‘Terrorism when West targeted, neutrality when Non Western nations targeted’, Expert shuns reporting of Western media on Pahalgam attack

LONDON: Jonathan Spyer, Director of Research at Middle East Forum, condemned the coverage of the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack by the Western media.

Spyer, in conversation , said that when Western civilians or countries are targeted by terror outfits, the media brands them as ‘terrorists’, but that is not the case with non-Western countries.

“It is unfortunate regarding Western coverage that when terrorist organisations, including Islamist organisations, target Western targets and Western civilians, then there’s no shyness about describing them as terrorists. But when they’re targeting non-Western populations, then the desire for objectivity, so-called neutrality and seeing the views of both sides suddenly comes onto the agenda. I think it’s very mistaken,” he said.

He called the act as being ommissive and ignorant of the fact that Pakistan was behind the attacks.

“Not only is it incorrect, but it’s also not good reporting, because the fact of the matter is that the reason for the current escalation is because of Pakistani support and sponsorship of Islamist terror organisations. So to miss that out, in fact, is to be doing poor reporting. It’s not big objective, it’s simply being ommissive of a major in the picture,” he said.

He added that although everyone wants a de-escalation, the act also reflects Western bias where non-Western countries are expected to show restraint. As per him, the media must paint the real picture.

#WATCH | London, UK: Jonathan Spyer, Director of Research at the Middle East Forum, says, “It is unfortunate regarding western coverage that when terrorist organizations, including Islamist organizations, target western targets and western civilians, then there’s no shyness about… pic.twitter.com/fmSvey9HpX

— ANI (@ANI) May 9, 2025

“I think it reflects also Western policy where we see an instant jump towards the need for de-escalation, the need for both sides to behave responsibly, and so on and so forth. This is all very well, of course nobody wants escalation, but it’s very vital, I think, to present a clear picture here as to what the factors actually are, which have led to the escalation in the first place,” he said.

The comments were made in reference to a recent controversy where a US Government panel on foreign affairs pulled up a media house in the US for calling Pahalgam terrorists as ‘militants’.

Hey, @nytimes we fixed it for you. This was a TERRORIST ATTACK plain and simple.

Whether it’s India or Israel, when it comes to TERRORISM the NYT is removed from reality. pic.twitter.com/7PefEKMtdq

— House Foreign Affairs Committee Majority (@HouseForeignGOP) April 23, 2025

“Hey, New York Times, we fixed it for you. This was a TERRORIST ATTACK plain and simple. Whether it’s India or Israel, when it comes to TERRORISM the NYT is removed from reality,” the post on X read. (ANI)