How to challenge Taliban propaganda?
Homeopathy has a long-established principle of “Let likes cure likes”. In the same sense, the Taliban’s FM propaganda can be challenged with the same FM radio tools operated by local people unaffiliated with the Taliban. Jamming the Taliban’s FM transmitters can provide temporary relief but it is not a solution, owing to the very nature of these channels. Â Jamming could interfere with the intelligence system, as some of these FM transmitters illegally use the same frequencies allocated for the police and security agencies, ranging from 88.00 to 108.00 MHz. Confiscation of equipment is also not a permanent solution. The problem is that the broadcasters can easily resurface. An FM channel can be operated even from a motorbike on the run. One can pack the whole transmitter in a brief case and re-launch it from another location unless the broadcasters lose support and popularity among the local people. PEMRA officials confiscated 180 illegal FM transmitters in the NWFP last year, but thei
