Balanced media crucial to bring peace in Afghanistan: Bette Dam.

ISLAMABAD -- Bette Dam, renowned investigative journalist and author of the famous book 'Looking for the Enemy: Mullah Omar and the Unknown Taliban', on Tuesday emphasized the need for balanced media reporting and a nuanced approach to foster peace in Afghanistan, rather than presenting one side of the story.

She made the remarks during a discussion session organized by The Centre for Afghanistan, Middle East and Africa (CAMEA) here at the Institute of Strategic Studies Islamabad (ISSI).

She said the realities surrounding Afghanistan had been distorted by the Western media's narrative as the complete picture about the country was rarely presented, suggesting that a more comprehensive understanding was necessary to grasp the complexities of the situation.

During her discourse, Bette Dam shed light on the dominance of the Western narrative in media coverage, noting that the perspective influenced approximately 80 percent of the portrayal.

'In 2001, the Taliban had written surrender letters to the then-Afghan leader Hamid Karzai, which were unfortunately dismissed and thus an important opportunity for peace was conceivably lost,' Dam said.

Furthermore, she highlighted that the refusal by Rumsfeld, the United States Secretary...