“I have never met a Pakistani before!” an Indian journalist had exclaimed when he met a group of Pakistani colleagues in Kathmandu, Nepal, in 2022.

Such people-to-people encounters are all too rare, particularly over the past decade.

Pakistan-India relations have been tense since the Partition of India in 1947 following the exit of the British. The two countries have fought four wars, in 1947-1948, 1965, 1971, and the last in 1999, a year after testing nuclear weapons.

Until about ten years ago, they allowed two journalists each from across the border to report from the ground. In 2014, Pakistan asked the two Indian correspondents in Pakistan, Meena Menon of The Hindu and Snehesh Alex Philip of the Press Trust of India to leave. No reason was given, but it was apparently part of a tit-for-tat policy, since India had been refusing permission for Pakistani journalists to report from Delhi.

A glaring void

So for over a decade now, Indian or Pakistani journalists have been unable to report from each other's countries. This void significantly hampers the ability to provide exclusive coverage, as evident during the ICC Cricket World Cup 2023 in India.

Obtaining visas is difficult enough for ordinary citizens, but even more so for journalists from Pakistan and India wishing to report from each other’s countries.

Obtaining independent data, opinions, and verification from across the border is hard. Journalists are forced to rely on social media. They are lucky if they can ask someone from the other side to help them with a story.

Resuming people-to-people contact has many benefits but the status quo is unlikely to change anytime soon. To see heads of state cross the Radcliffe Line, the official border, and visit each other’s country would be historic. The last time was when former Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf visited India 23 years ago, and Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s unofficial Pakistan visit 10 years ago.

Through these challenges, the East-West Center in Hawaii has facilitated at least a hundred journalists from Pakistan and India to connect with each other since 2015. The EWC's cross-border media program, which now boasts 300 alumni in the region, continues to show the importance of collaboration and exchange of ideas.

An exciting opportunity

This year, there was an exciting WhatsApp group message from the East-West Center’s Media Programs Manager Susan Kreifels - Pakistani and Indian journalists would get a chance to work with each other at a three-day International Media Conference 2024 (IMC 2024), June 23-26 in Manila, Philippines. The only condition for participants was that they must work together on a cross-border story. The jury would select ten proposals, and 20 journalists would be invited to attend the event offering another opportunity to explore more ways to collaborate.

This cross-border journalism in Southasia, particularly between India and Pakistan, yielded valuable insights on shared challenges. The East-West Center's programme facilitating such collaborations produced compelling stories on agriculture, climate change, and environmental issues.

This success underscores the potential for similar initiatives across the larger Southasian region, including Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Nepal, and Southeast Asian nations. There are many common concerns that would benefit from joint reporting efforts like health tourism, trade and natural disasters including glacial melt due to climate change.

Unfortunately, collaborative journalism in the region faces significant hurdles. Limited funding, lack of institutional support for publication, and other constraints have resulted in infrequent cross-border reporting projects. These obstacles hinder the regular production of stories that could provide nuanced, multi-perspective coverage of issues affecting multiple countries.

A meetup in Manila

The Manila conference focused on ‘Reporting at a Global Crossroads’, with selected journalists meeting in person on June 23 at the opening reception at the Philippines Museum of Natural History.

Over the next few days, there were panel discussions, keynote speakers, and breakout sessions on topics like Cross-Border Journalism. There was also a post-IMC dialogue for Pakistani and Indian journalists.

Prominent Pakistani journalist Kamal Siddiqi, an EWC alumn, was among the seven journalists honoured with the “Journalists of Courage and Impact” award. The other journalists are from Papua New Guinea; Hong Kong, Washington, DC, the Philippines, and Thailand.

These awards instituted in 2014 at the biennial media conferences have been conferred on 29 recipients so far.

At least two sessions during the conference, and another one post-conference featured Southasia.

Zafar Sobhan, Founding Editor of Dhaka Tribune, Bangladesh, moderated a session on ‘The Future of Southasia’ with journalists from around the region discussing the issues faced by the region and India and Pakistan in particular. The panel featured Kunda Dixit, Founding Editor and Publisher, Nepali Times, Kathmandu and Dilrukshi Handunnetti, Co-Founder/Director, Centre for Investigative Reporting, Sri Lanka, Aditi Phadnis Mehta, Consulting Editor Business Standard, New Delhi, India, and Khuldune Shahid, Correspondent, The Diplomat, Lahore, Pakistan.

Both Aditi Phadnis Mehta and Kunwar Khuldune Shahid said that each country needs to examine and change its attitude about cross-border relations. The discussion showed that difficult conversations can be conducted peacefully and with civility.

Aditi Phadnis read out her essay in Hindi on the region's history and current situation, showing how essential issues can be discussed thoughtfully. India, the largest country in Southasia has a responsibility to act as a good ‘big’ or ‘elder brother’ to improve relations with countries it shares a border with, she said.

Kanak Dixit, Founder of Himal Southasian and co-founder of Himal Media launched in Kathmandu, Nepal, moderated The Journalism Beyond Borders session, participated in by journalists from around the region. They spoke about their experiences working with colleagues from across the border. Most said the collaborations had helped them learn to write for a new audience and gain more perspectives, with stories enriched by their partner's input.

Many wrote on climate change that is affecting the region.Pakistan and India share many common issues created by climate change and pollution, such as problems faced by farmers, crop burning, smog and fog, floods, and urban flooding.

Expand cross-border programmes

“The scope of the cross-border programmes should be expanded,” said Wisal Yousafzai, a reporter from Peshawar. He suggested that the cross-border program should also include collaborations across the Pakistan-Afghan border.

The session particularly gave Nischal Arvind Sanghavi, correspondent, Ahmedabad Mirror, India, valuable insights into Pakistan. “The conference impacted me not only as a person but also as a professional, and I think I will be doing a different kind of journalism from now on,” he told me later.

Attending the conference was “truly enlightening” for Karachi-based journalist Najia Mir, who particularly liked the ‘Future of Facts’ session. “It was my first time participating, and I appreciated the opportunity to engage with journalists from India and Pakistan and discuss our cross-border reporting experiences.”

She found the panel session on ‘Journalism Beyond Borders’ particularly impactful, highlighting “our commitment to fostering mutual understanding through collaborative journalism”.

The conference was an “experience that will stay with me for a long time,” said Shreya Pareek, Founder, The Stories of Change, India. She made “some great connections professionally, and also some incredible friends”.

As a panellist for a session on cross border reporting, she was able to share what goes on behind cross-border collaboration, “especially when it comes to conflicting borders.”

Karachi-based Syed Sibte Hassan Rizvi was a panellist in the 'Journalism Beyond Borders' session where he shared a story he worked on with an Indian journalist. “It wasn't just about environmental journalism and climate change; it also encompassed peace and solution journalism aspects. I feel proud that we have contributed something meaningful through our profession.”

There was general agreement that the region, especially Pakistan and India, needs to collaboratively find solutions for shared issues. Several journalists who cover climate change stories said it was time for both countries to focus on this issue that is so big that it diminished any other the two nations may have. There was also consensus that all the countries in the region should make climate change a priority; governments must take this problem seriously and work on a regional level.

Kamal Siddiqi wrapped up the event with a dialogue on South Asia and looking forward, supported by Dilrukshi Handunnetti. Most of the participants said the cross border program was a great way to join journalists in Pakistan and Inda and it gave a lot of opportunity to report on mutual issues like climate change.

The East-West Center managed to bring journalists from Pakistan and India together, even if this had to happen in a faraway place. Given the challenges and the demonstrated value of cross-border reporting, it is imperative to continue and expand this programme. By doing so, the EWC can foster greater understanding between nations, provide comprehensive coverage of regional issues, and support the development of a more interconnected South Asian media landscape.

Sustaining this initiative would not only benefit journalism in the region but also contribute to more informed public discourse on shared challenges, potentially leading to improved regional cooperation and problem-solving.

(Karachi-based Lubna Jerar Naqvi is a journalist and recipient of the first South-Asia Laadli Media and Advertising Award 2015-16 for Gender Sensitivity. Laxmi Devi Aere is Senior Assistant Editor at The Press Trust of India, Delhi. Both are East-West Center alumni. By special arrangement with Sapan)