Fast Facts Radio Mashaal was launched in January 2010 in order to provide reliable reporting in Pakistan's Northwest Frontier Province and the Federally Administered Tribal Areas. Languages: Pashto Coverage: 9 hours daily Established: January 2010 Distribution: Radio (AM, SW, satellite), Internet (www.mashaalradio.com) Locations: Prague headquarters, Islamabad Staff: 19 in Prague, 23 stringers

Media Environment

• Freedom House Freedom of the Press Index, 2010: Not Free (134th/196)
• Reporters Without Borders Press Freedom Index, 2009: 159th/175
• The central government in Pakistan has historically had very little direct control over Pakistan’s northwestern regions along the Afghan border. In recent years, the area has become a safe haven for Taliban, Al Qaeda and other extremist groups. Illegal radio stations in the region spread pro-extremist propaganda and harmful disinformation.
•  

• Journalists are routinely threatened, kidnapped, and attacked. Reporters Without Borders has called Swat a “valley of fear”, and the Committee to Protect Journalists named Pakistan “the world’s deadliest country for the press” in 2010.

RFE/RL’s Newest Service

• Radio Mashaal reported extensively about the effect of last year’s devastating floods on Pakistan’s northwest. Amongst others, programs offered reports from isolated villages, provided information for people who had lost homes and property, and gave expert advice on water-borne illnesses.
• The station features a variety of programs, from local and international news, in-depth political reporting featuring local policymakers and tribal elders, and special feature programs dedicated to youth, women’s issues, and health care. Radio Mashaal also hosts several very popular call in shows.
• Other prominent programs include “War Stories”, where listeners tell tales of Taliban atrocities, a series of profiles of tribal elders that have been assassinated by extremists, and a health care program offering the advice of expert physicians.
• Daud Khan Khattak, a journalist with Radio Mashaal, recently released a policy paper for the New America Foundation analyzing the ongoing battle between Taliban militants and Pakistani security forces for control of the Swat Valley in northwestern Pakistan. Khattak's paper was released as part of the New America Foundation’s Counterterrorism Strategy Initiative series.

Population
166 million (World Bank estimate, 2008)

Most Common Languages:
Punjabi, Sindhi, Siraiki, Pashto, Urdu

Press Freedom Index (Freedom House):
Not Free, ranked 159 out of 196 (2010)

Press Freedom Index (RSF):
159 out of 175 (2010)

Corruption Index (Transparency Int.):
143 out of 178 (2010)

Global Peace Index (IES):
145 out of 149 (2010)

Human Rights Watch:
Report on Pakistan (2010)

Amnesty International:
Pakistan Report (2009)