UK plans anti-terror ads on Pak TV

The UK government is recruiting prominent Muslim citizens in the country to feature in a TV advertisement to be aired in Pakistan, asking Pakistanis to desist from supporting extremist activities. The three-month public relations offensive, called "I Am the West", consists of television commercials and high-profile events in regions such as Peshawar and Mirpur.

It is being funded by the Foreign Office, which is paying up to 400,000 pounds for a pilot project, The Guardian reported. Seven in ten British Pakistanis are Mirpuris.

Starring in the first three advertisements are Sadiq Khan, the Communities Minister, Jehangir Malik, the UK manager of Islamic Relief, English cricketer Moeen Ali and the Lord Mayor of Birmingham, Chaudry Abdul Rashid, who is from Mirpur.

According to a project synopsis, the target audience is 15-25-year-old males who relatively poor and under-educated, and thus more susceptible to extremist doctrines. If successful, it will be implemented in Egypt, Yemen and Indonesia.

The pilot involves nine 30-second television commercials, supported by radio commercials, scheduled across a number of channels, including PTV, Geo TV and Khyber, which is specific to the Peshwari area. They are due to appear on Pakistani TV screens next Monday.

The central theme of "I Am the West" is to assert that there is no contradiction in being a Muslim and being British. Nine 30-second commercials, supported by ads on radio, will be aired on PTV, Geo TV and Khyber among other channels.

The campaign has four key aims, the daily reported. "To ensure Pakistanis realise the West is not anti-Islamic, that British society is not anti-Islam, to demonstrate the extent to which Muslims are integrated into British society and to stimulate and facilitate constructive debate on the compatibility of liberal and Muslim values".