life, a better society is the need of the day and for that education is a necessity. Some callers shared inspirational stories about hardships they faced in getting an education. Caller: Will have education and will be able to read newspaper, will have eye in the market, will take better decision, will have ethics and then the coming generation will have a better society. I am educated and my children are all in good schools but I had to face many hardships for my education. We belong to Bajaur and no one was allowed to open school here. We did not have government school and we used to give corn to our

169 teacher and then he taught us, under the tree. And we had many other hardships like two days we had to work and third day we could go to our teacher to learn something. But still I am aware enough to send my children to good schools. My message is to all Pashtuns and Pakistanis to educate your children.

Apart from social topics, there were efforts to prepare their listeners for the upcoming season and give them tips about precautions against seasonal illnesses. Anchors had interesting conversations with listeners about the upcoming winter season and how they prepared themselves for seasonal change and prepared for the winters. This included what food they eat and what clothes they wear to keep them warm and how they make the inside of the house warm. They also warned people about the incidents and deaths that occur due to misuse of gas heaters. They said that the majority of the people use gas heaters in airtight rooms in the winter, and asked their listeners to observe safety measures while using gas heaters to avoid mishaps, which might lead to death. They said that before going to bed, people should ensure that room heaters are properly switched off and the gas supply is closed at the source to avoid leakages. Many listeners shared their stories about how they keep up with the winter season, since due to power and gas shortages they cannot use heaters while burning wood to cook food or warm their houses. They shared that in the mountains winter is very hard and people, due to poverty and poor infrastructure, face many hardships. Various topics were discussed. In one of the shows they discussed the benefits of drinking water and ask their listeners to call and talk about their water intake, their ways or using water and timing of water intake and their views about benefits of water. Anchors: Call us and tell your friends that water is good for health, what are the benefits for health? How much water do you drink in the day?

Listeners participated and shared information that water intake is good for health and they can avoid kidney problems. Caller called from Qatar: I listen to Deewa over there on TV and radio both and really like it. About the topic I would say that we have to drink a lot of water because it is all desert and if we do not drink enough water we can have kidney stones and many people here get stones in their kidneys

Some callers gave tips about keeping water covered all the time. People also complained about shortages of clean drinking water in their area and how they have to go to farther places and bring water from waterfalls in cans.

170 Facebook message: There is shortage in Landi Kotal and we go 3km to bring water.

Another social issue that they touched upon was increasing intolerance during grieving among people that can create many social problems. They referred the Gallop survey of 2,056 men and women, among which 46% people have less patience in grief, 25 % no change, and 28% can bear grief. Anchor: So we will talk with our dear listeners about how much people have patience or can bear grief.

Listeners mentioned that intolerance created hatred among people. Caller: It creates hatred if we do not bear, if someone says something to you and you do not like it then you start disliking each other. You fight and argue and it spreads hatred.

Listeners pointed out the reasons for intolerance. Caller: Because of poverty, financial limitations and lack of education, so many people are unemployed that it has brought so many problems. People’s buying power has been affected, and this has affected their will power to tolerate various situations.

However, the anchors attempted to persuade listeners to try to keep calm in situations that triggered their tolerance level. Anchors pointed out the example of people getting angry in a traffic jam. They asked people to deal with everything with patience and a smile. Anchors: Control anger with a smile, and deal with people with a smile. If people have ego then they do not bear, so always try to smile and laugh out your anger.

Deewa attempted to provide time and sources to their listeners so they could speak their minds and hearts. This strategy was not only building a trustworthy relationship between locals but also was empowering their voices. Deewa provided plenty of time to every caller and to people who participated through Facebook to say whatever they wanted to say. Building relationships between locals was bringing them together on one platform, was building understanding between them, making them familiar with each other, and making them more aware about each other’s ideas, ideologies and potential. The idea that they are speaking to their Pashtun community brought them together and closer, and strengthened them as a Pashtun community. Deewa as a platform is empowering their voices to give them the opportunity to speak, empowering them by bringing them together on a platform and providing them with more awareness about their rights and allowing them to raise their voices for their rights. Moreover,

171 listeners’ voices show a gradual and progressive change over time. A Pashtun community seems to be open to education in general, and more specifically, to female education. The findings in this category indicate the Deewa efforts for relationship building, trust and two-way communication are public diplomacy characteristics (Cull, 2009; Nye, 2004; Potter, 2009). This category indicates Deewa practicing as a platform for awareness, empowering locals’ voices and bringing social change, which are new themes for the public diplomacy framework. Women’s empowerment and social change. Deewa has dedicated one hour of the morning show to their female listeners, and only female callers and their Facebook messages are included in this section. In Pashtun culture, especially in the Tribal region and rural regions of Pashtun areas, the majority of women live inside the house, and can only go outside house with a male chaperone or with the permission of males of the family. While going out of their house they have to cover their whole body and faces under a veil. They are also not allowed to talk to males who are strangers, as this is also not part of the culture. The situation in urban cities and regions close to urban cities is better, but is worse in the backward or rural regions. However, the number of female callers and their enthusiasm and quality of participation indicates a remarkable social change. Moreover, Deewa has provided a platform for females to speak their minds and hearts, and dedicating a full hour so their voices could be heard, is an indication of empowerment of tribeswomen and Pashtun women’s voices. The female section of the show is named “Bibi Shirin” that means respectable sweet lady. The segment starts with famous love song of Pashtun folk culture “bibi shirin” but the words are changed to make it a social message. The song for the show was written by one of the Deewa staff, Behroz Khan, and sung by Pashtuns’ famous singer, Sardar Ali Takkar, who also is part of the Deewa team in Washington D.C. He also sang this song in the award ceremony of the Nobel Peace prize for Malala Yousafzai in Norway on December 10, 2014. This new version of Bibi Shirin has a theme based on the idea of women’s empowerment. The song has words that represent the strengths, abilities, capabilities and power of women. The song is translated by a blogger Orbal, she is Pashtun and has her own blog (Orbal, 2014): Whether a mother, wife, sister and daughter, you are love, O Pashtun sweetheart, learning is your right. You are a Bibi Shirin, Allow her to learn and she will help your country thrive. She will raze down the idols of ignorance. She is the origin of life and she is the sign of grace and respect. You can bring prosperity and peace, if your strengths are

172 utilized. You are a burden only in the snare of others grip. Do not consider yourself inferior, you are second to none. Your wisdom and physical strength is unrivalled, your pride is your reason and hard work, you may be heartbroken, but your aspirations speak of strong determination, you are a Bibi Shirin.

The female anchor mentioned that females are deprived of their right to education. She pointed out the trivial reasons for this deprivation. Furthermore, she put the responsibility on parents for providing this right to their children. She accused parents of being unfair and unjust to their children for not giving them their right. Today is the world literacy day, and our bibi shirin are deprived of education in the Pashtun belt, Baluchistan and especially in Tribal region. And if we think positively about the reasons of this deprivation, then we will find out that these are actually not any reasons. For example if you say that your culture or your family customs do not allow female education, or there is no benefit of girls education because they will get married anyway. So if on these tiny reasons we deprive our girls from their rights, and it is the children’s rights which parents have to fulfill, and depriving your children from their rights is unfair and unjust and is cruelty.

Moreover, to emphasize the importance of female education, the anchor made reference to the previous caller who works in the hospital where the nurses and female doctors are from Punjab, and it causes so many problems for Pashtun females. The unavailability of female doctors if the doctor goes out of town to visit her family is a big problem, but another problem is communication. Pashtun females are not educated and cannot speak the national language Urdu or Punjabi, and Punjabi female doctors cannot speak Pashto. The anchor pointed out the difficulties in communicating between both parties. Moreover, she alluded to the fact that Pashtun females, if they do obtain a medical education, cannot practice medicine after marriage. She pointed towards the taboo of considering working females to be an embarrassment to families, whether their females work outside home or they share the financial burden of the household. She mentioned that she could benefit so much if she was given a chance to practice her medical education: How difficult it would be for the Pashtun female to communicate with that doctor. Both will not understand on each other languages, so how wonderful it would be to have Pashtun lady doctors, who can communicate with our Pashtun females but our Pashtun brothers are not paying attention to it. And another issue is that many of our Pashtun girls, if they become doctors, then after marriage families do not allow them to practice medicine. Many Pashtun brothers find it embarrassing that “what my friends and family will say, that his sister, daughter or wife is doing a job”. But people do not realize that this girl has spent many precious years of her life in her education, and she has competed

173 among so many to go to that medical college, and millions of rupees has been spent on her. Now people do not think that all those resources will go to waste if she did not apply her skills and education. Moreover they do not realize that if she starts practicing as a medical doctor, it will be so much benefit for society.

Female callers called and complained about the poor infrastructure of government schools in their villages, which have hindered schooling programs. Caller: In government schools the quality of education, teachers and infrastructure is poor. People are not honest in teaching.

Female listeners called and shared their inspirational stories while complaining that due to poor or no infrastructure they could not get an education. Caller: I have education until grade 2 and my school was under the tree and I was very good in my class but I could not get more education because there was no school in my area. And now I really wish that my parents had sent me to some other city for education. I really want to read books and write something but I cannot.

Anchors in many instances suggested ways of doing things to callers. In response to a caller, the female anchor suggested ways that the caller agreed with. Anchor: You can still read as you read Quran, the same way you can try to connect alphabets and try to read it. Caller: My brother brought newspapers and I did the same and try to read it. I request my Pashtun brothers to send their daughters to school. In my view those children are very unlucky that have school in their area and still they do not go to school.

Another female caller mentioned that everything is so expensive and as they do not have education and therefore cannot work, now it is so late to get an education. In response to her the female anchor told her that in getting education there is no age limit. So anyone can get education anytime. Moreover, she referred to the female caller and pointed out that educated females can help families and themselves in difficult times. If their father or brother dies and there is no one to support females of that family then the females have to go out and work. If she is not educated then she has to work as a servant (maid/ house keeper) in others’ houses. Therefore it is important to educate your females. In the end of the women’s section, a song sung by a famous Pashtun female singer was aired, which has a message that a female was requesting that her society give her education: In my dark life, bless me with happy tomorrow, give me light, give smile to my dry lips, I cannot find my father, and I do not have house, where is my shade, I am afraid, give me protection in this desert, all the world kids are in the schools, our village girls are closed

174 in their houses, give me book in my hand, give happiness to my eyes, I am falling like leaves on the streets, and I am rolling in the blood of innocents, give me a happy world and life3.

The anchor also shared his poem in Pashto about women, which emphasized the idea that educated women make society better and bring peace to the society. Apart from allotting one whole hour for females, Deewa discussed the topic of domestic violence against women, not just physical violence but psychological violence as well, and the taunting and unequal treatment of women at home and in society. They highlighted the joint family systems in Pashtun society, where female members of the house can also do violence against other females. Anchors asked their listeners to share their views on “who do violence, men or women? And what are the reasons for domestic violence?” Both male and female listeners participated in the show and shared their views. Some male listeners accused men of hitting their wives or depriving them of an education, but some accused women for telling on other females in the house, like the wife and mother-in-law accusing each other and creating problems in the family. Some female callers mentioned that in joint family systems women abuse other women, like mothers-in-law abusing daughters-in-law. However, most of the females accused men of beating their wives and not giving them equal rights. Female caller: Men are cruel and abuse and mistreat their women. Males do not let their women have education, do not allow them to go outside of the house. She cannot have her will, so males mistreat women.

Female listeners’ participation was noteworthy; they called and talked openly about their experiences. A female listener called and was whispering because she was secretly calling since she wanted her voice to be heard. Moreover, some female callers called in almost in every second show, because they wanted to talk about every topic. Most of the callers spoke in favor of female rights and female education. A few female listeners were very ambitious and they pointed out that in some villages females are in very poor situations and they will try to get education and to help the females. A female caller in one of the show mentioned that if she became prime minister she would work for females’ education.

3 This is not a verbatim translation of the song.

175 Female caller: I will give education to all illiterate female sisters and those who are illiterate. I will open centers for them and will give them opportunity to learn skills. In 65 years we do not have a girls school in our village (name unclear), in Karak. I am educated and I am helping my sisters and raising a voice for them and for their rights. My father says that when you grow up I will help you go for elections. Anchor: Since you have such a great mission you can fulfill it by working with some NGO (Non Governmental Organization) that is working for women rights. Caller: My father has told me to finish your studies and then you can start your mission.

Anchors from time to time gave suggestions to their listeners to fulfill their missions or dreams and also tried to correct them in order to spread the right message to society and to avoid gender differences. Female caller: I will give all the big posts to females and the government will run by females. And the way males oppress us, I will oppress them, especially those who deprive women of their rights. Anchors: Then there will be no difference between you and the current male oppressor. If one is doing wrong, the other should not, only then we can have peaceful country. So why not treat everyone equally. Female caller: Yes, you are right but men do not treat females equally and I would try to do something for my village females.

In the show about the benefits of drinking water, a few female listeners shared inspirational stories that they did not have a proper infrastructure for their water system so to bring water from a waterfall they have to go down the hill two or three times a day. Female caller: We drink a lot of water, we live in mountains and go for work, and our house is on top of the mountain, that when we go back to our house, we need two or three cups of water right away. We bring water buckets on our heads from the waterfall, and it is a long exercise, so we get thirsty and drink a lot of water. Anchor: You still bring water on your head even in this era? Caller: Yes, I take 20 liters water and sometime take two buckets together. It takes four minutes to go down, as we are mountain people we are used to it and so we walk faster, and then on our way back take ten minutes because of weight of water. My sisters and I bring water two to three times in a day. And yes, we wash our cloths on lakesides, and water comes from the fall and cleans our cloths Anchor: But you use soap, and then soap adds in the water and then when it goes further and can cause problems. The government needs to provide water to you. Caller: No water is so fast that it takes all the soap away. I want to tell my friends that water is very good even our Prophet mentioned about water benefits.

Female listeners actively participated in the show on domestic violence and were eloquent about the hardships and violence females have to face.

176 Female caller: Females are maltreated, females are in very bad conditions, they are dying because of their husbands’ behavior with them. Our females are suffering a lot in the hands of their husbands and in-laws. The other day one of the women ate poison and died because of the brutalities of her husband and mother in law. And no one told the government, because these people say that they are Pashtuns and they do not want to tell it to others because it is an embarrassment. These women are living in peril.

The anchors were sympathetic and requested that their Pashtun brothers value their females and be fair to them. Moreover, anchors assured their female listeners that they would do more shows on this topic. Women in FATA are in a vulnerable position due to cultural, traditional and social practices. Tribal traditions and practices have limited their access to education. The literacy rate of females is very low. Factors hampering the process of education are: inaccessibility to schools, poor quality of education, low retention rate, militancy, displacements, and custom and traditions prevalent in those areas (DAWN, 2014). Deewa shows indicate its attempts to raise awareness among females that lack of education is a prevalent issue that needs to be addressed. Moreover, Deewa shows give the message to their listeners that educated females can build a better and more peaceful society. Apart from Deewa shows’ emphasis on female education, they have dedicated a full hour for women in their show in order to empower their voices. Women take advantage of that hour and speak their hearts and minds about their conditions and about their rights. Only a few active female participants get time in almost every show, which indicates Deewa gives more time to active and ambitious females so they can become a motivation and strength for other female listeners. Females’ active participation indicates progressive change among the females and in Pashtun society. Peace making. Deewa shows mentioned peace many times, especially in their show on education. In the show, Deewa anchors emphasized education and its relationship with peace. They provided examples of educated nations that are all developed and have peace. Moreover, listeners’ messages also echo their hosts’ ideas. The show on September 8 started with a four- minute song that stressed the importance of education and linked it with development, peace, success, happiness and respect. In reality education is the secret of success and happiness. This is respect, modesty and nobility in itself. It is a guarantee for peace, education is happiness and life, it is moving with time, education has success, pride and respect, it is a guarantee of peace. Education

177 makes you smart and wakes you up from sleep, bring you from a wrong path on a right path, education is like a light in your life, it is guarantee of peace (translation of the song).

At the end of the song, the anchors repeated the song’s main theme of a “guarantee of peace” and linked Deewa with peace. Deewa is also a guarantee of peace. Because our efforts are to bring peace in the region and so that everyone takes the path of peace. Education is like resource for that and those who want peace in the region. Education, learning, knowledge, information are important elements. It’s like we build a wall with bricks, and all these elements work like bricks in the peace process.

The anchor mentioned that because of education people do not fight and harm each other. He referred to the cartoon of Prophet Muhammad but did not use his name. He just mentioned that the cartoon was published in Europe but people damaged each other’s property and shops in Pakistan. He further said that people if are unhappy they protest, even in America people protest but they are disciplined. As six out of ten Americans are against American thinking of going to war with Syria and they protested against their government, but they are not throwing rocks on schools, police stations and on the Pentagon. Though it is easy to throw rocks on the Pentagon as metro runs next to it, the Whitehouse is here, Capitol Hill is here where Congress sits and is going to take decision. So throwing stones on these buildings is not difficult, but these people come here, do their protest and then go. This is all because of education, which is a blessing. They do emotional and aggressive speeches but they do not take out their aggression and emotions on people’s property and burn their shops and claim that they did it to teach lesson to government. They express their point of view against the government and then they tell people that they will put their protest on record and let the government and related organizations know what Americans think about their government’s policies. So this happens in the areas where there is education, knowledge and awareness and they are aware enough to make better decisions for themselves and for their government.

Moreover, a listener called and agreed with the theme and message in the song and with the anchor and related education to peace. Both agreed that the use of weapons couldn’t be a solution for peace and also for one’s objectives: Caller: The song said that education is an assurance of peace, so this is reality. The foreign countries, they are educated people. and if in Pakistan everyone gets education especially in Tribal region, then it is in reality an assurance of peace. Anchor: I will give you a small example that if we want to have change in the system it means people want to have Islamic system in Pakistan, so for that using weapons is not

178 the way. For that there is law and order, people will stand and post their vote which is the right way of doing it. Female anchor: War is not the way, rather you bring awareness in people, you make people aware through your way of life so they follow you, so you need to make people aware that this is the system I want and these are the characteristics of this system.

The conversation the caller had with the anchors highlighted education’s importance in religion. The caller embedded his message with Islam and stressed that Islam is a religion of peace: Caller: I will give you an example and I apologize for interrupting you, see, our prophet Muhammad (PBUH) is an example for whom the whole world is been born, he spread his religion through Tableegh (mission and preaching of Islam), so this cannot be achieved through conflicts and wars. So we need to bring it peacefully and get education and do it as an educated and peaceful nation, only then we can have peace. Anchor: This is true but in our Pakistan, Afghanistan that was known as Baresaghir, when Islam was entering into this region, the Islamic scholars convinced people of Baresaghir through their practice of Islam and not through wars. But we lack education. And everyone now accuses that “Islam came by force” (laughs). Caller: See our Quran says that Islam did not come by force, Anchor: (recited the Quran verse that caller was referring to) Caller: See it is not Hadith, it is from Quran. So we need education, and once we get education, we will get peace and everything will get better. And if we want wars, then we cannot have peace, but we will be destroyed so we need to get education, especially in Tribal region.

The anchor furthered the conversation by embedding Pashtuns’ values of wars and peace by saying a famous proverb in the Pashto language that emphasizes the fact that peace after every war comes with talk. Anchor: And you must have heard it that Pashtuns have very famous proverbs about it that “no matter how long and how many wars you do, but in the end you will sit and get peace through talk.” Caller: Another example I will give you, if I am not taking long, so our elders said that after years of wars, we came to resolution through talk. So to stop wars, education is needed. And will pray that Allah shows the right direction and path to everyone. Now if you permit me I would like to send regards to a few. Anchors: Sure, sure (laughs). Callers: (laughs) Send regards to all listeners and specifically my relatives and friends.

Moreover, some callers mentioned that they want peace and will bring peace if they became the Prime Minister of Pakistan. This highlighted a fact that the government should work towards peace of the region.

179 Handelman, (2008) argued that public diplomacy instruments could be used for peacemaking where locals and diplomats could be brought together on one platform and discuss peacemaking. Deewa allows tribesmen to come and talk about peace. Deewa provides a platform where peace talks are generated and people are becoming aware that they can get peace through education, can make wise decisions, and can empower themselves by knowing their rights and by availing themselves of their rights. Health. Deewa in its shows discussed health issues to spread awareness about health and hygiene, though these were not the topics. They invited a female Pashtun doctor, who participated in the show through a telephone call, and talked about illnesses, their symptoms, and provided tips for precautions. In one of the shows, she talked about the common cold; informed listeners about precautions and easy homemade remedies, and asked them to wash their hands many times a day. She even addressed the health problems of the people living on mountains and in rocky areas. She specifically mentioned not to give Aspirin to children, which is very common in villages. She explained the side effects of Aspirin on children. In another show she talked about eczema, what it is, at what age people have it, how can they cure it and prevent it, and that it is a lifelong disease. She informed them about its symptoms. She also talked about hepatitis C in another show, and informed listeners about jaundice, its symptoms, precautions and remedies and cures. She talked about food, and said not to give fatty food to patients, rather to give them more boiled food and light vegetables. Apart from that they broadcast a special report by a Deewa correspondent on the Congo virus that was spreading among the animals. The report informed listeners about the precautions to prevent this disease from spreading. Deewa correspondent: In Hazara division the Congo virus spread in animals, they said that this virus spreads once a year because for Eid (Islamic festival when Muslims sacrifice animals) all the animals are brought together in a wholesale market, from different parts of the country, and due to that this virus spreads. This is very dangerous, that it spreads from cattle to hens and birds and to humans. So the health ministry has issued a policy that whichever animal has this virus that should be brought to health officials so they can be treated. This virus spreads very fast, and the buyer and seller should both check the animals, so every person before bringing their cattle into the whole market should first check their cattle because it is crime to sell sick cattle. There are doctors sitting in the whole market and they keep checking all animals for the virus.

In one of the shows the anchor gave female listeners directions for making homemade masks for clean, smooth and shiny face skin.

180 These shows indicate that Deewa, in addition to dealing with social problems, informs its listeners about health issues and makes them aware about health and prepares them to take care of their health and to prevent illness. In the Tribal regions health facilities are either not available or are in poor condition. People in mountains and far-flung villages do not have easy access to doctors and medicines. In those areas, people can help themselves if they have some knowledge about precautions and tips for homemade remedies. American perspective. Some anchors also include editorials in their shows. In the September 22 show, an anchor included an editorial about the Peshawar church blast from one of Pakistan’s English newspapers, the Express Tribune. The points raised in editorial supported the American government standpoint on Pakistan and Afghanistan’s efforts to have peace talks with the Taliban. The U.S. government had clearly mentioned that these peace talks could be dangerous for the region and the U.S. was not in favor of them. The same American policy was broadcast in the previous day during the 8pm news hour. Editorials are selected by one of the Deewa staff, so this editorial insinuates a purposive selection of the editorial for the show, as it concurs with the American standpoint. The editorial mentioned that this was an old church and it was in the shape of mosque because it was symbol of love and amity between Muslims and Christians. The editorial stressed two points, first that the church blast was strongly condemned by the Pakistan government, and the KPK government, and second that a few days back militants killed Pakistan army officers in Dir, and now had blasted a church where two hundred Christians were praying, and still leaders of Pakistan political parties and Pakistan government are thinking of having peace talks with Taliban.

Apart from editorials, Deewa also informed their audience about the government shutdown on the September 30, 2013, show. They informed them that a U.S. government shutdown has happened 17 times in the history of America, and now it had happened in the Obama government, while previously occurring in the George Bush and Bill Clinton governments. They gave details to their listeners about how the government works here, what Congress is, how budgets pass by voting, and then more details about senators and the president. They also informed their listeners about the reason for the shutdown and gave them details about the Obama health care legislation. Some anchors also broadcast major news in the show that Taliban Tehrik Pakistan (TTP) leader, Hakimullah Mehsud, was killed along with his friend in Friday’s drone attack. After the news headline an editorial was shared that was on the same news topic, which highlighted the

181 fact that this was certainly a big success of the drone program since the TTP leader was danger for the peace of the world. Moreover, the editorial was pro-drone and supported American foreign policy objectives and pointed towards the hypocrisy of Pakistan’s government. Furthermore, the editorial implied that for peace-supporting people, it is a relief: The death of TTP leader is a great loss for the militant terrorist organization. This group in 2010 supported Faisal Shehzad in the New York City Times Square bomb incident. There is video available on Internet that shows Faisal Shehezad and Hakim ullah Mehsud together. Then the person, who attacked CIA station in the north Afghanistan in 2009, was also seen with the TTP leader in a picture. An editorial mentioned that Hakim ullah Mehsud’s death is a huge success for the drone strike program. Due to the loss of innocent lives in the drone strikes Pakistan and American foreign relations were affected. The American government had five million dollars head money for Hakim ullah Mehsud. The Pakistani government from time to time has condemned drone strikes. However an editorial mentioned that one of the commanders of the TTP in North Waziristan named Abu Omar on his telephone conversation has said “The Pakistan government fully supports the drone attacks, and we know our enemy very well”. The editorial mentioned that many people in Pakistan who support peace are happy with the “murder of a ruthless monster”.

Moreover the editorial seemed to provide information about messages and the feelings of Pakistani political and religious people, and also pointed towards the concerns of the Pakistani government about the peace process with the Taliban. The Federal Minister of Pakistan Chaudhry Nisar and many Islamic scholars have condemned this drone strike. The PTI leader Imran Khan, that has a government in KPK, has said that they will close the roads for NATO supplies. Federal Minister of Pakistan Chaudhry Nisar says that this drone attack has affected the peace negotiations with Taliban. A delegation of Islamic scholars was going to meet the Taliban militant on Saturday, which now has been postponed. People in Pakistan have mixed feelings; some are happy and most are worried that the terrorists’ incidents might increase as a result of this attack.

However, the editorial did not mention it, but raised a concern about Imran Khan’s severe action on the killing of TTP leader. The anchor mentioned that the editorial has included a tweet of the Bilawal Bhutto (son of late prime minister of Pakistan Benazir Bhutto and previous president of Pakistan Asif Zardari). Bilawal tweeted in reply to Imran Khan’s tweet that he wants to close NATO supply routes, Bilawal said to Imran Khan, “so sorry for your loss”. Anchor explained that Bilawal is relating this (TTP leader death) loss as Imran’s loss.

This editorial provides information to the listeners about how the rest of the country felt about this incident and at the same time provided balanced discussion and covered the views of

182 all stakeholders, including the Taliban. Moreover, the editorial pointed out the hypocrisy, double standards, or mixed and unsure feelings of the Pakistani government. Pir Zubair Shah is a known journalist and scholar. His views about whether or not the attack was good for Pakistan was broadcast in the show. Anchor: Pakistan and America both have different standpoint about drone strikes. How do you see this issue, do you think Pakistan is under more threat now or is this good for Pakistan because America wants to move out of Afghanistan in the next year? Pir Zubair: The death of Mehsud cannot affect TTP activities, they will soon have another Ameer (leader) and important thing is that their network is wide spread in Punjab and Karachi too. So until and unless this network has not broken or ended, their activities will be same. This will have a psychological impact for some time because he was symbolic, he was knowledgeable, smart and had links with media too. So this is a timely loss for the TTP but I do not think that it is going to have a huge impact. Similarly it will not affect Pakistan as much as it is not a huge effect on TTP, but the peace talks would be postponed for some time.

Also included were the views of Irfan Ashraf, who was a teacher, a well-known journalist and was currently doing research work in America. He expressed his point of view: Irfan Ashraf: The United States, Afghanistan, and Pakistan are not interested in bringing peace to the region, and not even the Pakistani army as they are receiving huge amounts of aid in this conflict. And now that the TTP major leader is killed, I do not think that peace can come so easily in this region. This war has become part of our economy, and this is our bad luck. Anchor: You have met TTP, so in your observation do you think they will be able to bring peace. Irfan Ashraf: I do not think that Talib will so easily negotiate for peace process as they have their specific demands.

Apart from providing editorials on U.S. perspectives or broadcasting interviews that echoed American perspectives, Deewa anchors also attempted to support the U.S. perspective in their discussion by providing comparisons of facts and figures about innocent people killed by drones, and by militants in their attacks. Pakistan security tracks death tolls on both sides. In terrorist attacks more than 40,000 people have died, that included Pakistan peace corps like the army and police, while in drone strikes 67 innocent people have died and more than 2000 militants have been killed in drone strikes.

The anchor also linked the topic of the show about spreading rumors and referred to the interview of Ather Abbas (retired Director General ISPR) on one of the Pakistani media. He said

183 that in Pakistan people hear things from different sources and then connect them together and link it with America. So people here create and believe in rumors. Two editorials were discussed in another show, one was from the New York Times about the NSA (National Security Agency) case, and the other one was about Syria. Both emphasized the American government standpoint about these issues. Deewa as a public diplomacy instrument, and as per the VOA charter, has to broadcast American perspectives. However, the editorials selected to broadcast in the show clearly communicate the American perspective but also cover the Pakistani government’s standpoint, which indicates a balanced and unbiased presentation. Foreign music. Deewa also wants their listeners to be familiar with various types of music. They usually end their shows with some song and the song could be a Bollywood Hindi song, or an American country song. They also broadcast an Eminem song that two Pashtun sisters had called about and especially requested during the show. They also requested to announce the song with their names.

Hello VOA and Washington to Khyber The study analyzed fourteen shows selected on the days of or the day following a drone strike. The evening call-in shows discuss major political issues of the day, and are broadcast in the prime time just before the 8pm News Hour. Almost all of the Deewa staff that cover political issues appear on this show. The show is called Hello VOA, however, a specific Deewa staff member named his show Washington to Khyber. The show is broadcast in the evening of Pakistan, at 7pm, in Afghanistan at 6:30pm, and in Washington D.C. at 9am of the day. The major findings from the evening call-in show on political issues are discussed here. News headlines. The first five to seven minutes are allotted for the news headlines of stories that are broadcast in detail later during the 8pm news hour. Topics and nature of the show. The topic of the show is selected from the major news items of the day or the previous days. They can also select a topic based on the demands of their listeners. This show is broadcast for one hour and usually two or three major events or news items are discussed in the show. In this show, experts are invited to talk on the topic and then listeners ask their questions to the experts through calls or by Facebook. To include the views of all stakeholders, experts belonging to different ideologies or opposing parties, including religious

184 scholars, journalists, educationalists, political leaders and government officials, are invited in the show. Drone strikes. The show on December 29, Washington to Khyber, discussed drone strikes for the whole year. The anchor summarized the number of drone strikes in the whole year of 2013, the death toll in the drone strikes, and the pro-drone and anti-drone sentiments in Pakistan. The Deewa correspondent who covers the drone strikes in the region shared a report on drone strikes. This report was ten minutes long and summarized the details of the number of drone strikes, the number of people killed, the important people killed and areas that were hit. … 26 total drone strikes and almost 100 people died in them, drones strikes are a very sensitive issue and since 2004 almost 400 drones have attacked. Then after 2008 until now 318 drone strikes have occurred, in which 2,427 people died. But mostly militants have died, and almost 67 innocent people have died. Pakistan has condemned it and said it is against Pakistan sovereignty, independence and security. However, another perspective that supports drone strikes is that mostly terrorists have died in them and the number of innocent people who died is less.

Listeners asked many questions about drone attacks through calls and Facebook messages. Deewa anchors accepted all calls whether they were pro-drone or anti-drone. The anchor is an experienced journalist who writes on a variety of topics including politics, war and drones. He accommodated many questions and answered them with some reference or source. Caller: Why do all drone strikes occur in North and South Waziristan? Why not in the rest of the five agencies? Anchor: There is no such report on it from government side, but as in our report we said that a drone attacked in the Khyber agency also this year. So it seems that in Kurram, Orakzai, Dara and Landi Kotal could also have drone strikes but in my view by looking at the trend of drone strikes it seems that North and South Waziristan may have more activities than Bajuar or Mohmand or Khyber.

A listener complained about the Pashtun’s political party, that it is not doing anything to improve conditions of the Tribal regions. He raised a question about why all the problems exist in Pashtuns’ land and why not in the Punjab. The anchor pointed out that all provinces have their own political parties that raise voices for them, but there is an absence of a collective effort and collective political party of tribesmen that can raise voices for them. The anchor further mentioned that they have done shows on this topic and they will do it in future also. Caller: Two questions, the strong conflict is in Pashtun’s land, and our Pashtun party is busy in their politics, and why do they not only work for this one agenda, as Pashtuns’ life, customs, traditions, everything is finished, and they are still doing their politics. The

185 second question is my Pashtun land is suffering because of drones. Chechens and Uzbeks are in my land, poverty, lack of food and water, and minerals are wasted in my land, and we produce electricity and we do not have it in our houses. So why are all these problems here and not in Punjab? Anchor: You are concerned that all problems are for Pashtuns and not in Punjab or other provinces. All political parties originated from their land and belong to their land and if they lose elections in other parts of country they will still win in their land. Like PPP is from Sindh, PMLN is from Punjab, Pashtun Party is from KPK and likewise Baluchistan has their own nationalist parties. Now the question is, is there any possibility of a collective movement in FATA? And can any association can be made that can lead FATA and stand for FATA people, and can that association be capable and acceptable for congregation leadership in FATA? This question is raised from time to time and we will also talk about it in our upcoming shows.

There were no pro-drone sentiments in the show, but listeners’ anti-drone messages were included in the show. Moreover, the anchor did not tend to agree or disagree with his listeners but attempted to take his listeners’ attention towards the effectiveness of the drones by highlighting the large number of terrorists killed in the drone strikes. He also asked his listeners for the sources of their references. Facebook message: We are not very happy about the Tribal region, as drone strikes occur from time to time and because of that people hate America and in those strikes innocent people also died. America needs to end these drone strikes because no country has the right to violate another country’s sovereignty. Anchor: That listener did not mention, which reports said, those innocents have died. Because the statistics in the government report is that only 67 innocents have died and 2427 militants have died.

Furthermore, shows also included the anti-drone protests, but it was also highlighted that all political parties have condemned drone strikes but not all of them are part of the protest. Some drone strike support from Pakistanis was also mentioned. According to a Deewa correspondent only two political parties, PTI and JUI, were protesting against drone strikes and have closed the NATO supply routes, and no other political party has protested against drone strikes. He further said that it has also been said that Pakistani people in general are not very concerned about drones, as no other strong protest has been reported. Polio vaccine. Pakistan is among the top three polio epidemic countries, and the WHO is actively working in Pakistan to provide polio drops to all children. However, for the last few years some religious and militants groups have opposed polio drops. They consider them to be anti-Islamic and are using this narrative to ban the polio drops in various areas of the Tribal

186 region. However, due to efforts of the WHO the government and some religious scholars, the ban has been lifted in many areas and with the help of the army, many children in the Tribal region received polio drops. However, in North Waziristan, the Taliban still has the ban in place and they demand an end to drone strikes. As a result many cases of polio have been found in that region. Polio vaccination was also part of the shows analyzed for the study. The December 29 show summarized all the cases that appeared in 2013 and the efforts on behalf of WHO polio workers and government. Moreover, the number of polio workers killed or attacked was also part of the report on polio drops. The Deewa correspondent provided a detailed report on polio vaccination: Correspondent Report: In this year 2013 the polio cases in the Tribal region is 58, five new cases have been found today. The total number of cases in North Waziristan are 32, South Waziristan is one, in Khyber agency are 18, Frontier Region Bannu are seven, Dera Ismail Khan is one, and there are no polio cases found in Mohmand agency, Bajuar, Orakzai and Kurram. In North Waziristan it is not possible for the polio campaign workers to give polio drops, and the polio campaign has been banned since 2012 in that area. It has been linked with drone strikes, and militants demand that until the drone strikes are ended they cannot allow the polio campaign. Every time two lac and 30 thousand children of that area are deprived of polio vaccines, and experts says that this is the reason for the large number of polio cases in North Waziristan. Anchor: How many attacks have been done on polio campaign centers? Correspondent: On 20 May 2013 in Bajuar agency one polio worker was killed, and in a second attack on December 2 in Khyber agency one worker was killed, and then on 21 December again one polio worker was killed. Moreover on November 13 eleven teachers from Khyber agency were kidnapped as they were suspected of supporting polio vaccine, but later on were released.

Listeners demanded to know about the reasons for assaulting polio workers and for the ban on polio vaccines. A listener sent a Facebook message and asked: Why are the militants assaulting polio workers? What is their purpose? The anchor put forward that question to the correspondent and asked the about reasons for the ban on polio drops. But there seems to be a conflict on the reasons and is not clear whether the ban is due to drone strikes or religious reasons. Anchor: How many leaders of big political parties have said anything for polio, have they provided any Islamic or unIslamic points about polio? Correspondent: Maulana Samiull haq from Akora Khattak himself has said in the media and also provided Fatwa (order by religious scholar) to the WHO and has himself given polio drops to children. According to North Waziristan elders and other groups the main

187 reason for not giving the polio drops to children is not Islam rather it is drone strikes. But today I was talking to Dr. Sarfaraz, polio coordinator of WHO in KPK, who also said that if they link it with drone strikes than the number of drone strikes would have been reduced rather they have been increased so drone strike is not the reason.

Moreover, the correspondent provided reasons for the absence of polio cases in other regions. An example of another agency that is polio free was given in the report. This would attract listeners’ attention, and if they wanted to they could bring their children to the safe areas where polio workers can give polio drops to their children. In the agencies like Kurram, Orakzai and other regions that have no polio cases, people allow polio drops for their children but there are some regions where polio workers cannot go due to threats. So the polio workers sit in the bus stations or bus stops of the various areas in the agencies so parents bring their children to them and then they give them polio drops. So collectively all these agencies get polio drops and no one opposes it in the name of religion or any other reason but North Waziristan has this problem and that is why they have so many cases there.

It was evident that opinions of religious scholars who consider polio vaccines to be unIslamic were not part of the show. However Deewa has broadcast shows on polio vaccines and those views may have been covered earlier. This show did not discuss why some religious scholars consider it to be unIslamic. Nonetheless, they did not discuss the scholars’ views that states it is Islamic, but the show pointed out an example of a religious scholar who issued an order in favor of polio drops. Moreover, Deewa efforts are to persuade their listeners by providing them with facts that showed the effectiveness of polio drops and also suggested to them ways of giving polio drops to their children in case polio workers cannot reach them. Information, awareness, empowering local voices & a platform to raise voices. The Tribal region is one of the poorest and most deprived regions of Pakistan. Tribesmen are complaining and want to have their rights. Deewa intends to provide them a platform where they can openly demand their rights and can raise questions. During the shows many listeners called and complained about their hardships and the lack of facilities in their areas. Facebook message: What has government done for FATA education? What have they done for improving education in FATA? Anchor: No improvement, we have conducted many shows on this issue and we mentioned that till now there is no University in this land, and yes wishes are there on the ground and for building a university there. I asked questions of the education minister in my interviews with him and he said they will build a University and they are concerned about FATA. But he also pointed out that the education quality of Lahore, Peshawar, Quetta and Karachi couldn’t be conceptualized for FATA.

188

Apart from education, listeners also complained about other issues and problems. Facebook message: Since 2013 in Khyber agency we do not have electricity, water, education, roads, health issues, no peace. We are humans and how long do we have to suffer?

Caller: Pashtuns are peace-loving people, why are we known as terrorists?

Anchors put forward their questions to experts, who assured them that the government was taking FATA problems into consideration and there will soon be some policies approved for the region. IDP (internally displaced people) also called and shared their hardships. A listener requested a show on IDP problems, and the anchor responded that they have done many shows on IDPs. The anchor assured him that he will do his show on this topic on the coming Sunday. Caller: We are displaced from our home Orakzai agency, and you did not have any program on us. We are spending a very difficult life, and no one asks about us. We are poor and have no facilities. Anchor: We have done many programs on IDPs but you tell us that what are your problems and how are you spending your life. I will do a program on this Sunday about IDPs and this will be my topic.

Deewa anchors’ assurances to their listeners about presenting their problems in detail in other shows were encouraging for the listeners. Moreover, listeners tended to express their trust in Deewa to represent their problems. Some callers even asked Deewa to bring their area officials, ministers and political leaders onto the show so they can directly ask their questions. Female caller: Ten areas around our village have no school for girls or boys, no roads, gas or electricity. For the last 65 years no one has done anything for us, no one represents us, no one listens to us, and I also said it on your radio too. We have ten to eleven villages, and we are deprived of all facilities. Our MPA (Minister of Provincial Assembly) when he is selected, no one questions him, he misuse our rights, and builds his houses and properties, does not give us our rights, and Pashtuns especially Khattak are not going to give him votes. I want to give you the number of our MNA (Minister of National Assembly), so you can call him on the radio and I talked to him on media asking why do you misuse our rights.

Moreover, on a question from the listeners about the government of KPK, an anchor responded, “we have tried to contact him several times but we could not connect with him, he does not pick up his phone.” Another listener called and complained about the current party that is running the KPK government.

189 Caller: Deewa radio is listened to by lacs and crores people so if the PTI members do not come on Deewa, and do not inform us about realities and facts, this is not fair to the nation.

Deewa tended to touch upon every man-made problem and on natural disasters occurring in the Pashtun region. In one of the shows they discussed details of the Baluchistan earthquake, the problems faced by people due to the earthquake, and the support program. A Deewa correspondent interviewed an active support worker who himself went to the affected areas and worked in a support program, and he explained the negligence on the part of the government. The affected district Awaran is far from main city and has bad roads but the government structure that is required here is absent. The deputy commissioner, without him the district cannot run, and he should be in the district 24 hours. But the DC of Awaran district comes here for a week and then he is absent for three weeks, similarly the district health councilor only comes and takes his salary and goes away. Similarly there are no doctors in the hospitals, and if there is hospital but then they are not functional. So there are many problems and then people here are very poor.

The Deewa correspondent also relayed the view of a government official who said that the FC and army both are here but the area terrain is very rocky and difficult, so that the process of offering help is slow. Deewa also discussed the issue of the Peshawar church blast in one of the shows and covered the views of Christians who are a minority in Pakistan. The anchor talked to one of the minority elders from the Christian community, whose own family was affected in this blast. He expressed his loyalty to Pakistan and accepted that in this terrorist campaign Muslims and Muslims mosques have been under attack, but this is the first time that they had attacked minorities. Christian community elder: We are Pakistanis, and our Muslim brothers and their mosques are also been attacked in various incidents, but people are angry or grieved because this is the first time that in this region a church has been attacked Anchor: What do you think? Who did it? Christian community elder: This is the same terrorism that does not know religion or humans and it is terrorism. Anchor: Taliban has accepted it that they did this attack. So in your community what do people say what could be their purpose? What message do they want to give you? Christian community elder: We are part of Pakistan and we consider our selves Pakistanis. We are not concerned who did it, but we just say that terrorists have done it.

Moreover, Deewa brought a scholar and a journalist to the show and interviewed him on the issue.

190 Expert: The Prophet Mohammad (PBUH) has given many rights to minorities. Pakistan is an Islamic state, so this is an ethical and constitutional responsibility of Pakistani government to provide rights to minorities. Why did the government not secure their rights that they have to suffer like that? In Hadith, events are quoted where the Prophet Mohammad (PBUH) has provided more rights and safety to non-Muslims than Muslims. He opened the mosque of Madinah called Masjide Nabawi to non Muslims and told them that they can come there and do their prayers, but told Muslims to not pray in non Muslim prayer places because you can misuse their rights.

The anchor further informed listeners about how Muslims were treated in America, and how the U.S. government facilitates Muslims during their religious festivals. Moreover, he referred to some other instances where minorities are arrested for blasphemy. He concluded that government was neglecting minorities by not treating them equally. The expert agreed with the anchor and accused the government and Muslim Pakistanis of differentiating with their minority brothers. Anchor: In America there are many Muslims and Pashtuns, and on Eid government provides us space for Eid prayers and even they have provided space to us in many churches, so the government takes their responsibility of facilitating these events for us. But in Pakistan many non-Muslims are arrested in blasphemy, now this church attack. Ulema (religious scholars) are providing their statements but government has not provided a statement about taking any strict action against these people. Many people are saying that non-Muslims should be provided equal rights, why do they differ among them? Expert: As I said non-Muslims are the responsibility of Muslims, I told you in the beginning that Muslims have many responsibilities and less rights while non-Muslims have no responsibilities but have many rights. Unfortunately Pakistanis living here are Muslims but just by name, they are a mass of people but cannot be called a nation, and I am from government and I respectfully say that in our Pakistan army is called establishment though establishment is one separate department.

Deewa efforts were to promote peace and reduce hatred among Pashtun Muslims and Christians. It highlighted religious messages and the responsibility of Muslims to protect minorities’ rights. Moreover, it identified the maltreatment of minorities by Muslims and the government that needed to be addressed. Another topic that was discussed in one of the shows was that the Taliban had demanded that the Pakistani government release their people from jail. The Deewa anchor raised the question that if the peace process starts so that Pakistan releases all 5000 Talib criminals, would peace come in the region if they did so. They called journalists from Pakistan to talk about this question and various views were expressed that suggested Pakistan government should first plan

191 the peace process conditions, and that releasing those criminals could be more of a threat to the region. Another issue discussed was that the KPK chief minister said that they would take out forces from Swat, but Swat Jirga leaders oppose this. The anchor mentioned that later on, the government senior minister in Swat said that they would move the forces from Swat. The anchor pointed out “today in Swat, a major army commander has been killed in Swat, so what message does the Taliban want to give to the government and should the government pull forces from Swat?” A senior political and defense expert was interviewed from the area who said that the Pakistan army is a safety guarantee in Swat and removing them from there means giving an invitation to the Taliban again. He said that this is an inability and foolishness on behalf of the Chief Minister of KPK. His job is to defend his region, and not, once the region has been saved, to give it back to Taliban. The CM needs to be cautious while he says anything. What is the need for negotiations when they want to give areas to them by removing forces from there? It is difficult for me to accept PTI decisions. I am speechless on their decisions. Your government is just two three months old. You think that forces that are here give me stability, so no one will try to come here again.

Deewa raised various issues in these shows that deal with the unstable political conditions in the Pashtuns’ region, deprivation of their political rights, negligence on behalf of government in man-made problems and natural disasters, the lack of infrastructure and facilities, attacks on minorities, and the consequences of accepting Taliban demands in the region. All issues were important and Deewa addressed them by inviting experts to highlight issues, to make people aware of their rights and also by inviting people to discuss and raise questions and speak their hearts and minds. Deewa as a media platform is serving as a forum for people’s calls, to raise their voices and express their trust by demanding more shows on their issues. Deewa in response assured them that they would do shows on their issues. Moreover, Deewa generates two-way communication between listeners and hosts, but also between people and their representatives. Deewa anchors tend not to agree or disagree with any party but serve as a media outlet to bring issues to the forefront. Political rights. The Tribal region does not have political rights equal to other Pakistani citizens under the constitution of Pakistan. Deewa has brought this issue up in many of their

192 shows and it was also focus in one of the shows analyzed for this study. Deewa tended to provide information about their political rights and raise awareness among audience members and empower local voices to advocate for their political rights. Deewa brings up the topic, explains it to the listeners and then asks them to participate in the show and share their views. A listener called and talked about the constitutional article that deprived them from many of their citizen rights. The anchor in response emphasized the details of the article, mentioned the efforts for FATA political rights but also pointed out that this can be done by one signature of the president. However, it is not happening because of some invisible powers in Pakistan. Moreover, the anchor highlighted that if there is no change regarding FATA political rights in the constitution, FATA people cannot have their political rights, and the situation will remain the same. Caller: In my view there is no change in the political situation of FATA, our parliamentarians under 246 and 247 do not have the right to talk about FATA. Secondly in FATA no security is provided to any polio worker and no money is given to them, which is their right. Drones strikes would not have been done in FATA if FATA were a true part of Pakistan. Anchor: I would say that under 246 and 247, FATA does not have the right to appeal, the right to go to court and make arguments, and FATA parliamentarians cannot pass legislation for FATA. For that a movement is going on, and demands by the FATA people for political rights are already on the table. Efforts to bring this change in the parliament are going on, and the President can do this by only signing a document. Pakistan political party leaders say that they want to bring change but have not done so. Why does this buffer zone not end? One political power wants it, people want it, but there is an invisible power in Pakistan that does not want it. That is why it is not ended. If president wants he can bring change in 247 just by signing. If the president wants but has not done it, and until this is not changed FATA people cannot have their political rights.

Moreover, the Deewa correspondent from Pakistan added a report about the bill passed by the then President, Asif Ali Zardari, in 2011 that gave right of voting to tribesmen and allowed political parties to nominate their members from the Tribal regions. In 2011 the law passed and this is the first time that elections were held under that law. Most of the nominees were independent but still some of the political parties nominated their members for these regions. Four of them won the elections from political platforms. Even these elections were held but there are still so many problems.

Deewa as a public diplomacy tool attempts to make their listeners aware of their political situation and rights and encourages them to speak up for their rights. Thus, it is are providing a platform to empower local voices.

193 Pakistani and American relations. Due to Mehsud’s death, Pakistan said that the peace process had been sabotaged. This incident affected Pakistan-American relations and this was not the first time. It had happened many times before. Deewa did a show and discussed Pakistan’s and America’s foreign relations in light of history. In the show they interviewed Hussain Haqqani, author of famous book “Magnificent Delusions”, and Dr. Mohammad Taqi, a renowned scholar who had worked on the relations among Pakistan, Afghanistan and America. In the show the anchor interviewed Hussain Haqqani about his book and he gave details about American/Pakistan relations in last 65 years, which went from good to bad and bad to good. America has seen Pakistan as an ally, a military ally, and Pakistan has seen America as an essential military ally, a security and financial support, and now a threat to national stability. This ten-minute interview was in Urdu and was translated into Pashto by the anchor. The interview highlighted the author’s (Haqqani’s) view about U.S./Pakistan relations but the anchor failed to mention the opposing view of Pakistan’s government. Moreover, the anchor only introduced Hussain Haqqani as a former Ambassador of Pakistan in America and Professor of International relations in Boston, but did not mention the controversial Memogate scandal he was involved in and why he had to leave the country. This book had strong criticisms of Pakistan’s different governments but highlighted important events that went wrong, why they went wrong and how this had an impact on Pakistan/ U.S. relations. According to a Washington Post book review, He seems to be no friend of his homeland. Its leaders are liars, double-dealers and shakedown artists, he says. They have been this way for decades, and, as Haqqani ably documents, the United States often has served as Pakistan’s willing dupe. But for all its criticism of Pakistan, “Magnificent Delusions” is a necessary prescriptive: If there’s any hope of salvaging what seems like a doomed relationship, it helps to know how everything went so wrong. Haqqani is here to tell us (Leiby, 2013).

Moreover in another interview about America/ Pakistan relations, Dr. Mohammad Taqi seemed to support the American perspective. He gave an example that a few days back America had stopped Baitullah Latif in Afghanistan from undertaking terrorism activities in Pakistan. If America does not want peace in Pakistan then why did it stop the enemies of Pakistan? Moreover, on one side Imran Khan and Jamat-e-Islami parties protest and condemn the Peshawar market blasts and the church blasts and criticize the militants for destroying our peace. While

194 Khan is accusing militants of shattering peace in the country, he then wants to have peace negotiations with the peace destroyers. Furthermore, a journalist sent a message on Facebook and objected by noting that FATA problems have increased as the peace process has stopped. The anchor did not disagree with him but provided facts that problems in FATA were the same when Hakimullah Mehsud was alive and mentioned that he never wanted peace talks and never accepted Pakistan’s constitution. Facebook message by a journalist: After the death of Hakimullah Mehsud, the peace process has stopped, and the problems of the FATA people have increased. Anchor: When he was alive, he never accepted Pakistan’s constitution and said that he didnot support democracy. Also when he was alive he was never ready for the peace talks.

The death of Hakimullah Mehsud hampered the peace process between Pakistan and the Taliban and this also had an impact on Pakistan/U.S. relations once more. Deewa efforts indicate that as a public diplomacy instrument, it has to communicate clearly the American perspective to their target region. These interviews highlight the fact that this is not the first time there are problems and that the relations will get better after some time. Also, they provide the American perspective that they still are allies with Pakistan, they want to have peace there, and are not sabotaging any efforts to promote a peace process. Conclusion The content of 29 Deewa shows has been analyzed in this chapter. The findings and analysis in the chapter provides answers to the study’s first question: what is public diplomacy in practice? The findings from this analysis indicate that Deewa, operating as a public diplomacy instrument, is providing information on various issues related to its target region. In all the shows, the Deewa approach is overt and transparent. This transparency is seen whether it is in source announcement, or drone strike news or an editorial on the American perspective. Moreover, Deewa is serving as more than a public diplomacy instrument for information dissemination. Deewa attempts to inform listeners in a way that they become aware of their issues and rights. Deewa is trying to raise the consciousness of Deewa listeners about tribesmen’s deprivations. Deewa encouraged listeners to develop and get a better life. Deewa efforts are to make them aware of their rights and empower their voices. Deewa as a news and information broadcast service provides current news to their listeners. The focus of their news indicated that they give priority to the news of their target

195 region and discuss all the war, government, political, social and health-related issues in detail with additional reports on these. Drone strikes and terrorist attacks in the region, or any natural disaster, became part of their headlines. It is apparent that Deewa gives equal coverage to all news. However, in case of big news stories that can have a greater impact in the region, like the Peshawar bomb blast, the Hakimullah Mehsud death in drone strike, or the peace talks with Taliban, more coverage time and additional reports are assigned. All drone strike news items were in the headlines and were major news stories with additional reports. Deewa news on drone strikes, the death tolls of militants or innocent people come from the Pakistan security sources and from the Pakistani media sources. However, Deewa analysis on drone strikes and militant killings is the work of Deewa staff. Deewa is a news and information service, and they broadcast their headlines at the beginning of every show. This indicates that Deewa broadcasts drone strike news in every hour of the broadcast. It is apparent that Deewa is overt about drone strikes, gives preference to drone news, which is in the news headlines. Moreover, it covers these in detail with additional reports. Apart from news, Deewa broadcasts shows on drone strikes and presents reviews of experts and takes questions and messages from people about drone strikes. They also added the views of the Pakistani government, the views of various political leaders and religious scholars, and views of people in their shows whether they are pro-drone or anti-drone messages. Deewa also acts as a public diplomacy instrument by broadcasting the American perspective on its policies related to the target region. The Deewa approach is overt and clearly announces the American government perspective and source. However, in selecting editorials Deewa tends to prefer editorials that also explain the American perspective or support American policies. Moreover, anchors do not agree or disagree overtly with any of the perspective or listeners’ views but they tend to support the American perspective. This indicates their bias toward the American government perspective. Almost all the shows have many anti-Pakistan government sentiments and the news and views of Deewa also indicate the negligence and poor performance of the Pakistani government. However, since only a small number of shows were analyzed for this study, so we cannot say that Deewa promotes anti-Pakistan government views more broadly. Moreover, there are efforts to balance the views. Either government officials or ministers were invited onto shows, or a

196 Deewa correspondent would explain the government standpoint, contact them, or include their statements in the Deewa reports. Deewa is an American service and does broadcast American perspectives, but it is apparent that Deewa coverage is much larger concerning the issues of Pashtuns and tribesmen than for the American foreign policy views and standpoint. The editorials and reports from the American government were four to five minutes long while the newspaper editorials on American policies selected by Deewa staff were also four to five minutes long in a one-hour or two hour show. The rest of the forty five to fifty minutes of an hour in shows examined here discussed topics and conversations with the listeners that focused on the Tribal region. Deewa interactive shows tend to provide plenty of time for callers to speak and raise their questions. The idea behind the show is to generate two-way communication and Deewa attempted to be a forum for their listeners to discuss their issues and generate conversation. Listeners’ participation was noteworthy and they openly called in, and talked against America or against Pakistan or the militants. Moreover, listeners’ participation and especially female’s participation indicated their changing level of awareness, their raised voices claiming their rights, their changing attitudes towards favoring universally acclaimed values. This demonstrated a progressive social change, awareness and empowered local voices. It also enabled a space for community strengthening. The findings of awareness, empowerment and social change are unique to VOA Deewa case and cannot be generalized to overall public diplomacy, however, this contributes to the framework of public diplomacy. These findings, thus, provide answers to the study’s third question: How does Deewa contribute to public diplomacy’s existing framework? Deewa programming demonstrates some characteristics that are similar in both the public diplomacy and propaganda frameworks, thus providing answers to the study’s second question: to what extent does public diplomacy employ propaganda? It projects and explains the American perspective and objectives. Deewa practices include many public diplomacy characteristics that are absent in propaganda, including trust, credibility, two-way communication and relationship building. However, some characteristics of propaganda have not been found in Deewa practices; it is not a covert service, it does not lie or misinform, and is not a one-way communication platform.

197 CHAPTER SIX

VOICES OF LOCALS

Introduction

This chapter describes and analyzes the perspectives of receivers, those who listen to VOA Deewa. To examine VOA Deewa as a tool of public diplomacy and analyze the service as an instrument of public diplomacy, it is important to obtain and understand listener perspectives. This chapter describes opinions of the participants who are locals of the Deewa target region, their views about Deewa, and asks whether Deewa serves as an instrument of public diplomacy or propaganda, based on locals’ perspectives. To examine the VOA Deewa service from the locals’ perspectives, one hundred and one participants have been interviewed either through face-to-face individual interviews, telephone interviews or focus group interviews. There are three categories of participants; students belonging to the Tribal region but who reside in Peshawar for their studies and are not very regular listeners of Deewa, regular listeners who reside in the Tribal region, and Internally Displaced People (IDPs) who used to listen or still listen to Deewa and reside in IDP camps in Peshawar. The student participants are either in Bachelors or Master’s programs at the Institute of Management Sciences and University of Peshawar, while the local regular listeners and IDPs are mostly illiterate or have basic elementary education. Their views and opinions vary based on their education, awareness, ideology, and listening. All the focus group, telephone and face-to-face interviews were translated verbatim and transcribed by the author. The transcriptions were analyzed by qualitative content analysis as locals’ views were coded and categorized in themes using Nvivo software. This study uses the direct coding method, where the initial codes are derived from the literature. Thus, the themes derived in the literature about public diplomacy, soft power and propaganda (provided in literature review and methodology chapters) were used as a code guide. The text was coded based on the initial codes and was also open coded. The initial coding scheme includes: favorable attitudes towards ideology, foreign policy, building relationship and trust, conflict resolution, foreign public living in dispute, war or conflict, affected by enemy’s ideology, containing enemy’s ideology, two-way communication or participate in conversation and debate,

198 awareness of the source, one way communication or do not participate in the conversation, no feedback is taken, and unaware of the accurate source. The findings indicate that most of the listeners perceive Deewa to be a soft power tool that is working for their betterment and their region’s betterment. The regular listeners expressed their satisfaction with the Deewa shows and anchors because they feel represented through Deewa. They mentioned that Deewa serves as a university for them that brings awareness and information to them and gives them suggestions for solving their problems. Moreover, Deewa efforts are empowering locals’ voices by giving them awareness about their deprivations and the rights they deserve and by providing them with a platform to raise questions. However, some participants who expressed their negative attitudes towards America and American policies criticized Deewa as being an U.S. government mouthpiece, and serving American propaganda and anti-Pakistan views. Most of the participants mentioned that Deewa news is accurate and balanced, but participants, whether they do not like Deewa or are pro-Deewa, pointed out that Deewa news about drone strikes was inaccurate most of the time. However, participants with anti-American sentiments claimed it was U.S. propaganda while Deewa listeners who appreciated the Deewa service pointed out that most of the time drone news from any media outlet is not accurate. Findings, Discussion and Analysis This section presents the categories and codes along with locals’ perspectives, discussion and analyses of their perspectives. The responses of the participants were coded into ninety-two codes that include initial coding and open codes. These codes were then sorted out based on their similar meanings and similar themes and then grouped into thirteen categories. The categories are named after the main themes of the codes. News and information. This category is drawn from fifteen codes and five codes in-vivo that appeared in the participants’ responses. The initial codes that comprised this category are; balance news, biased news and ideas, correct information, credible, detailed news, incomplete information, information, overt and transparent, while the open codes are: Pakistan media, relevant information, current information, awareness, immediacy of news, local news sources, drone attack news, while the codes in vivo are; Deewa depends on correspondents, Deewa does not lie, do not stress the critical issues, they said reality (sach) about us, talk ethically and respectfully.

199 The codes appeared in response to questions about VOA Deewa: Why do you listen to VOA Deewa? How do you find the service? They were further prompted to talk about the news and views broadcast by VOA Deewa and were specifically prompted to talk about drone strike news if they do not bring it up by themselves. Participants expressed their attraction to Deewa because Deewa provides them with information about their area, and they like the news and information programs of Deewa since the programs are about the locals and their region. (dairai kha khabarai pakai kai) They have good talks, give us good information, they inform us about whatever happens in our area.

They talk about people’s situations, we get informed about situations and know about many things.

The IDP participants, though, have fewer resources in IDP camps and have to solve many everyday problems. These participants were regular listeners of Deewa before coming to IDP camps, and therefore still get their information from Deewa whenever they get time. It’s a good channel, as we are IDPs now so it keeps us updated about the situation here in this country.

Yes they do, e.g. it announces and informs victims to leave their towns and go to IDP camps (during operation) or get back to their homes, and they let us know what problems we have. They also discuss the issues face by IDPs etc., so they broadcast it through radio.

In IDP camps people do not have access to media outlets, but rather can listen to radio if they have the resources. The participants that used to listen to Deewa before coming to the IDP camp expressed the view that Deewa provided them with news and information about their region. I used to listen to Deewa radio to know about the news and to get information about the situation in the region.

Most of the participants liked the Deewa service and said that Deewa news was ‘kha barabar’ in Pashto. The literal meaning of barabar is balance but this expression is used when they are satisfied with something and they do not have any doubt about it. Their news is balance (kha barabar khabroona werkai) almost balance. They say whatever is happening.

200 Other terms that they use to describe the news and views of Deewa are ‘sahi’ which means correct, while they also describe it as ‘akhara’ the literal meaning of which is visible, but the expression means transparent or clear. Moreover, they associated their satisfaction with Deewa radio’s news. Yes I am satisfied, because it gives accurate (sahi) information.

Yes we are satisfied with it because its programs are very nice and its news are correct.

Alhamdolillah (praising God, a common expression that indicates person is happy with God for everything), Deewa radio is a good channel and provides good information, because they provide correct and clear/ transparent (akhkara) information.

They give correct (sahi) news and right (tik) news.

Most participants, especially the regular listeners and the IDPs, expressed the view that the Deewa news is correct and related to their region and their problems. They explained that Deewa coordinators visit them and talk to them and whatever they see they broadcast, therefore their news is correct. Yes everything they broadcast is correct, because they come here, visit us, get their information and then broadcast it.

Regular listeners of Deewa mostly listen to Deewa news and analysis and mentioned that their news and views are balanced. A few participants stated that Deewa news is correct and even used the term propaganda and denied presence of any propaganda in Deewa news. I only listen to the news and the questions that they ask each other. We only listen to the news and do not listen to anything else. Their talks are interesting and balanced (barabar) and they don’t do any propaganda or anything else.

They do not do any propaganda, they broadcast correct news.

We are satisfied, because they do not do any kind of propaganda. They show correct news, they do not broadcast wrong news.

Some students even used the term credible in expressing their views about the news of Deewa: Deewa provides credible information, they provide good broadcasting, so I hope that this is one of the good broadcasting channels.

201 Participants appreciated the news of Deewa for its immediacy and mentioned that their news is current (usani), fresh (taza) and relevant. It’s a good channel because whatever happens here, they broadcast it. Within an hour they give us the news.

Mashal News4 is not current. Rather VOA Deewa broadcasts the current and recent news.

Deewa radio has very good information programs and brings fresh and current news to us.

I listen to it because it provides good programs and current news, and broadcast news immediately and in time.

They provide relevant information and they provide correct information to the people so it is good service (mung sara taluq lari).

They are happy that someone is at least discussing their problems and making everyone aware of them, whether governments fix them or not. If there is any problem in the government or in our area, like the education or school, or water or hospital they do talk about it. At least this makes us happy that someone is talking about our problems whether anyone fixes it or not. At least someone took notice of it.

IDP participants responded about their problems and Deewa coverage. They mentioned that the Deewa coordinators come to their camps and broadcast their problems in detail (tafseel) in their news and other shows. It covers everything, they discuss the problems of IDPs a lot and in detail (zamong ma masalo kha tafseeli bayan werkai).

Though most of the participants stated that Deewa news is correct, current, detailed, credible and balanced, when prompted to talk about the drone strike news, the responses varied. Some participants who are regular listeners stated that Deewa news about drone strikes is also accurate and some denied the accuracy of drone strikes news. A few participants, while discussing Deewa news, brought up the subject of drone news although they were not prompted to, and mentioned that overall Deewa news is current and accurate but the news about drone attacks is not always correct.

4 Radio Mashal is a radio service initiated by Radio Free Europe/ Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) broadcast from Prague for the Tribal region of Pakistan and Afghanistan.

202 It’s a good channel. And the news, which is on air from this channel, is correct for instance drone attacks, which I listen to about North Waziristan.

The information about blasts, about drones, operations in the agencies, they give accurate information about all these.

They put the news on air immediately after any drone attack. No specific program mentions it but we listen to it in the news. The news about drone attacks is sometimes not correct, innocent people die in it but they call all of them terrorists.

Among student participants, whether they have pro-American views or anti-American views, all agreed that the Deewa news about drone strikes is not accurate. However, the students who appreciated the service pointed out that even the Pakistani media provide inaccurate news so they do not blame any foreign media for that. All of them pointed out that even if the innocent civilians die in the drone attacks, the media call them terrorists. They say whatever is happening. The majority of their information is right but there are some exceptional cases like the drone attacks. That is even our own media say that terrorists have died.

Even our own media informs that terrorists have died so the foreign channels would also say that terrorists died. So this is very common talk and majority (of time it) gives the right news.

Yes, Deewa broadcasted only whatever Pakistan told them about drones.

I want to add something. These students are saying that VOA calls them terrorists so when our own media are calling them terrorists so why a foreigner would call him right (means not terrorists). So when I am not right and my own media is not right and being a Pakistani I called them (innocent people) terrorists, foreign media people are not here, their reporters are here and are Pakistani, and whatever information will our reporters give them from here, they will share the same information. So if my media calls them terrorists and the foreign media (VOA) calls them a common people then this also creates conflict. They will say why the media here calls them terrorists and you call them common people, why? This will bring conflict, so that is why we cannot call that information wrong.

Apart from drone strike news, some participants pointed out that the Deewa news is a good source of information but the information is not always correct, or sometimes they do not cover critical issues, that the student explained when prompted, to be war operations: They listen to the local voices but if there is a critical problem they do not stress on that.

203 They would broadcast that terrorists have died, but it was not true and they did not actually die (padai zi kai (unclear) operation kai mar sho dehshetgarhd kho mra ba nao dehshaetgarh).

Yes, sometimes they broadcast something, which I think could have been said better in a different way. Sometimes they give some news about Miramshah (a small city in North Waziristan), which is not completely correct, but I do not think that it is their fault; they may not get the exact information.

A few participants who listened to Deewa regularly stated that if VOA Deewa is providing wrong news or is not covering an issue, it is not Deewa’s fault. They broadcast what they receive from here. The participants blamed the news agencies and reporters that send the news and recordings to Deewa in Washington D.C. Because they broadcast news from the station, whatever recording they get they broadcast it. If someone gives them the right news they broadcast it as it is and if someone gives them false information they broadcast it as it is.

They cover it sometimes but when someone does not provide correct information then they do not provide it correctly on air.

The findings in this category indicate that Deewa news is considered correct, accurate, balanced and transparent, but when it comes to the war and drone strike news, participants considered Deewa news to be incomplete and inaccurate. However, most did not blame the service for it rather they criticized the Pakistani media or the Deewa source for any misinformation or inaccurate news. The characteristics that appeared in this category are more matched with the public diplomacy framework. It is pertinent to mention that the literature suggests that the aims of public diplomacy are to provide balanced and correct news and information to the foreign audience. Though the finding in a few cases, like in some drone strikes, is different, this cannot be characterized as propaganda. In a propaganda program, misinformation or incomplete news is purposeful, while here it is not found that Deewa news is inaccurate on purpose in the case of drone strikes. Relationship and trust. This category is derived from four initial codes that appeared in participants’ responses; building relationships, trust, trustworthy, satisfied and an open code: meetings with locals. These codes appeared in responses to questions about why they listen to

204 VOA Deewa. They were also prompted to talk about trust and satisfaction. Do they trust VOA Deewa news or analysis? Why or why not? How do they define trust and satisfaction? Participants showed their trust and satisfaction in VOA Deewa. According to them VOA Deewa is trustworthy and they are satisfied with the news and shows that VOA Deewa broadcasts. Participants linked their satisfaction and trust to the news VOA Deewa broadcasts to the region, and according to them the news and programs are related to their region and inform them about the world and their region’s affairs. Yes we are satisfied with it. Because they broadcast whatever happens.

Yes people trust them because till now whatever news they broadcast was correct whether it is about the country or anything else.

Participants trust the VOA Deewa news and therefore trust the radio service. They explained that the news channel from the beginning provided them with correct news and still gives them all the information and the correct information. Since their information is correct from the beginning so the people now trust it.

However, one of the student participants pointed towards the reputation that VOA Deewa built in the very beginning has added to the building of trust. He mentioned that since VOA Deewa provided correct news from the beginning, now whatever they broadcast to the locals of Tribal region is trusted. One of the reasons is that whatever information they provide is correct and therefore people trust it. So now, whatever they say it people trust them.

One of the participants who listen to VOA Deewa regularly and have listened to the service since it was initiated even used the term propaganda and said that it is a trustworthy channel because it does not provide us with wrong news. We are satisfied, because they do not do any kind of propaganda. They show the correct news. They do not broadcast the wrong news.

Apart from the information provided, they also showed satisfaction that the VOA Deewa coordinators have built a trust relationship by visiting and meeting the locals and asking them about their problems. Yes everything they broadcast is correct, because they come here, visit us, get their information and then broadcast it.

205 They come here and ask us about our problems that we are confronting and then they broadcast programs on those issues. Deewa radio is a good radio station, they (reporters) go to the villages and to the tribes and whenever there is something new, they inform us about the situation.

Deewa radio’s contribution is that they interview people about their problems and ask them about their conditions, and they broadcast this.

The participants mentioned that they are satisfied because Deewa is much more aware of their region than even the locals are, and since they inform them about their crops, fields and routine life. They discuss the issues that are related to their everyday life. They are aware of our situation. Deewa is much more aware than us about our situation. The other night they broadcasted about wheat and its process and fields in their program.

A few participants showed much higher trust and confidence in VOA Deewa. They mentioned that they trust Deewa because it cannot provide wrong information to the listeners. A participant belonging to North Waziristan, and who is a regular listener, mentioned that people in his region trust Deewa news and views even if they missed some of the broadcast or some show, they still believe that Deewa cannot broadcast anything wrong. We live in hilly and rocky area, and it is hard to pay attention when we work and then there are sounds of various activities. We talk to each other and our mind is busy in work. Plus the sound of the crusher and compressor, so I never paid attention whether they said something wrong. But I know that whatever they say was accurate, and we agreed with them.

I had listened that once before and my family listens to it regularly. I will just say one sentence that it’s the/ a most trustworthy channel.

One of the student participants belonging to North Waziristan and her family listen to Deewa regularly. She mentioned that people in her region trust Deewa and listen to it regularly. In her town, all the people hold their radio sets and listen to Deewa for news, views and music programs. Interestingly she also mentioned that there is no other source of information in her town, and the only way of getting information is VOA Deewa. I want to say that whatever news they broadcast and give us the information. All in my region listen to the Deewa radio and they trust it without any doubt. They know it, they trust it because there is no other source. It’s only Deewa radio and everyone in their hands has the radio. Some are sitting inside the room, some are sitting outside of house, and they listen to the news and listen to every kind of program. They do not have any other source of information therefore, and also they become aware about everything, like

206 whether there will be a curfew and what is the situation of Pakistan, because we do not have any other source.

However, when she was prompted to talk about why people in her region listen to the Deewa all the time, she pointed out that because of curfews and war operations people do not have any work to do so they listen to the radio all day. Most of the participants showed their trust and satisfaction in VOA Deewa news and views, but some of the students did not trust the service. Those students earlier in the focus group had expressed their anti-American attitudes and repudiated any trust and satisfaction in the service when prompted to talk about trust and satisfaction. I am not satisfied with Deewa radio programs.

In response to the prompt that if they are not satisfied why do they still listen to it, a few responded that they do not have any other alternative to get information and even if they listen to it and are educated, they will not trust what the service broadcasts. People will listen but those who are educated mostly they will listen but they will not, you know, trust them.

The findings in this category point out that the locals trust and are satisfied with the service because of its news and views, since from the very beginning the service was broadcasting news about the region and about the issues and life of locals. They found the news to be correct, since the service broadcast what happened in their region or in-front of them, and since people believe what they see. The VOA Deewa coordinators have established links with the locals by visiting them and sitting with them in their shops or hujras (a room outside the house where only males can sit and have chit chat) and discussing their issues. However, a few students also pointed out that education plays an important role in building trust and satisfaction. Students who were more aware of the U.S. foreign policy and had anti-American views mentioned that people do listen to the service because they do not have any other media source to rely on. But if they are educated, then they do not trust everything the service broadcasts and therefore have low satisfaction levels. Interestingly, most of the participants who expressed their trust and satisfaction in the service were regular listeners but were either illiterate or had little education. Moreover, some students who stated that they are satisfied are not regular listeners of the service. Some, though,

207 appreciated the service for its news and views but still criticized American foreign policy and especially the drone attacks. The findings in this category indicate that according to the participants of the study, VOA Deewa, as a public diplomacy tool, has created a trust among many locals and has built a relationship by going to them, by meeting with them and by broadcasting their issues. Broadcasting news about whatever is happening in the region and the presence of VOA Deewa coordinators in the Tribal region and their closeness to the community people have strengthened that trust and satisfaction. The presence of VOA Deewa coordinators in the region indicates the overtness of the service, as the coordinators do not hide their source and reveal their connection to VOA Deewa while meeting with locals. The findings in this category incline more towards the characteristics of public diplomacy that aims to build trust and good relationships with foreign publics. However, it also indicates that the presence of some other media outlets and higher education level among locals could have provided different opinions, as some student participants indicated that they do not trust the service, since it is an American service. Two-way communication. Participants in their responses indicated that there was two- way communication. The open codes that appeared in this category are; calling, good response, unsatisfied with calling, telecommunication limitations, and code in vivo; broadcasted my views, calling is easy but never called, listen to our views, no charges for calling, telephone lines are busy, disconnect the call. These codes appeared when participants were prompted to talk about and provide their views about call-in shows. Participants agreed that people call Deewa and their voices are heard, and if their call is received, Deewa broadcasts their views. In this study, few participants have called into Deewa. Most of them did not, but they were able to respond as either their family members or friends have called Deewa. The participants who called Deewa and had their calls received expressed the view that there is a free land line number that locals of the Tribal region both from Pakistan and Afghanistan can use to call Deewa in Washington D.C. However, the number is either very busy, or, if it connects it is very rare that Deewa will pick it up. Participants stated that Deewa has always broadcast their views if their call had been received. Participants expressed the view that they have called Deewa and have talked to them about war and peace issues, and about American troops leaving Afghanistan, and Deewa has broadcast their views. Most participants

208 that call into the music shows, the business shows, or shows on social issues, were satisfied with the response of Deewa about their questions or concerns. However, they also pointed out that they do not always receive a positive or desired reply regarding more critical issues that include issues like war, drone strikes, and American troops. Yes they have broadcast my views, however they have not answered positively (musbat) but still have broadcasted my views.

My father used to tell me that come son there is a female and she will give you a good response and there is no charge for the call.

I have talked to them about peace, about American troops leaving (he meant from Afghanistan), our region’s issues and problems.

People call, they do listen to our views.

VOA Deewa has land line numbers that are free of charge, and locals from the Tribal region of Pakistan and Afghanistan can call Deewa in Washington D.C. Participants complained that in the Tribal region, due to war operations, most of the time the telephone landlines are not working or there are some hilly regions where landline telephone service is not even available, so locals cannot call Deewa. If they really want to call, then locals mostly call Deewa through their cell phones, which cost money. People do call them but phones are always not working. Even the phone in our own house is often not working.

The problem is that their phone call is free only through landline. But in our area we do not have landlines. We only have mobile phones so then we cannot call them.

There is no charge for calling, but the lines are busy or are not working. We try to call them but it is very busy.

I have made many, many calls, in the beginning of Deewa radio. Like five to six years ago I used to call them a lot and I used to talk to them every day. Sometimes they used to call me too but now there is unemployment, we do not have PTCL (landline), and it costs a lot on mobile phones. But if they would have called us we could have answered many questions and would have shared many interviews with them, but unfortunately we do not have those resources to contact them.

Some participants who have listened to Deewa since the service started expressed their anger because Deewa does not take their calls. A participant who is a regular listener used to call into Deewa. His views have also been broadcast. He revealed that in the beginning years Deewa

209 also called their listeners to talk to them in the show. They do not do it anymore, and the participant went on and mentioned that now Deewa does not take his calls, even sometimes when he has very important questions to ask. The participant said that he is even thinking of writing in the newspaper and asking locals not to listen to Deewa since they do not take our calls. I have complained many times, and I told Ibrahim Shinwari (Deewa coordinator) that I am going to say in the newspaper that no one should listen to Deewa radio because they do not attend our calls and the telephone is for us to call so they can hear our question and we can increase our information. If we have a question we spend time on calling and that’s how we miss the program and also our question remained unanswered. We want to understand and we have some questions, like a doctor. There are many other issues and problems for which we call but our calls are not received, and if out of 100% you get a chance, it will ring and no one answers it.

Participants also appreciated Deewa call-in shows; they expressed the view that the call- in shows are related to their routine life problems and issues. Deewa brings guest speakers onto shows that provide good and relevant information, and even give opportunities to the locals to call and ask their questions. Sometimes they do good programs, and there was a series of programs in which they are presenting the MNAs (Minister of National Assembly) of FATA and even they will call the federal ministers and sometime other officials. They were discussing with them the problems of FATA and they were also allowing the people of FATA to call them and to participate in these programs. So the people are doing this to present their problems before their MNAs and government officials. Sometimes that is also certain that if they know about their problem sometimes they also take some steps.

Though most of the participants appreciated the call-in shows, a few participants pointed out that if a caller says anything against the Deewa guest speaker or if they criticize something, their calls are disconnected and then Deewa does not give airtime to those callers anymore. They bring MNAs in their programs, and when they ask the MNAs about their work, and if the MNA says that they have done it but if someone objects and say they have not, then they directly disconnect the call.

If anyone criticizes them, they do not give any more time to them.

One of the characteristics of public diplomacy that distinguishes it from propaganda is the flow of information. In the public diplomacy framework, the flow of information is two-way while in propaganda model it is one-way. According to Lasswell (1948), two-way communication occurs when two or more persons perform the sending and receiving functions with equal frequency and are able to talk in the same frequency. A conversation is usually

210 assumed to be a pattern of two-way communication (Lasswell, 1948). In Schramm’s basic communication model, information flows through channels of communication that include the sender, message, receiver, noise and feedback. He described feedback as a receiver’s response to the sender and considered feedback to be central to two-way communication, since without it there is no dialogue (Duncan & Moriarty, 1998; Schramm & Porter, 1982). VOA Deewa, being a public diplomacy tool, is generating conversation and broadcasts three to four calls-in shows in a day; a morning show on social issues, a music show in the evening and political and business talk shows in the night. These call-in shows provide opportunities to the listeners to broadcast their views to the world and to Deewa. The communication process of Deewa does bring feedback, but does it generate dialogue? The findings in this category indicate that Deewa’s telephone lines, if connected, do broadcast listeners’ views. However, no participant expressed satisfaction with that feedback process. Deewa staff does listen and broadcast listener’s views, and satisfies them with responses in most of their social, business and entertainment related programs. Deewa fails to generate dialogue in critical issues of war and drone strikes. However, some participants do recognize that Deewa is a media outlet and cannot provide a satisfactory response itself but is a platform for voices that are broadcast to the world. Language and literacy. The open codes in this category are derived from participants’ responses about the language and literacy of the region and how Deewa is playing its role in these areas. These themes appeared in response to questions about the VOA Deewa service, and its shows and programs. Participants appreciated the service for broadcasting in the local language, Pashto, since the people in the Tribal region are mostly illiterate or have very minimal education. Most of the locals do not understand English or Urdu (the national language). Even student participants, whether they have anti-American attitudes or not, appreciated the service for broadcasting news and shows in Pashto, since the service is a source of information and entertainment for their elders who live in villages of the Tribal region. The people over there are not very educated, and as our parents they are uneducated and most of them are Pashto channels, so that is why they prefer it.

The information is in Pashto (language) and the old people like to listen to information and news so that is why they listen to it.

211 It’s a Pashtun channel and we understand Pashto and do not understand Urdu or other languages, and they air Pashto news correctly and keep us updated.

The advantage of Deewa radio is that it is in Pashto and the Tribal area people are not educated. They do not have any information about English and Urdu, and the advantage is that its news is in Pashto and everyone there knows Pashto.

In some areas of the Tribal region, people do not have any other source of media, and, due to war operations and curfews, they do not have any occupation or jobs. Thus, the only source of information and entertainment is radio, and they like it because it is in Pashto. Yes, because there is no other source of entertainment, they keep on listening to it for news updates and entertainment as well. And since most of them do not have any jobs (because of the operations) they do not have anything else to do so they keep themselves busy with radio as it comes 24 hours. Also they listen to it because of their information is good and because of the language it is easy to understand.

The literacy rate of Tribal region is just 22 percent, thus, most of the people do not even understand the national language and only understand the local language Pashto. Thus, Deewa is a good source of news and information that the uneducated can listen to and even understand. The channel is good. Many of the people of FATA are uneducated so it is good that they become aware of what is going on in the world in Pashto.

It’s a good channel and good for the person who is uneducated and has interest in listening to news, so they listen to Pashto channels a lot.

It’s in Pashto so it’s understandable to us. And we are uneducated so can’t understand other languages. That is why we prefer Pashto channels.

The framework of public diplomacy and propaganda did not address the language aspect, but language is an important dimension in persuasion and advocacy. Malone (1988) argued that to create understanding of our society and our policies, first we need to understand the culture, motives, history, psychology and certainly the language of the people with whom we wish to communicate (Malone, 1988; Potter, 2002). Language plays an important role in the persuasion process and affects listeners’ judgments of source credibility, attractiveness and likability. Language also affects listeners’ understanding, recall and comprehension of the message (Hosman, 2002). Since a majority of the locals are uneducated and most do not even understand the national language, the only way for the U.S. government to further its policies and ideas is in the

212 language of the people with whom they want to communicate. Also, by broadcasting in Pashto, Deewa builds trust and relationships and also creates source credibility. Both public diplomacy and propaganda involve persuasion and advocacy and both can use the language of the foreign public to create better understandings of their ideas and policies. Pashtun culture. This theme is derived from the open codes: Pashtun culture and codes in vivo; becoming part of hujra culture, Deewa is like a university. These codes appeared in the participants’ responses to questions about Deewa’s role in culture and more specifically in the Pashtun culture. Participants who are regular listeners greatly appreciate the service for broadcasting shows about Pashto songs, tapae (traditional and cultural songs of Pashto) music, stories, literature and poetry. They called it a cultural channel and mentioned that Deewa represented our culture and has presented it to the world in a good way. They play many songs of our Waziristan.

Yes it is a cultural channel. They say good things about us, and whatever we are, they represent us.

Yes they exposed our culture very well, and talked about our traditions and way of life.

In Pashtun culture, males of the village meets in a hujra and share their thoughts about issues, talks about routine issues, businesses and try to solve a dispute if there is any in the village. Hujra is like a room that is part of the house but is towards the outer boundaries of the house and females are not allowed to go in that room. Almost every landlord or the Malik (elder of the village) has hujra in the house and the villagers gather and meet in that hujra. Participants expressed the view that Deewa is becoming part of hujra meetings. Villagers listen to the news and views of Deewa in the night and when they meet the next morning they discuss whatever news and views that have been broadcast by Deewa. We all listen to the Deewa radio in the night and then next morning we all gather and discuss news and information aired on Deewa radio previous night.

Participants consider Deewa to be like a university that provides them with knowledge and awareness about everything. Participants made an analogy between Deewa and hujra, and mentioned that as in hujra all villagers meet and discuss issues, Deewa is serving as a hujra for them. Deewa also broadcasts a show that is named hujra in the nighttime.

213 Deewa radio is like a university or a hujra (a common place where villagers gather and meet). Just like in hujra every young person and elders meet, and all of them bring in different information. Some talk about the jirga (Tribal tradition of solving problems and disputes), and in Deewa they do a hujra in the nighttime. They do every kind of program and information, news and music programs.

Another tradition in Pashtun culture is gathering and meeting before or after prayers, especially in the evening. Males after performing evening prayers in the mosques gather and meet to discuss issues, and it is also a meeting like a hujra, but they meet outside the mosques. In my region when, because of culture we have a gathering before Maghrib namaz (evening prayers) and in front of the mosque, people discuss all these issues which are the part of current affairs. Most of the people you know do this with the reference of Deewa radio.

A few student participants that have anti-American views mentioned that Deewa radio through its programs is interfering in their culture. They saw the interactive shows as cultural interference. Because of the Deewa show for females, they say, Deewa is encouraging our females to speak and they broadcast their voices on the air. The entire world is listening to our females’ voices and this is against our religion and culture. We are famous as Pashtuns here that our females are in “Pardah” veil [not allowed to go or speak in front of men that do not have blood relation to them], and they access in our houses and only take the calls of our females in our houses. They record their songs, they ask our females to sing a song and they record their songs and they have violated our norms and pardah. They have access to our house very easily.

They are not trying to solve our problems but they are interfering in our culture and trying to make conflicts between the people and the government.

Some participants who listen to Deewa regularly pointed out that Deewa broadcasts music and literature of Pashto and never has broadcast American music or never has imposed or forced American culture on people of the Tribal region. They bring all Pashto music to us, say Pashto stories. They never put on any American music to us and they don’t tell us about American culture in a way, like asking us to wear jeans or anything else or wear no clothes.

Findings in this category indicate that Deewa, being a public diplomacy tool, is utilizing the cultural values and traditions to build a relationship of trust with the locals of the Tribal region. For public diplomacy to achieve its objectives, it is pertinent to know the culture of the

214 target people. Deewa, through shows on Pashtun culture and music and by adopting Pashtun ways of living like hujra in its shows, has established credibility among many of its listeners. Regular listeners’ affiliation. This category appeared, as there are some participants in this study who are regular listeners to Deewa and have been listening to it for many years. They not only listen to Deewa but they also have developed a strong and loyal attachment and association with Deewa. Listening to Deewa is like eating food every day. The codes that composed this category are all codes in vivo; listen to it with lots of interest, regularly listen to it, cannot sleep if I have not listened to Deewa, people forget to eat food but do not forget to listen to Deewa. These codes appeared when participants were prompted to talk about Deewa and provide their views about Deewa, and why they like or do not like Deewa. I cannot sleep if I have not listened to Deewa radio.

If I do not listen to Deewa radio, I feel as if I have lost something. I do not feel good, or I feel as I am been disconnected.

In our area, FATA, Deewa is very famous.

I listen to the Deewa radio regularly.

Most of the people listen to the Deewa radio.

People here are like, they won’t eat food but they will listen to Deewa News.

Participants mentioned their strong affiliation to Deewa because it broadcasts good shows on music and everyday life issues. Also it provides them with news and all of it is in their local language, Pashto. They give better information about situations, and if other channels exaggerate, they exaggerate less than other, and in Tribal areas people listen to it more.

They talk about every issue and topic and people like it so much because they talk on every topic. We really like their news that they talk in Pashto.

Everyone listens to it with lots of interest, like songs and music.

Participants who expressed strong affiliation with Deewa are mostly uneducated and live in the Tribal region and do not have any other source of media. Some of them were expressive in condemning drone strikes and wanted the American troops to leave. However, they were not aware of U.S. foreign policy or could not comment on that. Students who expressed their liking

215 for the Deewa service did not associate themselves strongly with Deewa but expressed their family’s strong affiliation and association with Deewa. Findings in this category indicate that Deewa is successful in creating its place in the hearts and minds of most of its listeners. Deewa, by utilizing the power of language and culture of the Tribal people in their shows, has created a strong affiliation and association, and locals refer to Deewa for their news and information. To persuade a foreign audience, it is pertinent to create trust and build relationships, and Deewa seems to achieve that especially among locals by using their language and culture. However, utilizing language and culture for persuasion is a common characteristic in both the public diplomacy and propaganda frameworks. Based on the finding in this category, we can conclude that Deewa being a public diplomacy instrument employs a persuasive strategy. Thus, Deewa includes propaganda to some extent, however, Deewa also attempts to build relationships and trust. Thus, these characteristics of public diplomacy distinguish Deewa from being a propaganda effort. VOA Deewa service as a platform. This category is composed by the responses of the participants who appreciate the VOA Deewa service and VOA Deewa shows and consider it to be a platform for getting information and entertainment, a source of awareness and a place to raise questions. The open codes that composed this category are: appreciation, agreement, likeness, interesting, variety, representation, preferences, knowledgeable, expert, belongingness, facilitate, entertainment, relevance, awareness, empowering local voices. The codes in-vivo are: good for the area, good radio programs, no one has ever objected on Deewa, positive image of Tribal people, promote good people, promote our culture, talk about our issues, their focus is on FATA, and they support FATA people. These codes appeared in the responses of the participants when prompted to provide their views about the VOA Deewa shows, programs and anchors. Most participants appreciated the service and expressed the view that Deewa was a good radio station. They mentioned that the service covers all the parts of the Tribal region, and it covers their problems, issues and everyday life. They stated that the service represents their region and the locals. Deewa is a good radio channel with good programs.

(Deewa kai dairai khoagai khabarai ai) Deewa is very good channel and brings good shows.

216 (Dairai kha khabarai pakai kai) They have good talks, give us good information; they inform us about whatever happens in our area.

Some student participants compared Deewa news with the Pakistani media news and mentioned that Deewa’s focus is on FATA while the rest of the Pakistani media mostly covers Punjab and other provinces. The Pakistani news stories are mostly about Punjab or Sindh, and their focus is only on FATA, KPK and Pashtuns.

Participants expressed the view that Deewa discusses their issues, brings the experts who can help them and guides them in solving their problems and bringing good solutions. IDPs also said that Deewa broadcasts special shows on the problems they are facing in the camps and brings their problems to the world through its service. Deewa represented us and would fix our problems (mung ba ai takleef na khalasol).

They guided us in solving our problems (mung ta ba ai lara azada kra).

Yes, all of us used to listen to Deewa, because they represent us, and used to help us a lot. Whatever problems we used to have, they would know about it (participant used to listen to Deewa before moving to Peshawar for education).

They guide us on how to be getting rid of problems and move towards development.

The shows were appreciated for their variety and therefore everyone can listen to them. Also the shows cover a range of social and economic topics. They have entertainment programs, like some Pashto music and poetry, that the participants like, and they mentioned that Deewa broadcasts the music of every agency of the Tribal region. It is not only news, there are many programs, like of poetry, music, and information. There are many good programs for everyone.

They talk about every issue and topic and people like it so much because they talk on every topic. We really like their news that they deliver in Pashto.

They play many songs of our Waziristan.

Participants appreciated the service and expressed that how much they like it. They pointed out that whether Deewa fixes the problems in the Tribal region or not, participants were satisfied that at least Deewa is aware of the problems. Participants mentioned that someone listens to them and broadcasts their views.

217 If there is any problem in the government or in our area, like the education or school, or water or hospital, they do talk about it. At least this makes us happy that someone is talking about our problems. Whether anyone fixes it or not, at least someone took notice of it.

Participants expressed the view that one of the big reasons for liking the service is that it is in their local language Pashto and it broadcasts shows about their culture and people, but more specifically about FATA. They further mentioned that Deewa supports FATA in social, economic and political issues and talks for their benefit. The first reason is that it is in Pashto and all their programs are about Pashtuns and especially on FATA.

They support FATA people.

They talk about our benefits and also represent us.

Student participants mentioned that Deewa represents their Tribal region and broadcasts positive and correct images of the Tribal region. They represent the Tribal agencies with a good image. They are our representatives.

They represent our Tribal region very nicely. If it is about education, power, water, health, Deewa radio (portrays the issues very clearly) in their programs and gives good analysis.

Some student participants expressed the view that the Deewa service was good for their area and helped locals. Due to the power shortage, radio is the only medium of information. Also, Deewa invited experts like doctors, educationists, and politicians to talk about the Tribal region and to give more awareness to people about education, law, politics, health and hygiene. Moreover, they mentioned that experts on Deewa made tribesmen more aware about their rights and deprivations, and then locals call them and ask questions about these rights. They are facilitating the people of Tribal areas because there is no such coverage of television and the BBC and VOA they are listening to over there.

Sometime the doctors come and they give good tips and news (awareness) related to the Pakistan conditions like about polio in Pakistan. Like lawyers come and they talk about constitutional rights of FATA people, and people call them and ask their questions.

They invite experts and people call them and ask their questions and ask about their rights, like complaints about the lack of schools and hospitals. People also ask experts about the war and drones

218 Furthermore, they mentioned that Afghanistan and Pakistan both do not give political and constitutional rights to the locals of FATA and therefore they are in this crisis situation. They pointed out that Deewa shows inform them about the opinions of the governments of Pakistan and Afghanistan, and tells these leaders about the Tribal people and their identity. Deewa radio is good in our area because there is no light and no facilities from the government side. Through Deewa radio, I do not listen to it but my family members listen to it, and they get informed a little bit about what is going in Pakistan and what is going on in Afghanistan. Because we the Tribal people, we are not considered by Pakistan and not by Afghanistan to be part of their countries. But at least we get informed about what the leaders of Pakistan think about us and what Kabul and Afghanistan say about us. So we get to know about something because now a day there is no light [electricity] where should we watch TV from, so we only have the radio. So we tune into it and get information from it.

An IDP said that this service is good for their area and shared his experience during the war operations in Miramshah (North Waziristan). He stated that during war operations Deewa correspondents visited them and then broadcast their problems. During curfews Deewa informed them about the situation of their town and warned them not to leave their houses, or announced when to leave the towns during war operations. This is for our betterment (unclear). There was bombardment on us (mung Bandai bambari wa) and no one was listening to us over there. Our children were killed and many were shaheed (martyrs) and then this Deewa radio team (means the team of Deewa radio visited them) went to that specific place and broadcast what is happening to us. We had a curfew for ten days and we live in mountains (ghrono khalaq yu). We are from Miramshah and could not go back, and we lost everything, and Deewa radio broadcast the problems that we were facing.

It announces and informs victims to leave their towns and go to IDP camps (during operations) or get back to their homes. They let us know what problems we have. They also discuss the issues faced by IDPs etc. and they broadcast this through radio.

Participants were asked whether they have ever felt offended by Deewa shows, or by anchors and their views? Have people of the Tribal region ever demanded the closure of the Deewa service? Most of the participants of the study agreed that Deewa has never offended anyone and there have never been demands to close it. Rather, people appreciate the service extension, from six hours to eight hours, and said that they agree with Deewa’s news and views. However, some participants who are uneducated could not comment on the question of offence or objection.

219 Deewa radio has never broadcasted any wrong news or has never said anything wrong. People listen to it with great interest and no one has ever objected on Deewa.

I agree with most of the talk shows as far I get them. Further I can’t say about offense because I am not literate to understand the depth.

If we were offended by it we would not listen to it, but we listen to it all the time.

Participants in the study mentioned that all the anchors on Deewa are very good, knowledgeable and experts, and most of all they are Pashtuns. They are aware of their culture, music and literature, so they represent them. We do agree with them, as most of the Deewa radio workers are from FATA, and most of them have studied from Gomel University and Peshawar University, like Sardar Ali Takar, Mohammad Alamgir, Behroz Khan, Rehman Buneri. These all are Pashtuns, they have been educated in these areas.

All are good, if it’s a female anchor or any other, they all talk in detail, ethically and respectfully. Every agency is represented by a Deewa correspondent, like we have one for Khyber agency, and all of them bring and discuss reports on that area, and we understand all of them.

Yes all are good and they represent us.

Some student participants who used to listen and whose families are still listening to Deewa stated that Deewa produces its shows based on preferences of the people of the Tribal region, and therefore Deewa is popular in the Tribal region. They are transmitting programs based on the preferences of their people, on the preferences and interests of their people. That is why the people of the Tribal area mostly like the Deewa radio. It is in a very simple language and the preferences of their people. For most of the people that’s why they listen to Deewa radio.

Deewa radio first looks to the local preferences then produces the program. Like this first Deewa radio looks into the interests of their people and then they produce the program.

Findings in this category indicate that Deewa, although operating as a public diplomacy tool, and a radio service of the U.S. government, it is widely covering the issues and problems of the people of the Tribal region of Pakistan and Afghanistan. Participants and locals expressed their approval and appreciation for Deewa as a channel that focuses on the problems of the Tribal region and Pashtuns. Also it is serving as a platform and source for raising awareness in the region about their problems. It brings solutions to their problems by inviting experts in the field

220 onto their shows to guide locals and talk to locals about their problems. Participants appreciated the efforts of all anchors, who are Pashtuns and are representing the Pashtuns and the Tribal region. Moreover, Deewa is attempting to empower local voices by building awareness and acting as a platform where locals can become more aware of issues and can raise questions about their rights. According to the public diplomacy and propaganda theoretic frameworks, both approaches and sets of practices aim to persuade the public in order to build public opinion in favor of the sender and their ideology. However, the framework of public diplomacy distinguishes its practices from those of propaganda and claims to have credibility and a trust relationship with their target audience. Credibility is the “audience perception of communicator” (Perloff, 2010 p.166) and it comes along with the expertise and trustworthiness. Expertise is the “knowledge or the ability of the communicator” while trustworthiness is the “perceived honesty, character and safety” (Perloff, 2010 p.166). Based on findings in this category, Deewa has built its credibility by having expert journalists as their anchors who are Pashtuns and belong to same region. The anchors are native to the region, are familiar with the cultural values and region’s problems, and broadcast shows accordingly and strategically. One of the values of the Pashtun culture is “Pashtunwali” that binds every Pashtun to respect every other Pashtun and therefore trust them. To locals of the Tribal region it does not matter who is funding the source, what matters is who is communicating to them. What are they saying, as Lasswell (1948) mentioned regarding communication, the important element is “who is saying to whom and what”. Thus, the locals trust and appreciate the anchors, when they hear their own people in their own language raise their problems and issues on the radio service. VOA Deewa further develops its credibility by inviting experts onto the show to communicate with the locals about their problems. They give them the tips to solve their issues and problems, talk to them through call in shows, and answer their concerns and questions. Locals feel represented as they and their problems are addressed by an international media outlet in their own language by their own people, and this builds their trust in the source and their belief in the source. Peace making and mode of change. This category is derived from an initial code: conflict resolution, and open codes: promote peace, and a mode of change and hope. These codes

221 appeared when participants were prompted to talk about VOA Deewa’s views about the conflict in the region and peace in the region. Participants expressed their understanding that Deewa is a media organization and cannot do anything for the region’s peace. But the radio service does broadcast programs in which the experts are invited to talk about the peace of the region. The guests they invite are Pashtuns and are from this area so they do talk about peace and want to have peace in this region.

When we listen to the Deewa, the guests they invite are the retired army men, or renowned journalists. So when they talk they also say that this war is not the solution of this problem.

Some student participants reflected on the efforts of Deewa to promote the local people who are actively working for the region’s welfare by talking to them on the telephone. That encourages other locals to get involved in this welfare work, as that will develop the region. They said that Deewa efforts show that they are promoting peace in this region. They are promoting the people who are doing good in their society. They are showing the listeners that there are some people who are advancing the welfare for the society, so I think they are promoting peace.

Locals expressed hope in the Deewa service and consider it to be a mode of change. They mentioned that Deewa is a great source of information and awareness and since people listen to Deewa it could be utilized to develop the region. A student participant from North Waziristan wanted Deewa to produce more educational programs in Pashto. I want to say, because it is a very a great channel and everyone likes it a lot and I want that they improve their programs more so people like it even more. Since people are not educated, they should make more good programs in Pashto so people can take more interest in it and people become more motivated towards education.

Student participants expressed the view that media in general and Deewa specifically can be a great tool for bringing peace in the Tribal region. They said that Deewa, by broadcasting shows on peace talks, can change the thinking of people of the region. Yes they can do it, because radio is a source of media, and by listening to it things can be changed, e.g. when we do therapy and if we can convince someone for suicide then we can change situation through peace talks. Yes, a foreign channel can play a role in it, can give accurate news and reinforce people moving towards positive directions, and they can play best role like that.

222 Furthermore, they mentioned that Deewa could also change the image of the people of the Tribal region, who are considered terrorists in the world. Rather Deewa can project the message that they are peace-loving people and do not want wars and conflicts. The people that live in other places like London, they only think that in FATA just the terrorists live. If they want they can change the perception of the people. They think there are no peace loving people, they have not seen this place, so when they come and see our people that we all want peace. So they (international broadcast) can play a very important role here if they want, because some call us terrorists, though we are peace-loving people.

I say that to the foreign people they give a message that people say that they are terrorists, they are this and that. Actually there is nothing like that. If they get the access to here, they will get the opportunity to see that how much we love peace. But no one wants that, not a single channel has ever come forward and said that we are peace-loving people. There is only people’s perception that is made that these people are terrorists and they do not want peace. Actually they are not aware that most of all we want the peace. We need peace so they only say that only terrorists live there, they have to change the perception of the people.

Findings in this category indicate that locals and listeners to Deewa appreciate the service, and due to Deewa’s shows on FATA’s political and social situations, are hopeful that Deewa could become an eminent source of bringing positive change in the region. Locals are hopeful that Deewa through its shows on peace can raise awareness among the people for the peace of the region. They would also like to see Deewa help to change attitudes in non-Pashto audiences around the world. Handelman (2008), argues that public diplomacy could be an important platform where people could be involved in the peacemaking process. He further argues that public diplomacy plays a crucial role in building and shaping public opinion and therefore listeners could also come together and suggest problem resolutions to leaders. VOA Deewa, being a public diplomacy instrument, is playing a vital role in bringing awareness, and therefore locals have also tied their broader hopes and expectations to Deewa. They view Deewa as an instrument that can play critical role, not just in changing the thinking of locals, but in projecting a positive image of the FATA in the world, and also advancing peace in the region. American culture and ideology. This category is derived from five initial codes that were inferred from participants’ responses: advance foreign policy and ideology, American culture, American station, promote American ideology, promote diplomacy, and two code in- vivo: they promote America, and they support America.

223 The theme appeared in the participants’ responses when they were prompted to comment on their views about VOA Deewa and in their views about the purpose of initiating VOA Deewa. Why do they listen to or do they not listen to VOA Deewa? Why do they like or do they not like VOA Deewa? In response to these questions participants who are regular listeners, and are either illiterate or have very little education, appreciated the service and praised it since it provides them with information and keeps them aware. Then they were prompted by more specific questions about whether Deewa praises American foreign policy. Do you get information about American policies through VOA Deewa? In the responses, they claimed ignorance on these issues: “we do not know about this”, “we do not understand this” and “you know madam we are uneducated, we do not know about these things”. However, when they were prompted to talk about America and drone strikes their views were different and some were anti-American and anti-drone, while some were only against drone strikes. In order to get their views on whether VOA Deewa promotes American culture and ideology, it was pertinent to know their awareness of American culture and through what sources they know about American culture. To explore these questions, they were prompted to give their views about American culture and whether Deewa informs them about American culture and way of life. They responded that they are informed about the better ways of life, law and order, education and health facilities of America and pointed out that they understand that America has peace. They also said that America has taken our peace or is not doing anything to bring peace in our region. I have heard that in America and in other countries and areas, wherever people live, they do their prayers and they are not stopped from doing that. I have heard it and that’s how it is [the participant is referring to the Muslims living in America and the rest of world who are not stopped from observing their religion].

It is a good place to live, to have education (taleem), good health (sehat), law (kha police ao qanoon) and peace. But they have taken our peace and have not done anything for the peace of our region (aman dai kho zamong aman ai tabah ko ao mung ta aman na rakai).

In the radio they tell all good things about the world, like it’s good for people like us who are uneducated (unclear). But they are educated and rich people, and our culture and their culture is different like earth and sky.

The student participants were more expressive and aggressive and brought in the subject of American culture and American policies in reference to VOA Deewa. They expressed anti-

224 American attitudes in their responses, and mentioned that since it is an American channel, the purpose of Deewa is to advance American culture and ideology to Pashtuns. These participants expressed their distrust in the news and information of VOA Deewa since it is an American station, and branded the service as promoting American ideas. Try to promote western culture in our region.

The information is not completely balanced, it is biased. I think these are according to the, these are the VOA, so obviously, they will discuss the American ideas.

The student participants raised their objection against the female and male anchors chatting in the show and pointed out that this is part of the American culture and society and not part of the Pashtun culture and Muslim societies. They are sitting in Washington DC, they are enjoying the beach. Maybe they are doing their show in the beach, but still the way they are promoting that kind of culture is not totally acceptable in our culture. So yes there is a caller show but the caller show also has logic behind which tries to promote the western culture in our society, which is not acceptable.

First we are Muslims and then we are Pashtuns, and in Muslim cultures such kinds of talking are not allowed on air, you know, when a boy and a girl are sitting together and they are talking very freely.

During one of the focus groups, students disagreed with each other, as a few appreciated the Deewa shows and mentioned that Deewa shows are about our own culture, and that they bring Pashto songs and music to us. The other students negated their arguments and mentioned that while Deewa broadcasts Pashto music and songs, the way the anchors interact and talk with each other is not acceptable in our culture as it is not our culture. I agree with these songs, that is our culture yes and our Pashtun brothers and sisters are the musicians. But the way they are talking during that show, have not listen, then listen to that show. So that is why you do not know about that show. When you listen to that show, I hope that you will clear about my point what kind of cultures and you by yourself will understand, what kind of culture they want to promote.

Student participants mentioned that the American government has a double policy regarding war and drone strikes in Iraq, Afghanistan and Pakistan. Deewa only broadcasts drone strike news but does not raise the issue that innocent Muslims are dying in these strikes. They pointed out that Deewa represents Pashtuns, but it is an American station, and through international media, Americans promote diplomacy.

225 They only broadcast the news about drones, and then people tell them that it is not good, and all Muslims, especially Pashtuns and innocent people have died in it and America has a double policy. America itself is terrorist and especially from Muslims they have made terrorists and then they went to Iraq for weapons and then there was nothing there, where did it go. No one saw it from their eyes, where did it go, media should bring this topic that they attacked Iraq that there are mass destructive weapons in Iraq, so where did it go? Then they came to Afghanistan, and so due to the war so many kids become orphans, women became widows. Now they are saying they will do this and that, but have not done anything. We are against American policy; they do not have any respect for us.

Actually Deewa radio represents Pashtuns and Pashtuns are working in it but this radio actually is American. Through international media they can promote diplomacy.

It is evident in participants’ responses that the major reasons for anti-American attitudes are drone strikes and war operations. In our area (Yakaghund) the drones attacked. One day prior to that they announced, come and collect the aid, as our area is all affected. So all people, fathers and brothers, all of them went there and all of them were attacked by a drone. More than a week it took for all these deaths. Thousands of people died, no one said anything. Kids died in it, houses and schools were destroyed, my college was destroyed too even it is still destroyed and no one said anything. Rather government did not let us into that area. We have a small local police and there was no army, now after that attack the army came to our area. All our uncles were dying and we were not allowed to go closer to them. All this is happening to us because of them (America), so with Pakistan, they should stop the drone attacks.

The conditions here are worse because of America. Because of their presence we do not have peace here. If they leave Afghanistan and go back to their own country, because of that Afghanistan, Pakistan and the Tribal region will have peace and the drone attacks and what they call terrorism will be stopped

Furthermore, the student participants pointed out that with the Deewa shows and programs, the U.S. government is trying to promote an image that Americans care for the Tribal people. However, Deewa will not be successful in this effort, and the hatred, questions and concerns will increase with every drone attack in the Tribal region. If anyone criticizes them, they do not give any more time to them. They try to spread the American image here and if there are any questions in people’s minds they try to finish (subside) those questions. But they do not finish or end because people have practically felt those and the number of questions in their mind is increasing due to the drone attacks. These questions do not end because of their shows and talks. They (Americans) are doing it right to finish terrorists but rather children and innocent people are dying. This is very wrong. These questions do not end. No matter how much they try. These questions and

226 the thinking of local people will never change, no matter how much they try; these efforts of (VOA Deewa / American government) will fail.

Student participants stated that Deewa promotes American policies and approves of drone strikes. They also mentioned that Deewa presents the news in a way that elicits a conflict between the locals and the Government of Pakistan. They promote it and they say it is right and terrorists died through drone strikes. They also want to create conflict among the locals of Tribal region and government of Pakistan. They totally do the promotion of America, and no matter how much they try, this cannot be successful.

Some student participants who used to listen now cannot listen to Deewa because of their studies. Their families and friends back in the village do listen to Deewa and are regular listeners and even appreciate the service. These students expressed the view that since Deewa is an American radio service, people perceive it to be a promotional tool of America. They mentioned that if this radio service proves itself to be free and not controlled by the U.S. government and can be separated from the American government, only then it could play an important role in the peace-building process of the region. It is a good service but since it is associated with the U.S. government, it fails to influence people. The people over there have a common perception that these radio stations are funded by the U.S. so you know that thing that these radio stations broadcast all those things which support the U.S. agenda. It’s not free (means controlled) you know as a source of information that’s why this radio station is not able, cannot be able, to prove itself as a free and you know fair radio station. So I think it will have a good role in this peace building process.

The literature on VOA suggests that while it was operating as a war propaganda tool during WWII or operating as a public diplomacy tool during the Cold War or Vietnam War, the objectives during those times were to advance capitalism, American culture and ideology, and to contain fascism or communism. Thus, the code ‘advance foreign policy and ideology’ was the part of initial coding scheme here, and scholars have identified it as a common characteristic of both public diplomacy and propaganda. This code, and similar meaning codes appeared extensively in the responses of the some participants. The findings in this category varied with the education, knowledge and awareness of the participants. The student participants were more vocal and expressed anti-American attitudes more aggressively than the participants who were either illiterate or have little education.

227 Students have more knowledge about American foreign policies and political conditions of the Tribal regions than the locals who are uneducated. Promoting national (American) culture or the American image is one of the characteristics of both public diplomacy and propaganda. Government organizations involved in propaganda or public diplomacy strive to bring about favorable attitudes and build favorable images. Based on participants’ responses about VOA Deewa as an American station and a tool to promote American foreign policy and American ideas, Deewa is overtly doing it through their shows. However, public diplomacy practices differentiate from propaganda when image-building efforts also build trust and credibility. Based on the findings it can be implied that the image- building efforts may have influenced the locals who are not educated, as they trust the Pashtuns working in Deewa radio service. However, Deewa’s efforts are not successful in changing the attitudes of students who have anti-American sentiments. The persistent anti-American perception can be attributed to the American foreign policy of targeting the region with drone strikes. As emphasized by the public diplomacy framework, to be effective in their effort to change the mindset of the local community the Deewa service needs to establish its own image as a neutral and unbiased source of information. Drone attacks. This category is derived from the initial code: hatred, and open codes: drone attacks, strike, objection, anger, and a code in vivo: never have condemned (drone attacks) or expressed sadness. These codes appeared when the participants were prompted to talk about VOA Deewa news and the overall service. Most participants brought up the subject of drones in their responses to news questions while some were prompted to talk about the drone strikes and drone strike news. Some participants who listened to Deewa regularly mentioned that Deewa has broadcast many programs on drone strikes. Though they condemn the drone strikes, they also pointed out that drone strikes are crucial and that there is no other way of containing enemies. The locals did not use the word terrorists or militants for the Taliban rather called them ‘dukhman’ (enemy). They have broadcasted many programs on drone attacks.

With drone attacks the problem is that the innocents also die in these attacks, but without drone strikes it is also impossible. So it’s this kind of thing.

228 If there were no enemies there will be no drone attacks, but because these people (referring to militants/ Taliban/ terrorists) are staying here so due to them there are drone attacks. There will be no drone attacks if there were no enemies there.

All participants pointed out that Deewa does broadcast drone strike news and has broadcast some shows where they invited military people, politicians and local leaders as guests to discuss the drone strikes issue. However, Deewa has never condemned drone strikes nor has it expressed its disapproval, nor have listeners heard any American official condemning or disapproving the drone strikes. Deewa radio only broadcasts the news and does not give an opinion, like whether it is good or bad. But it is not good.

They do tell about how many people died but I have never heard that they have condemned it or expressed their sadness about it.

Whenever there is a drone attack they broadcast the news about when and where the drone attacked, and how many have died or were injured. But they have never talked against America, that it was bad, and have never said that any American organization or American people or president have considered it wrong or have condemned [the strikes]. They should condemn it and say that the Tribal people are peaceful people and they want peace and these drone attacks are vicious and cruel. We want to have education and serve our country better.

Participants expressed their hatred for American policies due to drone strikes and pointed out that drone strikes are not the solution to this war. All the Tribal people are against drone attacks, since due to one drone attack, the whole village gets destroyed and innocent people die in it. Locals have shown their anger through strikes and protests and have demanded a stop to the drone strikes, but no one listens to them. This attitude of the government towards the Tribal people has further inflamed their hatred for America and American policies. They should have done a slow and steady operation, but because of drone strikes there is hatred in people for them because the innocents die in it and that creates hatred among people.

People get very upset and even they do strikes. They demand to stop the drone attacks, because it is cruelty to them. With one drone attack many people get, like wherever there is a drone attack, the whole village is like a funeral and many people get hurt. And then people want to help and support the facilities and demand to stop the drone attacks from the government and that is it.

229 According to PEW research, drone strikes are one of the main reasons for anti- American attitudes among the Pakistani people and also among the Tribal people (Pew Research Center, 2012). The same study indicated that participants have shown anger against the drone strikes and American foreign policies. The aim of public diplomacy in this case is to use the soft power to bring about favorable attitudes among foreign publics towards American policies in general and towards U.S. foreign policy in particular. Based on the findings in this category, VOA Deewa acting as a soft power tool of American public diplomacy program is not achieving the objective. The locals do seem satisfied and appreciate the news for its accuracy, but when it comes to war news or drone attacks news or views, most of the participants expressed their disapproval of the accuracy of Deewa news. They pointed out that Deewa views are not inclined towards the condemnation of drone strikes. The participants still express their anti-American attitudes, which indicate that the soft power tool is not successful in creating the favorable attitudes towards American foreign policy in the war and drone strikes. To bring about favorable attitude change, the framework of public diplomacy suggests that the foreign public should trust the soft power tool. Participants in general trust the Deewa service; however, it is not successful in achieving the overarching aim of public diplomacy, which is to bring more favorable attitudes toward American foreign policy. According to Peters et al (1997), trust is composed of commitment to a goal, competence, caring and predictability. Commitment is further based on the perception of objectivity, fairness and information accuracy and it gives an understanding of openness and honesty (Peters, Covello, & McCallum, 1997). Thus, if VOA Deewa is not open about the American foreign policy and is not providing time and efforts addressing the locals’ thoughts, and fails to provide accurate information about critical matters, it cannot bring that trust and furthermore cannot build favorable attitudes. Rely on Deewa radio. This category is composed of open codes that include: clear transmission, longer service, no TV or cable, power shortage, few TV channels, and codes in- vivo; no other media, no other source of entertainment, pass time as have no occupation, more than one radio channel, we listened to it whether right or wrong. These codes appeared on prompts about why they listen to Deewa and why they do not listen to other radio stations or TV channels instead.

230 Participants expressed the view that Deewa radio has a very clear transmission signal, they do not have to tune it (it comes on a fixed frequency but for other channels like BBC or some FM radio channels they have to tune their radio sets), and participants in some regions can only receive Deewa’s clear transmission. Other transmissions are not clear as compared to VOA Deewa.

VOA Deewa comes straight, on 972 it comes.

Participants did not only express their reliance on radio, but in some areas they rely only on Deewa. They pointed out that radio provides them with information, because they cannot go to work due to war operations, they cannot go outside their houses due to curfews, they do not have any other source of entertainment and information. Also there is no power and in some towns there is no other radio service and only Deewa could be heard. Also Deewa radio has a longer service, broadcasting 24 hours, and no other radio channel broadcast is that long. Also, in a few towns, Deewa is the only media outlet for news and information. Yes, because there is no other source of entertainment so we keep on listening to it for news updates and entertainment as well. And since we most of us (referring to people of her village) do not have any jobs (because of the operations) we do not have anything else to do. So we keep ourselves busy with radio as it comes 24 hours. Also we listen to it because of their information, it is good and because of the language it is easy to understand.

Yes everyone likes it and listens to it because we don’t have any other source of entertainment or information and news update, and it has good shows.

Yes I liked Deewa. It has no lie in it. Everything was correct in it and we only had Deewa there.

People listen to radio because of the power shortage.

Even the student participants expressed their reliance on Deewa because there was no power and no other media outlets in most of the Tribal region. We mostly rely on Deewa radio because there is no light inside FATA and there is no cable connection inside FATA. We do rely on radio.

We do not have cable, but people have satellite dishes installed at their homes. But in 100% only 10% have dish, and there is no cable here. But even if you have TV it does not matter, as there is a power shortage.

231 Everyone wants to be informed these days, as it is an information technology era and everyone wants information. Secondly it is source of entertainment and is available 24 hours so it keeps people busy. And as there is no TV there, so people have radio to get information.

Some participants mentioned that BBC is also heard in many of the Tribal regions but its transmission is small, and also they have to tune it and it is not very clear. They also pointed out that Deewa and Mashal (another American radio service in Pashto broadcast from Prague under RFE/RL) are broadcast on the same frequency. When Deewa’s broadcast is over, Mashal broadcasts its shows on same frequency, thus the radio broadcast is for 24 hours. We also like BBC, but BBC comes in the morning and evening in specific times but Deewa is on all the time.

Deewa and Mashal come together. When Deewa ends, Mashal starts, so they come on same frequency. In the morning at 9am Deewa ends and Mashal starts and goes till 6pm, and then Deewa starts again.

Participants did express their liking for Deewa but pointed out that they do have to rely on whatever Deewa broadcasts, as they do not have any other choice. Some IDPs that used to listen to Deewa in their home town also said that they have to rely on Deewa for information, so it does not matter whether they like or trust it or not, this is the only source. Yes I listened to it over there (in North Waziristan), whatever they said we listened to it, whether right or wrong.

Whatever they (Deewa) said in news they used to base their discussion on it, so we did not have any other source of information, so whatever they said we used to listen to it.

It does not matter whether I like them or not, we had to listen to them, so whatever they say.

The Tribal region is the most underdeveloped region of Pakistan and more than sixty percent of the population lives under the national poverty line. It is one of the poorest regions with high unemployment, high illiteracy and an underdeveloped infrastructure. War operations and drone strikes have further deteriorated the infrastructure and the living conditions of the people. The geographical location and the mountainous terrain of the Tribal region make it more difficult to provide them with basic infrastructure. Some of the hilly areas do not have electricity facilities and most of the Tribal region is facing large power shortages. The region is deprived of media infrastructure as well and has few venues providing information. People do not get any

232 cable channels, as the region does not come under the jurisdiction of Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority. They can only get a few television channels through satellite in a few regions. Most of the Tribal people, due to poverty, cannot afford television sets, and those who have television sets can hardly watch them because of electricity/power shortages (participants refer to this as light shortages). There have been three FM radio stations within the region since 2004; Radio Khyber in Khyber agency, Radio Razmak and Radio Miranshah in North Waziristan, but all these were closed in 2013 due to lack of resources. The Tribal region gets a few FM radio channels like Buraq, Radio Pakistan and international broadcasts like BBC, Mashal (VOA), Deewa (VOA) and Radio Ashna (VOA). Except for VOA Deewa, all the other radio services cannot be heard clearly or widely in the Tribal regions. The transmission depends on the infrastructure and closeness to the settled regions. The transmission varies with the geographic location, as the towns close to the settled area have better transmission than the hilly regions and regions close to border. According to a report submitted to UNESCO, “radio is the primary and most consumed form of media in FATA. According to FATA Communications Strategy report of 2009, over 80% adult men and over 70% adult women regularly listen to radio (Jahangir, Khan, & Hussain, 2011). The facts and statistics indicate the reliance of FATA people on radio and the importance of radio in this region for information and entertainment. VOA Deewa plays an important role in informing the Tribal region people. Tribal people appreciate the service for its news and entertainment shows, and most of the participants trust Deewa for its news. However, the findings in this category indicate that people in most of the Tribal region have limited options for getting information and since Deewa is the only source they have to rely on it. One-way Communication. This category is derived from the three codes, that include the initial code: one-way communication, and code in-vivo: we listen to your Deewa but no one has listened to us, and takes our voices to the responsible people there in America. These themes appeared in response to questions about their views about VOA Deewa call-in shows, and how satisfied the listeners were with the call-in shows. Most of the participants never called Deewa during call-in shows. However, those who called have expressed their dissatisfaction with call in shows, that either their number is either

233 busy or their calls are not answered. One participant, who is a regular listener of Deewa since the start of its transmission, replied that in the beginning he used to call Deewa in their call-in show and his calls were received. Sometimes Deewa even called him during their shows to talk about an issue. But he is very disappointed now as Deewa does not take or receive his calls in the call- in shows anymore. Yes they do talk about the region’s peace, but as I said they should also listen to our voice and it was good when they used to hear our voice through mobile (cell phone). Now they do not call us so we would say that there would be some people that are more thoughtful people and they call them.

Some other participants expressed the view that it is an American station and since they do not have any other source of media they had to listen to Deewa. They want Deewa to broadcast shows on certain issues for which they called into Deewa shows, but their calls have not been answered. It is American radio, and we sometimes have the objection that they should also present reports that show people’s needs. However, it is American organization but it is media and we do not have cable or TV. Therefore we listen to radio as they talk about everything, but when they have programs where we can call, when we have a question or we want to say something, that call or question has not been answered.

A few participants have called Deewa, and their calls have been answered and views have been broadcast. They still expressed their dissatisfaction and anti- American views. They want their voices to be heard by policy makers rather end in the air. Yes they do broadcast, but they should take our voice to the responsible people there in America and convey our views to them, and should do something about it, and they should leave others’ country (Afghanistan) and go back to their own country (America).

Participants pointed out that they listen to Deewa and addressed the American government. Locals listened to the American radio service but in return no one listens to them. When prompted about how they know that no one is listening to them, they explained that the war operations and drone strikes are still going on, and this explains that no one is listening to their demands. Since locals feel that their voices are not heard, their anti-American attitudes flared up more, and they demanded that American forces should leave. Locals expressed their anger that the Tribal people are peaceful and want to develop, but due to wars and the presence of forces (first the Russians and now the Americans), the Tribal region is suffering.

234 Who listens to us/ we listen to Deewa but no one listens to us. It is very unfortunate that no one listens to us, someone should listen to our voice. We listen to your Deewa but no one has listened to us.

If they would have conveyed it then there wouldn’t be any wars, drone attacks or operations or any bad conditions. It is just because of Americans here in this region we have all these bad conditions.

Our suggestion is that they should bring people’s problems and issues to the forefront and show them to the world. Tribal people want education, peace and want to protect themselves from the cruelty and viciousness. Tribal people do not want terrorism and we have always been targeted. We suffered when Russia invaded Afghanistan and now the Americans. Due to them, we are suffering and are moving to other regions and are living in camps, all because of these conflicts.

Public diplomacy aims to bring debate, conversation, and should have a two-way communication flow where the message is not just one-way. The findings here indicate that VOA Deewa in some instances is perceived as one-way, as it is bringing in the American message but is not listening to the locals’ messages. If Deewa is even listening or broadcasting the views of locals, with this service the locals are not satisfied. They want their voices also to be heard by policy makers, which they think is not happening, as they do not see any result of these concerns or changes in the American policies on the war or on drone strikes. The one-way message fails to bring conversations, and that further fails to bring trust and satisfaction that is important to build favorable attitudes. One-way communication is a characteristic of propaganda, where the sender or messenger keep on sending one-way messages and do not gather any feedback from the other side. Based on this category, participants have indicated presence of propaganda characteristics in VOA Deewa practices. Propaganda. This category is derived from the initial codes such as covert, nontransparent, deceive, exaggerate, inaccurate, lies, propaganda, no propaganda. The open codes are: brain washing, curious, doubt, disappointment, escalate matters, and code in-vivo is; there is no lie in it (iss darogh nishtai dai kai). These codes appeared when participants were prompted to provide their views about VOA Deewa. Some participants used the word propaganda in their responses while those who did not were prompted to talk about propaganda. All the participants were also asked to define propaganda or what was their understanding about

235 propaganda, in simple words. Also, they were asked; why do they think, or why do they not think, Deewa is propaganda? This study evaluates Deewa as a public diplomacy instrument and examines whether it is involved in propagandistic patterns or not. Some participants mentioned that it is propaganda while other denied that Deewa was involved in any sort of propaganda. Since it is critical for the study to find out whether Deewa is acting as a propaganda tool or not, participants were specifically asked this question and were requested to elaborate on their opinions. The following tables illustrate the opinions of the participants. The tables illustrate participants’ opinions, their listening attitude and their categories; students, regular listeners (locals) and IDPs. The table indicates the number and type of participants that view Deewa as propaganda or not propaganda.

Table 6.1: Yes, Propaganda Participants Number Deewa Themes Listeners Students 6 Yes Anti American attitude, exaggerate, promote American ideology and culture, Students 5 No escalate conflict, inaccurate news about drone attack victims, violate Pashtun culture

Table 6.2: Not Propaganda Participants Number Deewa Themes Listeners Students 7 Yes Good radio station, good programs, agree, satisfy, accurate Students 5 No information, trust, represent Tribal region, talks about our Locals 4 Yes issues, clear and correct (Telephone interviews) information, balance News, positive image of Pashtuns IDPs 7 Yes

236 Table 6.3: Maybe or Neutral (Propaganda) Participants Number Deewa Themes Listeners

Students 5 Yes Neutral, no proof, no evidence, in few incidences, sometimes provide Students 4 No inaccurate information

IDP 1 Yes

Participants expressed the view that propaganda is an exaggeration of something, non- transparency, inaccuracy or lies about something that did not happen, and promoting the point of view of one side. Most of the participants who stated that Deewa is propaganda were students and have anti-American attitudes and view Deewa as America’s mouthpiece. Because it only shows American views, they do not show views of people.

They should define our problems and tell it to the world but they only, they do their own promotion

My observation … I myself listen the VOA, Urdu and Pashto both, and I think they are biased and they are propaganda.

I think this is to some extent this is propaganda because what is happening there in the Tribal areas and near Afghanistan and they broadcast to some extent and in the favor of those who are against these militants.

They expressed their suspicion and doubts about the service since it is broadcast from Washington D.C. and they do not know whom those people are working for. They are curious and inquisitive about this service that it is being broadcast to one specific region where American drones are attacking. We don’t know like the person like people who are broadcasting. This is real or fake or like whatever it is, so I guess may be or maybe not.

I think yes because it’s an American radio channel and they are just specifically for FATA region and they are doing drone attacks and all these issues, things around there (FATA), so maybe yes they do propagate.

A few student participants expressed their anger and accused Deewa of propaganda and they also accused the service of calling them terrorists.

237 VOA is a propaganda because they called us terrorists, it is because of the media which is a national radio or international radio called us terrorists but we are very peace loving.

However, some participants claimed that all media outlets, Pakistani and international, are involved in some sort of propaganda. An IDP accused that the media personnel visit the affected areas and inaccurately reports that all the victims are been compensated despite only a few being helped by the aid agencies. If I tell you the truth, no channel provides the right information. They all come here, and then to show it over the channel they give things to a couple of people and make the news that victims have been helped or aid is provided to them. Everything is fake, you know, you will see the females coming here and everything is fake, you know.

Some student participants elaborated on their views on propaganda and mentioned that Deewa attempts to brainwash the locals by bringing up issues that are not related to Tribal region. The students pointed toward the examples of the socio-cultural environment of America or Western countries. The anchor is always asking such type of questions which are not related to the situation of the Tribal area, just want to kind of brain washing.

Furthermore, they pointed out that Deewa broadcasts news and raises issues that are against the government of Pakistan and escalate many matters. They accused Deewa of inciting conflict among locals of the Tribal region and the government of Pakistan by broadcasting issues that are not in favor of Pakistan’s government. I said all that information which is shared by the Deewa radio is, when you think deeply and logically, there will be a specific logic behind that. The logic will be, the only logic is to create disturbance, yes to be very honest to create disturbance inside FATA, and again to create disturbance in the sense to create conflict between the Pakistani Government and the Tribal areas.

I am not interested (in VOA Deewa) because they always try to escalate matters inside Pakistan. They are always trying to raise such points and such events in Pakistan, which promote or try to destroy the law and order situation inside Pakistan. They are trying to escalate matters in the Tribal areas.

A few students expressed their anger about Deewa and pointed out that they do not listen to any channel of VOA, because Deewa does not favor the Tribal region and its locals, rather it interferes in their culture and norms. They are not trying to solve our problems but they are interfering in our culture and trying to make conflicts between the people and the government.

238

They are not in the favor of Tribal areas. They just want to, you know, create a conflict and a tussle between the government of Pakistan and people of the Tribal area. Yes, and I personally reject VOA, any channel of VOA.

Participants pointed out that Deewa news is not accurate and gave examples of drone strikes. Student participants stated a few instances in which Deewa broadcast inaccurate news about victims of drone attacks. They accused Deewa of providing wrong information about the innocent people who died in attacks and said that Deewa said they were terrorists. They mentioned that Deewa is a promotional tool of the American government, and therefore it is propaganda. Once I was listening to Deewa radio and before that and there were some drone attacks in Tribal areas and all the innocent people died in that attack. But tomorrow I listened to VOA, what they said. They said that 22 terrorists died in attack. So all of them were innocent people of the Tribal area but they just did propaganda.

Last two to three years ago there was a drone attack in Bajuar in which three people who were cleaning the road. They were government servants and they were killed in that drone attack. Whenever I listened to Deewa radio they will say that three terrorists are killed by the drone attack in Bajuar agency. So what the heck is this? They were the local people and government servants and they say that they are terrorists, so what the heck is that?

I believe that many of the drone attacks, many of the people died every day. At least one in a week, but if 20 people died they will say that 5 people, 4 people died. Then they (Deewa) say that they (died in drone attacks) belonged to terrorists group but I think I don’t think so. Because in every drone attack there must be a local citizen going to die every day. I see here with my personal observation that they cover these issues, because if they cover the actual issues regarding this, the people will be unhappy because of that, I think.

They are not promoting, they are not showing the deaths of the people by America by drone attacks. They are only promoting their own culture regarding objectives so maybe it’s propaganda.

Almost all IDP participants in this study are illiterate and most of them cannot define propaganda or comment on it, but a few expressed their views about propaganda. They were prompted to provide examples of propaganda if they thought Deewa was propaganda. A participant thought Deewa did produce propaganda sometimes, as it had broadcast that they (IDPs) received aid in their camps but they did not.

239 A: Propaganda is when you say some event has occurred and in reality it has not happened the way you describe it. [Lies or baseless argument is propaganda in his view.] Q: Do you think VOA Deewa is propaganda? Why or why not? A: Yes sometime they do. Q: Like what? A: They tell us that this event has occurred but in reality it has not occurred. Q: Like can you give me an example? A: Yes it is sometimes about the ration, sometimes it is about the other issues, like we don’t get aid and they say that we are getting everything.

A few student participants stressed that if Deewa does not oppose the Pakistani government and change its way of narration, and only provided its point of view or just described the event, this would not confuse the locals, and Deewa would not be perceived as propaganda by the locals. We listen to VOA everyday when I go to home and other family members also do the same. One main thing about VOA is that VOA is more related to the Tribal belt. They discuss the problems of FATA but the main thing is that they discuss these matters in such a way that may create conflict between government of Pakistan and the Tribal people. Suppose there is blast, like they tell the phenomena in such a way that people become so much disappointed to what the government is doing with us. So if government of America or you changes with what they transmit their news extra so it will be good for people of FATA. Because by this way they will not be confused what the government is doing, so it will be my suggestion.

Furthermore, students pointed out that Deewa should clearly communicate its mission and purpose with locals, and should be more transparent about the radio service. I think they, until if they not explain their vision mission statement, they will using, they will doing, propaganda until they will showing their mission and vision statement about this case.

While some participants said that Deewa was a propaganda tool, some participants were against this view. Most of the regular listeners who said that Deewa was a university for them explicitly stated that Deewa was not propaganda. They pointed out that Deewa brought accurate and real news to them and therefore it could not be propaganda. No, it’s not propaganda. They bring real news and they don’t lie. They bring clean (safa) news and clean talks, there is no lie in it, and provide correct news. At least it is not in my knowledge that they have done propaganda.

Participants defined propaganda as lies or being unreal when they were prompted to define propaganda in easy language and asked whether Deewa was propaganda. They denied that

240 Deewa was propaganda because it provided correct news to them. Also, they expressed their satisfaction with Deewa news and analysis. Lies or baseless argument is propaganda in my views. And no, Deewa is not propaganda. We listen to their news, they provide correct news and information (sahi bayan werkai). Their argument is based on reality and they don’t lie.

I only listen to the News and the questions that they ask each other. We only listen to the News and do not listen to anything else. Their talks are interesting and balanced (barabar) and they don’t do any propaganda or anything else.

No, it’s not propaganda, because they provide current and correct information.

We are satisfied, because they do not do any kind of propaganda. They show correct news, they do not broadcast wrong news.

Student participants who favored Deewa and appreciated its services pointed out that Deewa is doing an important job in developing the region. They mentioned that Deewa in its programs raises awareness about issues that need to be addressed and also tries to provide solutions through experts that help locals in improving their living standards. They stated that Deewa is playing a positive role in the region. I think this (Deewa) is not propaganda. Media has full authority, media has full freedom. Instead it shares good information with us, which can bring reforms in our societies. So I think it (Deewa) is playing a positive role in our society in our country.

My idea it (Deewa) is not propaganda. It plays a very important role in the FATA issues and I hope that everyone will be like it.

A regular listener defined propaganda as the exaggeration of an event, and denied that Deewa is doing any sort of propaganda. He pointed out that Deewa is an American channel but never exaggerates about U.S. policies. Propaganda is like when something is not correct or a lie, or if it is a small issue but is exaggerated. Here is no such propaganda about America.

A student from North Waziristan, who is a regular listener, mentioned that they only have Deewa in their region and Deewa does not lie. Their news is correct. Yes I liked Deewa; it has no lie in it (iss darogh nishta dai kai). Everything was correct in it and we only had Deewa there.

241 However, she pointed out that there were some instances when the village named or the exact number of people died in drone strike was not correct. But she did not blame Deewa for that; rather, she said it is hard to get this kind of information from our region. People get very angry after every drone attack and they do object and strike against that. Deewa radio broadcasts the correct news, but there have been occasions when they do not know about the exact village and exact number of people who died, and how much damage has been done by the drone attack.

Some student participants pointed out that all channels exaggerate news and events, but Deewa and other foreign channels exaggerate less when compared to local channels. They give better information about situation, and if other channels exaggerate, they exaggerate less than others, and in the Tribal areas people listen to it more.

Propaganda has different forms. There is positive or good or white propaganda, while there is bad or negative or black propaganda. Propaganda is white, grey and black. White propaganda is overt, the source is mentioned but it is a one-sided propaganda in which the objective is to promote one’s objectives and ideology. This type of propaganda involves bias and one-sided news and information that is accurate but incomplete and unbalances. However, black propaganda is also one-sided but it is covert and includes: lies, misinformation, disinformation, biasness, and bigotry. However, the objective in black propaganda is to promote one’s ideology and contain and abuse the opposite party’s ideology. There is another form of propaganda that is gray. Gray propaganda has elements of both; white and black propaganda. In gray propaganda, the source is known but the information could be wrong. (Berridge & Lloyd, 2001; Hart, 2013; Hawthorn & Hawthorn, 1987; Jowett & O'Donnell, 2012). Findings in this category indicate that all the participants associated propaganda with its negative meaning. They defined propaganda as lie, inaccurate and wrong information. The responses of participants in regard to Deewa as a propaganda tool of U.S. government vary. There are participants that are regular listeners and like Deewa broadcast, and they denied that Deewa was a propaganda effort. There are participants that are regular listeners and like Deewa broadcasts, and they denied Deewa was a propaganda tool but pointed out that drone strike news was incorrect. However they did not blame Deewa for this misinformation as they pointed out that Pakistani media channels also provide inaccurate news. There are participants who have anti-American attitudes and who claim that Deewa is propaganda. They mentioned that Deewa news about drone attacks is not correct, and also that Deewa selects issues that bring hatred

242 among the locals against Pakistan’s government. However, majority of the participants (table 6.2) and the Deewa listeners who admired and appreciated the service denied that Deewa was involved in any sort of propaganda. The participants that called Deewa a U.S. government mouthpiece and propaganda tool accused Deewa of gray propaganda. As the source that is VOA Deewa is known but the news about drone strikes is inaccurate. Moreover, according to these participants, Deewa efforts are anti-Pakistan. They also accuse Deewa of projecting American foreign policy and imposing American ideology and culture on the locals of the Tribal region. However, most of those participants were not regular listeners of Deewa and were not aware of many shows of Deewa. The majority of the study participants do not call Deewa a propaganda effort, and therefore it cannot be claimed as propaganda tool. However, based on these findings, according to the study participants, Deewa as a public diplomacy tool is accused of accommodating some elements of gray propaganda. The percentage of participants that accuse Deewa for accommodating gray propaganda is small in this study, therefore we cannot generalize this finding. However, this accusation demands further studies with a larger number of participants. Conclusion Overall the findings in this chapter indicate that Deewa is a source of information and awareness that is raising the issues of education, the political situation, health and hygiene, and social issues of the region. Locals expressed satisfaction and trust in the service. Most participants believed that Deewa was an important medium that was providing awareness to them and also could be a source of change in the society. A few participants pointed towards the inaccuracy of the news, specifically about drone strikes, and also towards broadcasting American democratic values. In the opinions of one hundred and two locals, Deewa is appreciated for representing the Pashtun region, its problems, issues, and culture. Deewa as a public diplomacy instrument is appreciated for its efforts in providing news and information to one of the poorest and most neglected region of Pakistan. Most of the participants acknowledged it to be a public diplomacy tool that gave them information, awareness and represented their issues and problems. However, some accused it of bringing anti-government (Pakistan) sentiments among tribesmen and of promoting American objectives. Participants who accuse Deewa of undertaking propaganda efforts also tended to hold anti-American attitudes.

243 Deewa is acting as a public diplomacy instrument, based on the perspectives of locals of the Deewa target region. Deewa coverage focuses on FATA and Pashtuns. But it is also found that public diplomacy can accommodate elements of propaganda, that include: incomplete or inaccurate drone news, projecting anti-government (Pakistani government) news and views, and promoting the host ideology, which in this case are American democratic values. While participants raised questions about the inaccuracy of news about drone strikes, it should not be considered to be Deewa propaganda practice since Deewa is dependent on Pakistani media sources for news related to drone strikes. The voices of the locals while describing Deewa deepen our understanding of the nature of public diplomacy, whether it includes elements of propaganda and moreover, contributes to the public diplomacy framework. Public diplomacy is two-way communication that attempts to build trustworthy relationships with the people of foreign nations. Public diplomacy shares a few characteristics of white propaganda as it explains American ideology and foreign policy to the people of foreign nations. According to a few participants, public diplomacy to some extent employs elements of gray propaganda while delivering incomplete information on drone strikes and anti-government (Pakistan) sentiments. Apart from these characteristics, public diplomacy is found to be not only a source of information, but also a source of awareness, empowerment and social change in the society. The characteristics found about Deewa by the locals, incline Deewa more as a public diplomacy tool, although some of the characteristics are found to be propaganda. But based on these findings alone we cannot claim VOA Deewa to be a propaganda tool. These are characteristics found in the VOA Deewa case, which is only one case and therefore, cannot be generalized. The findings of the study demands further in-depth studies with much larger sample of locals.

244 CHAPTER SEVEN

CONCLUSIONS

Synthesis, Conclusion & Future Research

This chapter contains a synthesis of the findings derived from the analysis of the data from three sources (the senders, messages, and receivers) that was collected for this study. In addition, conclusions drawn from the analysis, limitations of the study, and a research agenda for the future are presented. Overall, the findings led to the conclusion that the Voice of America (VOA) Pashto Deewa service is a public diplomacy instrument that delivers news and information with a focus on its target region, increases awareness among the audience members about their rights, empowers their voices, and provides a platform to enable locals to connect with each other and share ideas. Further, the VOA Deewa service was found to be led by qualified, experienced, and well-informed native Pashtun journalists who delivered messages embedded within the system of Pashtun cultural and religious values. As a public diplomacy instrument, VOA Deewa is obliged to broadcast according to the U.S. VOA charter, which requires delivery of balanced and objective information. In fact, the VOA Deewa broadcasts analyzed for this study were found to contain clear and effective American perspectives and policies, making its activities aligned with white propaganda efforts. Given the particular geopolitical context in which it operates, the VOA Deewa service is a unique case, which limits the generalizability of the findings in regard to the use of broadcasting as a public diplomacy instrument. Further research in the area is needed in order to develop a framework of public diplomacy distinct from a framework of propaganda. Synthesis of Findings The analysis of data collected from three sources—senders, messages, and receivers— resulted in a number of themes that were synthesized in order to answer the three big questions of the study. The analysis provided additional useful insights that helped to expand understandings of public diplomacy generally, and the VOA Deewa as a public diplomacy instrument specifically. The data also contributed to case-based understandings of the similarities and differences between public diplomacy and propaganda frameworks. Taken together, the findings contribute to the growing literature on public diplomacy. Equally important, they provide answers to the overarching questions posed in the study: What is the nature of public

245 diplomacy in practice? To what extent does public diplomacy involve propaganda? The overarching questions were examined further by three research questions: In what ways does the VOA Deewa service function as a public diplomacy instrument? In what ways does the VOA Deewa service employ elements of propaganda? How does the VOA Deewa service example contribute to developing a broader framework for public diplomacy? By examining VOA Deewa as a public diplomacy instrument, it becomes possible to begin to discern the fine line distinguishing the practice of public diplomacy from propaganda.

VOA Deewa As A Case of Public Diplomacy: An Overview Public diplomacy is a term that was coined in 1960s to refer to all the varied efforts of governments to win the hearts and minds of foreign publics (Fortner, 1994; Hart, 2013; Nye, 2004; Tuch, 1990). To this end, governments have invested in various art and cultural projects, education and exchange programs, and information dissemination, such as through international radio broadcasts. As an international broadcasting service of the U.S. government providing news and information, VOA Deewa exists as a public diplomacy instrument under the umbrella of the broader VOA. The VOA is one of the world's major international broadcast network systems. Initiated by the U.S. government in 1942 as an information tool during World War II (WWII), the service broadcast news to Europe with the mission of providing the truth, whether good or bad. Though the service did not stop after WWII, it was limited to a few countries. Later, during the Cold War, it was expanded in an effort to contain the communist propaganda in the former Soviet Union and Eastern European countries. Many scholars and government officials have criticized VOA services for their association with propaganda efforts (Cull, 2008; Elder, 1967; Fortner, 1994; Hart, 2013; Lasswell, Lerner, & Speier, 1979; Tuch, 1990). Although the stated objective of the VOA was to deliver accurate and balanced news, it was criticized for propagating American objectives to foreign publics. By the 1960s, however, VOA services became one instrument in the U.S. public diplomacy toolkit. VOA established a charter that became a law on July 12, 1976. This defines the VOA role and practices in international broadcasting. According to that law, a VOA service has to be a reliable and authoritative source of news, and should deliver accurate, objective and comprehensive news. Furthermore, VOA should directly communicate with the peoples of the world by radio and win the attention and respect of listeners. Moreover, VOA will present the

246 policies of the U.S. clearly and effectively with responsible discussions and opinions (Voice, 2009). VOA Deewa operates under the VOA umbrella and is bounded by the VOA charter and mission. Moreover, the VOA charter is incorporated within the public diplomacy framework. Though VOA comes clean in its charter, the principal of delivering the American perspective has been characterized as promoting and propagating American ideology and policies, more in line with the propaganda framework. Also, VOA is considered to be a propaganda effort due to its association with propaganda efforts in WWII and the Cold War. However, while some scholars of public diplomacy sketch a fine line between public diplomacy and propaganda, other scholars use the terms interchangeably and argue that both share similar characteristics. VOA Deewa as a public diplomacy instrument is selected for this study since many elements of the case present ideal conditions for examination. VOA Deewa was launched to serve the Tribal region of Pakistan and Afghanistan, and both countries have high levels of anti-American sentiments. Moreover, the Tribal region is attacked regularly under the drone strike program of the CIA. Thus, this case presents an ideal scenario to examine public diplomacy practice in a conflict environment. It is also a case that could merely represent the practice of propaganda to influence the attitudes of tribesmen in Afghanistan and Pakistan. Thus, to understand public diplomacy in practice and whether it employs propaganda or not, the themes that have appeared in all the three sources of findings are further combined and divided into three main categories that: themes that position VOA Deewa in both public diplomacy and propaganda frameworks, which analyzes the research question of the study of whether public diplomacy employs or does not employ propaganda, themes that position VOA Deewa only in the public diplomacy framework, and themes that position VOA Deewa only in the propaganda framework. VOA Deewa is only one case and only represents one information tool of public diplomacy. The findings in this study contribute to understanding public diplomacy in practice, to the framework of public diplomacy and to distinguishing public diplomacy from propaganda. However, the findings cannot be generalized to the whole framework of public diplomacy. VOA Deewa: Themes Distinguishing Public Diplomacy from Propaganda The themes that emerged from the examination of the data provide useful insights that deepen our understandings of public diplomacy. The major themes that appeared in all three

247 sources of data help define the VOA Deewa service as either public diplomacy or propaganda, and further clarify both concepts. Thus, these findings provide an answer to study’s overarching questions: What is public diplomacy in practice? And to what extent does public diplomacy include propaganda? News and information. Providing news and information to a target region is a function of both public diplomacy and propaganda. The information provided for public diplomacy purposes is deemed to be accurate, balanced, objective, and comprehensive, and its source seeks to be seen as credible and trustworthy among members of the foreign public (Potter, 2009a; Rugh, 2006; Tuch, 1990; Wang, 2008). The information in a propaganda strategy, however, may be accurate or inaccurate, truth or lies, information or misinformation, or disinformation meant to mislead. Propaganda cannot be balanced; it is considered to be a biased and one-sided story (Jowett & O'Donnell, 2012; Kelley, 2007; Shulman, 1990; Vincent, 1993). These pejorative characteristics of propaganda differentiate it from public diplomacy. Importantly, however, some of the positive characteristics of propaganda align with some parts of the practice of public diplomacy. In this study, the views of the senders and the content of messages aligned with the views of the receivers. The VOA Deewa staff claimed that they produced accurate and balanced news. They saw balance as taking into account the views of all stakeholders in the news event, and accuracy as confirming news with various sources before broadcasting it. Moreover, they sought to be objective by not reflecting their personal sentiments in the information they presented. They made a point of mentioning the names of their sources and people in their news as well. In this study, the analysis of the news and information content and the views of the receivers were consistent with the views of the VOA Deewa staff about their broadcasts. These findings support the claim that the VOA Deewa service acts as a public diplomacy instrument. In the case of news about U.S. drone strikes, however, differences of opinion were found among the receivers, and between a few receivers and VOA Deewa staff. A few receivers pointed out that VOA Deewa does not broadcast the correct news about the death tolls in drone strikes, that is, that they give an inaccurate number of innocent civilians who died. Interestingly, the receivers who blamed VOA Deewa for inaccurate news on this count also were found to have general anti-American sentiments and thus, disliked VOA Deewa for being an American

248 government service. Nevertheless, only in regard to reporting on drone strikes, receivers indicate that the news had characteristics typifying propaganda. In fact, regular VOA Deewa listeners denied that it delivered inaccurate news or wrong information, and instead accused the Pakistani media of providing inaccurate information. Further, these receivers mentioned that foreign media (like VOA Deewa) couldn’t be blamed because they are dependent on Pakistani sources for news about drone strikes. Thus, they argued that foreign media could not be accused of providing inaccurate news when the home media is delivering inaccurate news. A similar view was found among the VOA Deewa staff, who pointed out that journalists are not allowed inside areas where drones attacked and they have to depend on Pakistan’s security forces and Pakistan’s media sources for the news related to drone strikes. Moreover, VOA Deewa mentions the name of the source of the news. Based on the findings, VOA Deewa efforts to broadcast news and information cannot be categorized as propaganda, as they get the drone strike news from Pakistan intelligence and security sources, and Pakistani media sources. American perspectives. The provision of American perspectives and information about American policies to a target region is a characteristic of both the public diplomacy and propaganda frameworks. There is a slight difference in the practice of delivering the American perspective, however, which distinguishes the two. According to the U.S. State Department, the mission of public diplomacy is: To support the achievement of U.S. foreign policy goals and objectives, advance national interests, and enhance national security by understanding, informing and influencing foreign publics and by expanding and strengthening the relationship between the people and government of the United States and the citizens of the rest of the world (U.S. Department of State). Further, Farwell (2012) has noted that a public diplomacy approach emphasizes enhancing the understanding of foreign publics for American perspectives and building two-way relationships with foreign publics, while a propaganda approach focuses on delivering an American perspective in a one-way direction that employs one-sided presentations. In the case of the U.S. VOA service, the mission and purpose is overtly mentioned to their audience. U.S. Public Law 94 -350 established the VOA charter and its mission; which is the law that VOA Deewa, as a public diplomacy instrument, must follow:

249 VOA will represent America, not any single segment of American society, and will therefore present a balanced and comprehensive projection of significant American thought and institutions…VOA will present the policies of the United States clearly and effectively, and will also present responsible discussions and opinion on these policies (Voice, 2009). The study findings support this intention to broadcast the American perspective in the VOA Deewa news, newspaper editorials, and U.S. State Department editorials. VOA Deewa staff noted that they share editorials from U.S. State Department but explicitly broadcast a disclaimer before the editorial stating that it is the opinion of the U.S. government. On the other hand, newspaper editorials selected for the call-in shows are for information purposes and thus, are related to the news of the day. The editorials explained American perspectives on drone strikes, the Pakistan-Taliban peace talks, and the Syrian government’s use of chemical weapons. Moreover, along with the American perspective, the newspaper editorials selected for broadcast also covered the Pakistani government's views and views of other stakeholders, Overall, the analysis of the selected VOA Deewa messages did not suggest that these editorials were purposefully selected to propagate an American government view, as they were related to the news of that day, for the purposes of this study, news related to drone strikes. Of course, in order to generalize this conclusion the practice and content of VOA messages must be investigated further, with randomly selected messages. Though the American government editorials explicitly mentioned the source, and were covered in the last four to five minutes of the two-hour morning call-in show, locals with anti- American attitudes criticized this practice and a principle of the VOA charter as the propagation of American views. A few student participants explicitly called VOA Deewa an American government mouthpiece for delivering their point of view and promoting their policies. Again, these student participants generally held anti-American attitudes and blamed the American government for the conflicts and chaos in the Tribal region. Regular VOA Deewa listeners saw the broadcasts not as propaganda but as news and information. Given that propaganda is characterized by “discernible repetition of themes and…catchy words” (Fortner, 1994 p.25), the analysis of the VOA Deewa shows' content distinguishes it from public diplomacy since the themes were not repeated nor was one point of view highlighted more than others and given more time or coverage.

250 Nevertheless, the analysis of the shows’ content did indicate the strategic use of the VOA Deewa by the American government. The American government's announcements about big reward money for information about terrorists’ locations were found in the message analysis. The announcements informed listeners about the person wanted and his terrorist activities (which included various bomb blasts and murders in which he was involved). Listeners were told that the informer would be rewarded with five million dollars and provided security and relocation if needed. Thus, the American perspective was found in the data from the three sources, but as it was based on a small sample and only one case, we cannot conclude that VOA Deewa is a propaganda effort or that public diplomacy is propaganda. We can conclude, however, that VOA Deewa in this case is a tool that delivers American policies and objectives to its listeners and is used for strategic purposes, and these characteristics exist in both the public diplomacy and propaganda frameworks. Persuasion: public diplomacy and propaganda. Persuasion is a characteristic of both public diplomacy and propaganda frameworks. It is a communication process that is applied to gain a desired response from the receiver. Further, it represents a conscious effort on the part of the persuader to influence the attitudes, beliefs, and behavior of another individual or group of people through some message (Perloff, 2010). Public diplomacy involves persuasion, as the government wants to influence the attitudes of foreign publics through their message, as does propaganda, which is said to be a specific form of persuasion (Fortner, 1994). Ngo (2011) argued that propaganda and persuasion share the medium of communication, and are linked in that they are used for same kind of objectives and results. Although propaganda is argued to be a form of persuasion, the end product of both differs (Fortner, 1994). Pratkanis and Aronson (1991) have argued that persuasion is designed to achieve learning and “education for both the audience and speakers,” (p. 9) while propaganda aims “at securing our compliance” (p.14). The VOA Deewa staff felt that their job is to be aware of their listeners and leave them with information from which they can take benefits or not, and understand or misunderstand. As Hawthorn (1987) argued, persuasion is the control of information; including what should be said and what should be left unsaid. People are left with this information to interpret and misinterpret (as cited in Fortner, 1994). In this study, however, the efforts of the VOA Deewa staff went beyond awareness raising and information provision in some instances, to suggest that listeners

251 take action. They attempted to influence listeners by informing them about problems and suggesting various ways to respond. Many small examples were found in the content that was analyzed, that is, instances where VOA Deewa staff informed female listeners how to be productive by giving them tips about current fashions and persuading them to sew at home and earn money, or giving women tips about homemade remedies for facial beauty and hygiene. By informing them about the importance of education, and connecting the importance of education to religious and societal values, they helped motivate women to become educated, for example, by trying to read the newspaper, as the alphabets are similar to Arabic. The analysis revealed attempts by VOA Deewa to persuade while informing listeners about their problems and their rights, inviting experts to highlight facts and figures, and giving listeners opportunities to think about an issue and ask questions or share experiences on air. Because the VOA Deewa service gave listeners the chance to process the information provided to them by experts and then inquire further, it represented an attempt to influence their understandings and shape their learning processes (Jowett & O'Donnell, 2012; Perloff, 2010). At the same time, this persuasion was not an attempt to influence listeners to agree or comply with particular information. VOA Deewa’s strategy of inviting various experts from opposing parties or standpoints generated debate between the experts and the listeners, thus enabling listeners to process and interpret the information. The VOA Deewa, then, did not provide a one-sided story to persuade others to comply with; rather, it provided multiple opinions for listeners to consider. Thus, though attempts at persuasion were present in VOA Deewa’s practices, they reflected characteristics of both public diplomacy and propaganda. Yet, since VOA Deewa is a unique case, the findings cannot be generalized to the public diplomacy framework. Ideology: Public diplomacy and propaganda. Promoting the ideology or objectives of a government or entity through the transmission of information is a characteristic of propaganda, one that was criticized during WWII and the Cold War. The idea of such communication was to build public opinion in favor of a country's objectives in order to gain the favor of a foreign public and influence the policymaking of the foreign country. The U.S. government used their information instruments to contain communism and further capitalist ideology during WWII and the Cold War and later on, during the Vietnam War. After the 1980s, these American information tools starting operating in the Arab world to further the U.S.’s democratic agenda.

252 Now the practice was called public diplomacy, however, though scholars used it interchangeably with propaganda. In this study, the VOA Deewa staff seemed to have an ideology and an agenda but it was not to deliver a one-sided capitalist or democratic agenda. In fact, VOA Deewa staff expressed their concerns for the deprived and neglected in the Tribal region and made attempts to make the tribesmen more aware of their rights and persuade them to educate themselves and improve their living conditions. They pointed out that they supported the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, including the rights to education, freedom, justice, health, and the vote. They sought to make every Pashtun and tribesman aware of his or her basic human rights. To do so, VOA Deewa did not directly criticize the Pakistani government, but instead pointed out the lack of action on behalf of the Pakistani government and invited guests to speak on those issues, such as sitting ministers or sitting government political party members. VOA Deewa staff also noted that their efforts had some desired impact, as Tribal leaders in the National Parliament began a debate on the rights of tribesmen that led to the right to vote. Moreover, VOA Deewa staff claimed that as a result of the questions about education that they frequently raised in their shows, the Tribal leaders have started pushing the government on many platforms and that efforts to build a university and improve the educational system in the Tribal region are now under consideration. The VOA Deewa efforts are designed to promote an ideology that they claim is universally accepted rather than simply their own. Moreover, the findings indicate that most listeners recognized and accepted the support for human rights that was embedded in the VOA Deewa shows. Their approval was indicated by their participation in call-in programs and their acceptance of the need for education in order to have a better and more peaceful society. In fact, listeners frequently shared their experiences and the actions they were taking to gain their rights. The findings in the interviews with locals aligned with the VOA efforts, except for the few students with anti-American attitudes, who disliked VOA Deewa for being an American radio service. The male students who expressed their dislike for VOA Deewa also accepted the importance of education and approved the efforts of VOA Deewa to promote better education and health, though they accused VOA Deewa of pushing its democratic agenda. They did not approve of women’s participation in VOA Deewa and believed that it contradicted Pashtun cultural values. The students holding anti-American attitudes seemed to be conflicted, as they

253 refused to allow their women to speak for women’s rights but accepted the notion of women’s education in order to have a better life. They seemed to share some elements of the jihadist perspective that has been pushed in to Pakistan society, that is, that the United States and its policies intend to take over Pakistan and Pakistan’s nuclear power capabilities (Friedman, 2009). VOA Deewa: Public Diplomacy Some themes that emerged from the analysis of data reflected characteristics of public diplomacy that are dissimilar to propaganda. The new themes can contribute to defining more clearly the public diplomacy framework of analysis. The new themes found in this study hence address the study’s third question: How does the VOA Deewa service example contribute to developing a broader framework for public diplomacy? Moreover, does it deepen our understanding of public diplomacy in practice? Independent journalism and credibility. The public diplomacy framework differs from propaganda based mainly on its quality of independent journalism. The staff of VOA Deewa is composed of qualified and experienced journalists, most of whom have been associated with VOA Deewa since its inception. They prefer to work with VOA Deewa rather than their previous jobs because of the level of journalistic freedom and the ability to practice objective journalism that they have there. They expressed the view that they practice objective and responsible journalism and deliver balanced and accurate news and information. Regular listeners of VOA Deewa approved of the staff’s journalistic practices and believed that they bring balanced and accurate news to them. The findings from the content analysis of VOA Deewa shows were generally consistent with the data from VOA Deewa staff and listeners. In all cases, the inclusion of opinions from opposing parties in news and information and call-in shows pointed to the efforts of staff to produce balanced news and views. Listeners express their satisfaction with VOA Deewa news, and this builds VOA Deewa’s credibility with the public. Potter (2009) argued that delivering negative points along with positive points could be risky when attempting to influence a foreign public in a specific direction, but it is necessary for building credibility, with comes with effective communication (Hart, 1983). Perloff (2010) claimed that in order to have credibility, a communicator must have expertise and trustworthiness as core characteristics. Listeners know that VOA Deewa staff are native Pashtuns, esteemed journalists, and experts in their field, and that they avoid advocacy and remain objective by bringing experts in to discuss a topic. All of

254 these factors make them trustworthy. Thus, as a public diplomacy instrument, VOA Deewa is practicing objective, responsible, and independent journalism, and many regular listeners contacted here consider it to be a credible source of news and information. Relationship building and trust. Building relationships with key individuals is another characteristic of public diplomacy, but the instruments used for this purpose typically have been “scholarships, exchanges, trainings, seminars, conferences, and access to media channels” (Nye, 2004, p.109). According to Farwell (2012), “public diplomacy builds long-term relationships and addresses an entire country or region, and entails open and public conduct” (p. 52). In arguing for new public diplomacy, Wang (2012) said it is, “about engaging publics, not just informing them; it is about establishing long term relationships that will build trust” (p. 20). In line with the dictionary meaning of relationship, then, public diplomacy should evoke connection, involvement, and association. VOA Deewa has worked to develop this sense of connection and association through their call-in shows and personal meetings with locals, and they seem to have been successful at cultivating the trust of locals for VOA Deewa. In interviews, participants mentioned that VOA Deewa staff go to their agencies, are accessible, and meet with locals to discuss their issues and problems and then broadcast them. Moreover, VOA Deewa staff have visited many internally displaced persons (IDPs) in their camps and talked to them about their problems and later broadcast their voices. Listeners acknowledged VOA Deewa’s efforts and mentioned that someone is taking their voices to the world. This trust and association was also found in the call- in shows, where participants talked to VOA Deewa staff informally and discussed their issues. Callers openly complained about and objected to the militants and the Pakistani government during the call-in shows, again, indicating their trust in VOA Deewa. Another finding was the connection between locals that was facilitated by VOA Deewa. Listeners would call and greet other callers by name, having heard them before on the air. VOA Deewa cultivated such actions by encouraging listeners to call and share their experiences and give their messages to other listeners. VOA Deewa provided a platform for locals to become closer and better understand each other by providing a means for them to exchange and share their thoughts and ideas with each other. Cull (2009) has emphasized people-to-people contact for mutual enlightenment, with the international actor playing the role of facilitator.

255 Two-way communication. In public diplomacy, the flow of information is two-way, and this generates dialogue between the sender and receiver (Nye, 2004; Potter, 2009; Tuch, 1990; Wang, 2011). Findings in this study indicate two-way communication during VOA Deewa call- in shows. The shows are called interactive shows by VOA Deewa staff and are designed to facilitate listener participation through call-ins to comment, ask questions, or share their concerns or stories. VOA Deewa broadcasts six hours of call-in shows every day, and these shows cover the entire scope of social, business, health, and political issues of the region, along with a music show specifically for entertainment. The analysis of the messages revealed that listeners participate in the shows enthusiastically and overtly raise questions and concerns. In the interviews with locals, however, none of the local participants called in to VOA Deewa, though some family members did, and similar findings appeared in the interviews with locals. VOA Deewa generated conversations with their listeners on the topics of the shows. Listeners shared their stories and opinions and VOA Deewa hosts, as well as invited experts, were there to give responses. VOA Deewa facilitated conversations among callers, usually when one listener sent messages to another listener via the VOA Deewa shows. Listeners could call and suggest topics to hosts and request shows on those topics. Listeners asked that VOA Deewa bring their area ministers as guests on the show so they could talk directly to them and register their complaints. VOA Deewa staff mentioned that they accommodated such listener suggestions and did shows on suggested topics or issues, but that it was difficult to access ministers or officials. However, to accommodate the requests of their listeners they called other political experts who were willing to join the show as guests. When the VOA Deewa gets complaints about America from listeners and broadcasts condemnations of drone strikes, this feedback remains within VOA Deewa and is not passed on to any policymaking unit of the U.S. State Department. VOA Deewa staff pointed out that they are a media outlet that does not directly facilitate policy, making them unaware of whether the locals’ views were reaching the U.S. State Department. Nevertheless, a few voices of VOA Deewa listeners have been discussed in Congressional sessions from time to time.5 Awareness, empowerment, and social change. Providing information and spreading awareness are actions characteristic of public diplomacy. In this study, the findings indicate that

1 Interview with VOA Deewa staff.

256 VOA Deewa is spreading awareness about education, health and hygiene, ethical values, political rights, the law and justice system, business ethics and mineral regulations in the region, where people are deprived of all these facilities and rights. The Tribal region of Pakistan is one of the poorest, most deprived and neglected regions. VOA Deewa’s efforts include bringing on air experts like professors, lawyers, doctors, people from the business and commercial sectors, government regulators, retired military and police officials, and politicians to discuss the situation of the Tribal region, and ways to improve it. VOA Deewa further reaches out to listeners by providing them the means to ask questions and share their concerns through telephone and social media. Thus, VOA Deewa both enhances listener awareness through information and empowers them through opportunities to speak their minds6. As a platform where listeners can raise their voices and ask questions, register complains and objections about the facilities and infrastructure they lack, VOA Deewa serves an important democratizing function. Even listeners who do not call in to VOA Deewa can become more aware of issues in their locale and become informed citizens who may voice a demand for their rights on other platforms. The literature on empowerment is growing, and various terms and definitions have been derived based on its practice. For this study, the concept of empowerment is taken from the project “People Empowering People” (PEP). The project is an extension program for community development in Connecticut. The program defines empowerment as a multi-dimensional social process that helps people gain control of their own lives. It is a process that fosters power in people for use in their own lives, their communities and in their society, by acting on issues they define as important (Page & Czuba, 1999). The PEP project aims to help participants enhance their communication and relationship skills and achieve greater understanding of and involvement in their communities. The same ideas about empowerment and community involvement are used in this study, where VOA Deewa, through their qualified anchors and field experts, provided information and helped their listeners increase their understanding of and involvement in the betterment of their

6 In “The Impact of Arts, Culture and Media in Afghanistan and Pakistan: Implications for U.S. policy,” Cynthia Schneider approached public diplomacy as a means to empower local voices rather than simply promote American ideas. When I discovered the theme of empowerment in the data, I searched the relevant literature and found her paper. I could not get access to its details but found a summary on Center of Public Diplomacy website.

257 villages in order to gain more control over their lives. The study results revealed that such outcomes occurred among the female VOA listeners of the Tribal region. Many women participants actively engaged in the VOA Deewa call-in shows and complained about the poor situation of women in the Tribal region. Their complaints ranged from domestic violence to societal conservativeness that deprives them of their basic rights. VOA Deewa shows emphasized women’s education for the betterment of society and associated it with peace in the region. Moreover, the shows designated one full hour every day for female participants to call in and speak their minds. Women in Pashtun society are mostly bound to their houses and not allowed to speak or be with males outside the family. Thus, in accommodating the needs of women in the Tribal region by offering a platform where they could voice their discontents, VOA Deewa provided an important service and a major social change. Many females shared their empowering stories of getting an education despite various hardships. In addition to the Pashtun females who shared their voices on air and sent messages about their rights to their male brothers and the government, many male listeners similarly engaged in this social change. In fact, the male listeners who called demanded education and health facilities for their females, shared their efforts in support of education for females in their region, and demanded that their male brothers send their daughters to school. To recap, the data on the VOA Deewa shows revealed themes of increasing awareness, empowering locals and women, and creating social change that were supported by the data from the VOA Deewa staff, and local listeners. Each of these outcomes warrants more research through studies designed to expand on this emergent knowledge. Peacemaking. Handelman (2008) suggested using public diplomacy to foster peace by bringing locals and diplomats together in a platform where they can discuss the peacemaking process. VOA Deewa efforts also were found to facilitate the peacemaking process, as staff brought forward topics related to peace and especially promoted education and women’s education as tools for peace in the region. They even broadcast songs with education and peace messages embedded within them. Moreover, VOA Deewa staff mentioned that they informed and raised awareness among tribesmen so they could develop, improve their living standards and help bring peace in the region. Similarly, the participants who were interviewed expressed their expectations that VOA Deewa would continue to discuss conflict-related issues in the shows and spread awareness about solutions to these problems.

258 Embedding cultural and religious values in messages. Tuch (1990) contended that public diplomacy involves a very important “learning process, or two-way street. If we want to be successful in our efforts to create understanding for our society and for our policies, we must first understand the motives, culture, history and psychology of the people with whom we wish to communicate and certainly their language” (p. 9). Farwell (2012) argued that the language in which ideas are expressed is critical for the influence and understanding of the message. Because the majority of locals of the Tribal region is illiterate and only understands the Pashto language, VOA Deewa is a great source of information and entertainment for them. Listeners have expressed their appreciation for VOA Deewa shows and affiliation with VOA Deewa because it represents their culture and values and is broadcast in their language. Moreover, VOA Deewa hosts are all native Pashtuns and respected journalists in the Pashtun region. They convey messages in Pashto dialects that are widely understood in the Tribal region, share Pashtun cultural norms, and use Pashto proverbs and colloquial language and expressions that are very common in Pashtun culture and society. In addition, VOA Deewa embeds messages within religious themes and uses examples from the Prophet and his companions in messages about learning, education, health, human rights, minority rights, and women’s rights. Is VOA Deewa Propaganda? Tuch (1990) has raised concerns about using the term propaganda in conjunction with public diplomacy, since the definition of public diplomacy has so many varied elements. He argued that if propaganda is just disseminating ideas and information, then using these tools for the U.S. government’s information and cultural activities is not a problem even if the term acquired a derogatory meaning over time due to the use of purposive lies and misinformation. Due to its pejorative meaning, the Vatican that used to call it “Sacred Congregation”, and gave their preaching a new name: “Congregation for the Evangelization of people” (Tuch, 1990 p.9). The pejorative meaning of propaganda undermined the credibility of the efforts that did provide accurate and balanced information and were aimed to support favorable attitudes among foreign publics through cultural, educational and information programs. A new term “public diplomacy” was coined to give credibility to the efforts that did not have any derogatory objectives or means. Moreover, the pejorative meaning of propaganda got more strength from the war information services offered through radio. German Nazis, and then the Soviet Union’s negative

259 war information efforts to propagate war objectives, brought media use under the broader set of propaganda tools. America entered into the Second World War and also added to propaganda efforts undertaken through media in its war operation programs. VOA was initiated to provide balanced and accurate news on the war, but the service was also used to propagate the war objectives of America during WWII, the Cold War and then in Vietnam War. Moreover, propaganda has several forms: white, good or positive propaganda, black, bad or negative propaganda and gray propaganda that has elements of both white and gray propaganda. White propaganda is considered positive or good, is overt and does not lie, misinform or abuse the enemy’s ideology. Black propaganda is covert, with lies, misinformation, incomplete and inaccurate news and information, biased opinions and containing abuse of the enemy’s ideology. Gray propaganda could be overt in source transparency but can contain the opposite party’s ideology or provide inaccurate information. In this study, both listeners and senders associated propaganda with its black form that has pejorative and negative meanings. In fact, when the one hundred and eleven participants of the study were asked to define propaganda or give their opinions about propaganda, the most common meanings given were: lies, wrong information, inaccurate information, exaggeration, unnecessary promotion and projection of objectives, and a mouthpiece. Yet, when asked about VOA Deewa as a propaganda tool, the participants' answers varied. VOA Deewa staff, as senders and producers of information, denied that the content of their work was propaganda. They presented their efforts as guided by the VOA charter and its requirement of balanced, accurate, and comprehensive information, and they denied delivering any form of inaccurate or biased information. Thus, VOA Deewa staff ruled out the notion that propaganda could be positive in some way or that it could involve truth and dissemination of ideas. While they perceived themselves to be delivering a clear and unbiased perspective on American policies relevant to the target region, they did not see this as propaganda. They pointed out that they do not express agreement or disagreement with American policies but only broadcast information about these policies. Finally, they claimed to be transparent and overt about their reporting, and to run their operation according to the VOA charter. With conviction they explained that presenting an American perspective is one of the principal parts of the VOA charter and is not intended to be propaganda.

260 Among locals, three perspectives emerged from listeners that categorized Deewa as no propaganda, white propaganda and gray propaganda. There were those who expressed a strong liking for VOA Deewa and denied that it was a propaganda effort. These participants gave a pejorative meaning to the term propaganda and denied that VOA Deewa was inaccurate or a source of misinformation. There were voices from the locals that did not consider Deewa to be a propaganda effort but mentioned that the drone news is inaccurate, and that Deewa promotes American foreign policy, thus referring to the element of white propaganda. On the other hand, a few listeners who expressed anti-American attitudes and did not listen to VOA Deewa regularly blamed VOA Deewa for accommodating gray propaganda. They felt that VOA Deewa was a mouthpiece of the American government used to promote American policies, to deliver inaccurate news about drone strikes and the death toll in the drone strikes, and to bring the news in a way that would elicit anti-Pakistan government sentiments among tribesmen. However, it is pertinent to mention here that the participants who accused Deewa of the propaganda efforts were less than one fourth of the total participants. Also, the anti Pakistan sentiments that these participants were referring to, was found to be the standpoint of the Deewa anchors as expressed in senders’ perspectives. The senders (Deewa staff) accepted that they try to make the tribesmen aware about the deprivation and negligence of Tribal region by the Pakistan government. Deewa staff expressed the view that they inform the listeners about the basic civil and human rights that tribesmen have been deprived of for decades. Moreover, Deewa staff expressed their positive intentions behind their standpoint, as they want the Tribal region to be developed and want to improve the living conditions of the Tribal people. Deewa staff mentioned that their standpoint is based on the universally acclaimed human rights that require equal human rights, democracy, and freedom for everyone. The Deewa staff standpoint found in the senders’ perspectives includes: awareness about education, health and social problems, tribesmen’s constitutional and political rights, development of the infrastructure of the Tribal region, economic and business opportunities in the Tribal region, removal of social taboos, women’s empowerment and social change. As the Tribal region is one of the neglected and poor regions, and as tribesmen are deprived of basic human and constitutional rights and are living in poor conditions, thus, Deewa staff tried to inform tribesmen. According to the Deewa staff their intentions are to bring attention of the tribesmen, political leaders and government toward the issues of the Tribal region, so the region can be developed and obtain peace. This effort of

261 Deewa’s staff is, however, perceived as anti-Pakistan sentiments by some of the participants of the study. Yet after analyzing the data, we cannot conclude that VOA Deewa operates to produce and deliver propaganda. The majority of the listeners interviewed denied that VOA Deewa was a propaganda effort. In fact, the efforts of the VOA Deewa staff to include shows for the betterment of the Pashtuns, as indicated by the analysis of listener opinions, message content, and sender views, suggest that the VOA Deewa service leans more toward a public diplomacy model than a propaganda framework. Nevertheless, some characteristics present in both the propaganda and public diplomacy frameworks were found in the practices of VOA Deewa. Based on the findings in the VOA Deewa case, we can say that public diplomacy may show some elements of propaganda practice. Calling it propaganda would not be accurate, however, whether in terms of the overall set of activities or the public diplomats who are working hard to contribute to the betterment of the society. At the same time, the finding that VOA Deewa can contribute to public diplomacy cannot be generalized to other broadcasting services or for broadcasting as a public diplomacy instrument. To expand the findings of this study further, more research on other cases of VOA services and other instruments of public diplomacy is warranted. Thus, based on the definition of propaganda provided by locals and VOA Deewa staff, and on the unique efforts of VOA staff to better society, VOA Deewa does not represent a propaganda effort. Nevertheless, there were characteristics of propaganda in the practices of VOA Deewa. Propaganda is often seen in terms of good or bad, or white or black. Public diplomacy practice, while incorporating elements of propaganda, seems more like a Janus-faced object, with both propaganda and public diplomacy concepts simultaneously in evidence. These findings of the study thus, deepen our understanding of public diplomacy in practice and also provide evidence addressing the study’s question: to what extent does public diplomacy include propaganda? We found characteristics of white propaganda in the VOA Deewa practice. This confirms elements of white propaganda to some extent, but we cannot generalize it to the whole public diplomacy framework. However, the findings that confirm the presence of white propaganda elements in VOA Deewa practice do not allow the author to use public diplomacy and propaganda interchangeably. While the VOA Deewa is also found with

262 characteristics that incline it more to the public diplomacy framework, it is fair to say that VOA Deewa is found to hold some of the white propaganda elements. A Dilemma: Are Public Diplomacy and Propaganda the Same or Not? The framework of public diplomacy provides a dilemma in light of the data obtained for this study. Since public diplomacy programs are tools of government, they cannot be separated from the objectives and actions of government. Since the instruments of public diplomacy are developed to further government objectives and policies, any element of bias in the messages communicated will be perceived as biased by an opposing party. Because of the strong similarities between the practices of public diplomacy and propaganda programs, these characteristics may overshadow the work of public diplomacy and raise questions about its credibility. There are two reasons why public diplomacy may be associated with propaganda. First, because public diplomacy is a government instrument, it is designed to further government objectives. It is similar, then, to propaganda, which also is intended to further the objectives of the organization. Conversely, public diplomacy is different from propaganda in that it communicates comprehensive and effective perspectives rather than exaggerated or inaccurate ones. But the overall similarities between some elements of public diplomacy and propaganda undermine the differences, and strongly associate public diplomacy and propaganda. Second, associating public diplomacy with propaganda may occur because some tools used for propaganda are now used for the public diplomacy. VOA is one example; its previous association with war propaganda efforts means it is still considered by many to be an American propaganda vehicle. There is dilemma with the framework of propaganda. It is not just inaccuracies, lies, exaggerations, and misinformation, but can be truthful, objective and accurate information as well. But those true statements and accurate information may be used to promote the objectives and ideology of a specific organization or a country or a person, and could provide a biased or one-sided story. The dilemma of the propaganda framework is that the negative connotation associated with the concept undermines the positive side of the framework in communicating a message clearly. To differentiate negative from positive propaganda, scholars have described it terms of white and black. White propaganda is overt and accurate and includes identification of sources, while black propaganda is misinformation, lies, or covert efforts where the source is disguised.

263 Moreover, propaganda is the promotion of an objective or ideology, or even a product. The marketing and public relations strategies used in promoting a product or company also involve promotional tools to sell their product or tell their story, and thus fall into the category of propaganda. Yet, such programs have been characterized as marketing or public relations rather than propaganda, because the negative connotation of the term propaganda affects the credibility and effectiveness of a message about a product or company. In democracies, electoral campaigning and political communication are central mechanisms for persuasion. State agencies also communicate extensively with members of the public for a variety of pro social purposes (health, safety, public services). Thus, even practices with some elements of propaganda are not called propaganda due to the term's pejorative meaning, and instead are provided with new terms to enhance their credibility. Like these programs of communication, public diplomacy could be at risk if associated with propaganda. This dilemma indicates the need for more studies to further develop both the propaganda and public diplomacy frameworks, and to develop a model that can distinguish public diplomacy from propaganda more effectively. Limitations of the Study The study was limited in several ways. For one, the audience data was not representative of the entire population of the Tribal region. Because the presence of the Pakistan army war operations against militants prevented me from going deeply into the Tribal areas, I had to choose student and local listeners that were accessible. Moreover, I resided in Peshawar, a settled city, and the closest agency to the city, Khyber, was also not accessible due to security issues. Thus, I was limited to conducting telephone rather than one-on-one interviews with the family members of the student participants of the study. Finally, the number of female audience participants was one-fourth the total number of audience participants. Thus, a more random and gender balanced sample of audience participants may have brought different findings. As a native Pashtun female who belongs to an upper-middle-class family, the author was bound by prevailing family and cultural practices in Pakistan and this too affected data collection. As a female, the author was not allowed to go to the camps for internally-displaced persons (IDP) and talk to strange men; the poor and chaotic conditions of the IDP camps were not welcoming for a native female to walk and meet with people alone. In an attempt to overcome this limitation she hired two native Pashtun graduate students from the University of Peshawar, who conducted face-to-face individual interviews with IDPs. Since the students were

264 briefed about the study but lacked substantial training as interviewers, they tended not to prompt the participants for further comments, thus accomplishing less in-depth interviews that may have limited the findings. Since some participants were from North Waziristan and had seen the entire war, had interacted with both the Taliban and the Pakistan army, and had witnessed drone attacks, these respondents could have been prompted to express their views in detail, and the hired interviewers did not do this effectively. Author’s direct interaction with these participants would likely have resulted in more elaborate information about drone strikes and the VOA Deewa news and information, for example. Moreover, the same cultural limitations restricted me while conducting interviews with VOA Deewa correspondents. Being a female Pashtun, I was not able to meet a strange man alone and had to be chaperoned by a male member of my family. This was an inconvenience that may have caused the participant being interviewed to respond more cautiously than otherwise. In order to collect data on the opinions of the VOA Deewa senders of information, I needed to access the VOA Deewa staff. Due to time limitations I was not able to arrange interviews with the VOA executives, which could have provided insights about the policymaking, whether VOA Deewa content is directed by the U.S. State Department or whether the voices of tribesmen are heard and considered by the policy makers in United States. Moreover, the views of officials from the Broadcasting Board of Governors and the U.S. State Department and Congress would have broadened the perspective on the public diplomacy practiced by the VOA in general and the VOA Deewa in particular. The VOA Deewa radio shows examined for this study were selected in part based on their availability. My initial choice of shows changed after I learned that the original information I was given—that all VOA Deewa shows are available online and can be accessed at any time— was incorrect. Originally, I had chosen VOA Deewa shows that were broadcast on the day of and after the 2013 U.S. drone strikes. After finding that the links of VOA Deewa shows of 2013 were inactive due to technical issues, however, I asked the VOA Deewa technical staff to make some shows available online, as conversion to CD would be a lengthy process involving many bureaucratic hurdles. Thus, a total of 27 VOA Deewa shows that were broadcast in the last four months of 2013 were examined for the study. Since only shows of four months were available, I picked the available shows that were broadcast on the day and following day of the drone strike.

265 If all the shows of 2013 were available, a more random sample may have resulted in somewhat different findings or may have broadened the findings of the study. Conclusions and Future Research This study provided helpful insights and knowledge that may contribute to expanding the framework for analysis of public diplomacy. The VOA Deewa as a public diplomacy instrument was found to be more than a news and information service. It practices independent and objective journalism and provides accurate and balanced news and information to its listeners. The news and information is focused on Pashtuns and the Tribal region since the service was started for this region. Therefore, it incorporates all the issues and problems of the tribesmen and the Pashtuns. The region is one of the poor, deprived and neglected parts of Pakistan, and the tribesmen are deprived of basic human rights. They do not have equal rights to those of other Pakistani citizens according to the Pakistan constitution, they lack basic infrastructure for education, they experience poor health and an unfair justice system, and women are living under conservative cultural values deprived of many women’s rights. As VOA Deewa staff members are native Pashtuns and educated and well-informed citizens, they are well aware of the negligence and deprivations of the Tribal region. Thus, the focus of their information and interactive shows is the issues and problems of the Tribal region. Their programming spreads awareness among tribesmen about their rights, what they are deprived of, and how they can become citizens of a more developed and peaceful society. Moreover, along with raising awareness VOA Deewa has facilitated listeners’ ability to participate, speak, share observations and concerns, and exchange their ideas with their other Pashtun listeners. VOA Deewa even provides two free local telephone landline numbers to facilitate contact with their listeners. However, most of the listeners call directly through their cell phones as the telecommunication infrastructure is either poor or damaged because of war, and so telephone landlines in many areas of Tribal region are not functioning. Thus, VOA Deewa has become a platform where information and awareness is dispersed and locals connect to each other through their voices as heard on radio. Information has helped make locals more aware, and empowers their voices as listeners have started asking questions and raising their

266 voices in VOA Deewa shows7. A social change is found on this platform, women’s participation and voices could be heard and male members of their family also supported them. The same social change is found in the Pashtun male family members, who are progressively accepting women’s role in the betterment of society. VOA Deewa may not be the sole reason for this change as there are many other non-governmental organizations (NGOs) working in the region to promote awareness and betterment of the region, but VOA Deewa efforts are facilitating in these efforts. VOA Deewa efforts also tend to line up with strategic attempts to influence tribesmen. By hiring native Pashtuns who are highly qualified journalists as VOA Deewa staff, they have embedded Pashtun culture, their values, and their religion in the VOA Deewa information and messages, to influence and to raise awareness among tribesmen. Moreover, the VOA Deewa shows have elements that are similar to positive propaganda; they purposefully deliver an ideology by overtly broadcasting the U.S. government’s perspective through U.S. government reports and various newspaper editorials. Yet, in the case of VOA Deewa, that ideology is based on universally accepted human rights and uses soft power to improve life in a target region. This study concludes that VOA Deewa is a public diplomacy instrument that provides a platform for delivery of news and information and spreads awareness to a target region. In addition, it empowers local voices, connects locals to other locals through on air, and uniting them as they share their concerns and understandings. The service is provided by highly qualified native Pashtuns who see their work as public diplomacy in line with the VOA charter. They aim to deliver balanced and objective journalism and broadcast the American perspective clearly and effectively; by doing so they incorporate characteristics of positive propaganda and strategic communication. The findings of increased awareness, empowerment, and social change associated with VOA Deewa may be unique to this case. More studies are needed to elaborate on these results and augment existing frameworks of public diplomacy. Moreover, the findings from the VOA

7 Deewa staff has observed this change in their listeners in the nine years of VOA Deewa programming. They reported on it in their interviews when asked about the differences they observed in their listeners from the beginning of the radio service until now. The VOA Deewa staff did not see their efforts as empowering locals, but rather as raising awareness. This theme emerged from the analysis of the data, but as an emerging theme and possible characteristic of public diplomacy it demands further study.

267 Deewa case contain elements of both the public diplomacy framework and propaganda framework, both of which have been the focus of a great deal of research. The study of VOA Deewa provides helpful insights and deepens our understanding of public diplomacy. Public diplomacy is two-way communication that develops trustworthy relationships through dialogue and conversation. Public diplomacy practice gives value to the cultural and religious values of the target nation. Public diplomacy aims to inform the target audience, and promote ideology of democracy and freedom. To be credible, tools of public diplomacy practice independent journalism and provide balanced and accurate news and information. The objectives of employing public diplomacy efforts are to improve the society, remove social taboos, and bring positive social changes. Moreover, the practice of public diplomacy does share some characteristics of positive propaganda that include: persuasive and strategic efforts to influence attitudes of the people of foreign nations in favor of one’s state foreign policy, inaccurate information about hard facts in some cases, and promotion of one’s ideology. However, tools of public diplomacy include propaganda elements to some extent but public diplomacy and propaganda cannot be same. Public diplomacy is more than providing information; it is a tool that can serve as a platform for awareness, empowerment, peace messages and social change in the society. These findings however, are important but only found in VOA Deewa, which is one case and cannot be generalized. Nevertheless, a more defined framework for public diplomacy that clearly distinguishes it from propaganda is still needed. To further this research, my future research agenda includes comparing more cases in which VOA services are broadcast in the Middle East, Africa, and South America. Such study will make it possible to compare and contrast VOA cases and will contribute to the development of a model for the use of public diplomacy information tools across many contexts.

268 APPENDIX A

HUMAN SUBJECTS IRB APPROVAL

269 APPENDIX B

INFORMED CONSENT FORM SENDERS

270 APPENDIX C

INFORMED CONSENT FORM RECIEVERS

271 APPENDIX D

INFORMED CONSENT FORM RECEIVERS (ILLITERATE, CANNOT SIGN)

272 APPENDIX E

EMAIL TRANSCRIPT

Dear……,

My name is Mehnaz Gul. I am a doctoral candidate in School of Communication, Florida State University. My dissertation is public diplomacy and propaganda where I am analyzing VOA Deewa as a case. To collect my data, I am conducting some interviews with the VOA Deewa Staff and VOA executives.

In reference to my study I would like to interview you and collect your views about VOA in general and VOA Deewa in specific as a tool of public diplomacy. This interview will take about an hour, and not more than that. Your name will not be disclosed in the study without your consent, and your credentials will be kept in a secure place. The interview will be recorded and transcribed and will be kept in a locked and secure place for five years. After that it will be destroyed. A complete informed consent will be read and signed before the interview.

I will visit Washington D.C. from ------to ------, and would really appreciate if you can let me know your availability and we can schedule time and date for this interview.

An approval from FSU IRB committee and from my Supervisor, Dr. Stephen McDowell (Associate Dean, College of Communication, FSU) is hereby attached.

Looking forward to your response,

Thank you,

Mehnaz Gul Doctoral candidate, School of Communication, Florida State University,

273 APPENDIX F

FOCUS GROUP/ INTERVIEW GUIDELINE FOR AUDIENCE (LOCALS)

Agency:

University:

Focus group #

Number of people:

Gender:

Ages:

Education:

Date:

Time begin:

Time ended:

Questions:

1: Do you or your family listen to radio?

2: why do or do not you and your family listen to radio?

3: what radio service you or your family listens to or prefer? And Why?

4: (If they did not mentioned VOA Deewa) Why do you not listen to VOA Deewa?

5: (If they listen to VOA Deewa) Why do you listen to VOA Deewa?

6: What are your views about VOA Deewa? Do you trust VOA Deewa? Why?

6: (If they brought in the issue of propaganda) Why you think VOA Deewa is propaganda?

7: (If they did not bring in propaganda) how do you describe the efforts of VOA Deewa? Do you think it is a credible source? Why or why not?

274 8: Do you think VOA Deewa is a two-way communication and listens to its receiver’s point of view rather than just delivering their own point of view? Why or why not?

9: Do you think VOA Deewa as a public diplomacy tool could serve or is serving as peace making or conflict resolution agent? Why or why not?

10: (if they did not brought in propaganda) do you think VOA Deewa or any international broadcast service is propaganda? Why or why not?

Note: the same question will be asked from the leaders of the tribe during interview.

275 APPENDIX G

INTERVIEW GUIDE FOR VOA DEEWA WASHINGTON STAFF

The interview will start with questions regarding general process questions and will not be directed to the main question of the study in the beginning)

1: How do you select news, discussion topics and editorials? (Depending upon prompt if they talk about guideline and feedback, if not they will be directed to it)

2: how detailed and in what form the guidelines you receive?

3: How strictly you have to follow the guideline?

4: Do you send feedback? What form and what is included in the feedback?

5: how do you select a question to ask from a caller?

(whether they go for expertise only or it is purposeful and prefer guest speaker whose thoughts and ideology is similar to the U.S. ideology, do they know the speaker personally?)

6: How do you choose the guest speaker for the show?

7: do you encourage debate with audience on drone strikes?

8: Why or why not you discuss the issue of drone strike with your audience?

9: Do you think you have big audience and they agree with your point of view?

10: What do you think, why Muslims and Muslim media do not consider VOA as a credible and trustworthy source?

11: What are your views about VOA history and it’s association to propaganda efforts?

12: Do you think VOA Deewa is still associated with propaganda?

13: how do you describe VOA Deewa as tool of public diplomacy and not propaganda?

276 APPENDIX H

INTERVIEW GUIDE VOA DEEWA STAFF PAKISTAN

1: How and what news you gather and send to Washington D.C.?

(Depending upon their response)

2: Do you get any guidelines about the news and issues to gather?

3: What are your views, how transparent is the information process of VOA Deewa?

4: Do you think locals want to discuss issues of drone strikes?

5: Do local like VOA Deewa? Why or why not?

6: Do you think you have big audience and they agree with your point of view?

7: What do you think, why Muslims and Muslim media do not consider VOA as a credible and trustworthy source?

8: What are your views about VOA history and it’s association to propaganda efforts?

9: Do you think VOA Deewa is still associated with propaganda?

10: how do you describe VOA Deewa as tool of public diplomacy and not propaganda?

277 APPENDIX I

LIST OF DRONE STRIKES 2013 IN PAKISTAN

Year Incidents Killed Injured

2005 1 1 0 2006 0 0 0

2007 1 20 15 2008 19 156 17 2009 46 536 75

2010 90 831 85+

2011 59 548 52

2012 46 344 37

2013 24 158 29 Total 286 2594 310+ 2013

S.N. Date Place / District Incidents killed Injured

1 January 3 Sarkundi / Taliban leader Maulvi Nazir was among 10 0 Birmal SWA / 10 Taliban militants killed in a U.S.- FATA operated drone strike in Sarkundi area of Birmal tehsil in the South Waziristan Agency of FATA.

2 January 3 Mir Ali / NWA Six militants, a close associate of the 6 0 / FATA TTP's chief Hakimullah Mehsud among them, were killed in a drone attack in Mir Ali tehsil of NWA in FATA.

3 January 6 Babar / Ladha At least 17 persons, all believed to be 17 8 / SWA / FATA suspected militants, were killed and eight others sustained injuries in three separate U.S. drone attacks in the mountainous Babar area of Ladha subdivision in South Waziristan Agency of FATA.

4 January 8 Haider Khel / At least eight militants were killed and four 8 4 Hisokhel / others injured when U.S. drones fired NWA / FATA missiles struck militant compounds in the villages of Haider Khel and Hisokhel, some 25 kilometres east of Miranshah,

278 the main town in the North Waziristan Agency of FATA.

5 January 10 Heso Khel / At least six militants were killed in U.S. 6 0 Mir Ali / NWA drones attack in Heso Khel village on the / FATA edge of Mir Ali town, around 35 kilometres east of Miranshah town of North Waziristan Agency of FATA.

6 February 8 Babar / Ladha Seven militants were killed and six others 7 6 SWA / FATA injured when the U.S. drones fired six missiles and pounded two separate mud- built houses in Babar area of Ladha subdivision in South Waziristan Agency in FATA.

7 March 10 Degan village A U.S. drone strike killed two suspected 2 0 / Dattakhel militants in Degan village of Dattakhel tehsil / North tehsil of North Waziristan Agency of Waziristan FATA. Agency / FATA

8 March 22 Dattakhel / Four militants were killed when U.S. 4 0 NWA / FATA drone fired two missiles on a house in Dattakhel tehsil of North Waziristan Agency in FATA.

9 April 14 Manzarkhel / Four militants were killed by a U.S. 4 0 Dattakhel / drone strike in the Manzarkhel area of North Dattakhel town, 35 kilometres west of Waziristan Miranshah, the main town of North Agency / Waziristan Agency in FATA. FATA

10 April 17 Bobar Samal Nine militants, including five foreigners, 9 0 / South were killed in a U.S. drone attack in Waziristan Bobar Samal area of South Waziristan Agency / Agency of FATA. FATA

11 May 29 Miranshah / A U.S. drone strike killed the deputy 5 0 North 'chief' of the TTP Waliur Rehman, the Waziristan number two in the TTP, along with at agency / least five other militants in Chashma FATA village near Miranshah town of North Waziristan agency.

12 June 7 Shokhel A U.S. drone strike killed seven militants 7 0 village / North at Shokhel village of North Waziristan Waziristan District in FATA. The missiles hit a District / compound in the village that is known as FATA a stronghold of Taliban and Al Qaeda- linked militants. The U.S. drone fired two missiles targeting the militant compound.

279 13 July 2 Sirai At least 17 suspected militants were killed 17 2 Darpakhel / and two others injured by a U.S. drone Miranshah / which attacked a house in Sirai Darpakhel NWA / FATA area near Miranshah in North Waziristan Agency of FATA. 14 July 13 Mosaki / Mir At least two militants of foreign origin were 2 0 Ali / NWA / killed in a U.S. drone strike in Mosaki FATA village near Mir Ali town of North Waziristan Agency in FATA.

15 July 28 Shawal valley Eight militants were killed when a U.S. 8 0 / NWA / FATA drone fired two missiles at a house in the Shawal valley of the North Waziristan Agency in FATA.

16 August 31 NWA / FATA A U.S. drone killed at least four militants 4 0 in a missile strike targeting a compound in Heso Khel village of North Waziristan Agency.

17 September 6 Ghulam Khan At least six suspected militants were killed 6 0 / NWA / FATA in a U.S. drone attack in the Ghulam Khan tehsil of North Waziristan Agency in FATA in the wee hours.

18 September Shawal / At least six suspected militants were killed 6 3 22 NWA / FATA and three others were injured in a U.S. drone strike on a militant compound in Shawal area of North Waziristan Agency in FATA.

19 September Char Khel / U.S. drones fired missiles at a 3 1 30 Boya / NWA / residential compound in Char Khel area FATA of Boya in NWA near Afghan border, killing at least three suspected militants and injuring another one.

20 November 1 Dandy Hakimullah Mehsud, the 'chief' of the TTP, 6 0 Darpakhel / was killed, along with five others, in a NWA / FATA U.S. drone strike in Dandy Darpakhel area, five kilometres (three miles) north of Miranshah, the main town of NWA in FATA.

21 November 21 Hangu / KP At least eight suspected militants were 8 5 killed and five others were injured in U.S. drone strike at a seminary in Tal area of Hangu District. Haqqani Network's spiritual leader, Maulana Ahmad Jan, was among eight persons killed in the drone attack.

280 22 November 29 NWA / FATA At least three suspected militants were 3 NS reported killed and several others injured when two missiles were fired by a U.S. drone on a compound in Angar Kalli area near Miranshah tehsil in North Waziristan Agency of FATA. The sources said that drones had been hovering over the area for hours.

23 December 14 Khyber At least six suspected militants were killed 6 0 Agency / in a drone strike in Mach Magai area of FATA Khyber Agency in FATA.

24 December 26 NWA / FATA A U.S. drone fired two missiles at a 4 0 compound near Qutab Khel in Miranshah town of North Waziristan Agency in FATA, killing at least four suspected militants.

281 APPENDIX J

CONFIDENTIALITY CONTRACT

Research Assistance Contract

The research study “Public Diplomacy or Propaganda: A case of VOA Deewa for the Tribal areas of Pakistan and Afghanistan” is conducted by Ms. Mehnaz Gul for her PhD dissertation. You are only assisting her in collecting data through interviews and then transcribing it. She reserves all the rights to this interview guide and to the data.

According to research ethics and conduct, this interview guide and interview data (recording and transcription) cannot be shared with any one else and cannot be reproduced by anyone else.

Per Florida State University Human subject committee, we have to keep the data safe. Therefore by assisting in this research, you are bound with this law. After conducting interviews all the recordings and transcriptions will be provided to Ms. Mehnaz Gul. All the data that you have on your computer (or any device that you used to save the data) will be erased.

By signing here you agree with all the conditions and agree to keep the interview guide and data collected safe and will not share or reproduce it and will erase from your computer (or any device that you used to save the data) once the job is done and the data is sent to Ms. Mehnaz Gul.

Name: ______

Signature: ______

Date: ______

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292 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH

Mehnaz Gul is Lecturer in University of Peshawar, Pakistan. She earned the Masters in Philosophy (MPhil) from University of Bergen, Norway and a Masters in Public Administration (MPA) degree from University of Peshawar, Pakistan. Mehnaz has served as a teaching assistant in School of Communication, Florida State University while pursuing her PhD degree from Florida State University. She has presented her work in numerous national and international leading conferences of the field. She has been awarded International Dissertation Semester Research fellowship from School of Graduate, Florida State University for data collection for this dissertation. Her areas of interests include international communication, media and conflict, foreign policy and public diplomacy.

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