Documentary Storytelling and Interfaith Harmony in Pakistan: A Practice-Based Study of Hasanabdal/Rawalpindi

Abstract. Religious harmony is widely discussed in Pakistan in terms of tension and exclusion, while everyday practices through which people of different faiths share space receive less documentary attention. This article revisits a practice-based documentary project, Religious Harmony in Hasanabdal, completed as part of an MSc in Communication and Media Studies at Fatima Jinnah Women University during 2011–2013. The project explored how religious coexistence is represented through sacred places, devotional practices, local histories and everyday relationships in Hasanabdal and nearby Rawalpindi. The documentary drew on location visits, interviews with religious and community interlocutors, historical and religious texts, and audiovisual production practices. Its focus included Gurdwara Panja Sahib, devotional traditions associated with Baba Wali Qandhari, Hindu temples in Rawalpindi, and Christian community life. The thesis interpreted selected sites and encounters as examples of coexistence and mutual respect, while recording production challenges including access permissions, participants’ reluctance to appear on camera, limited time and the sensitivity of representing religion. Using agenda-setting theory as a framing device, the project treated documentary as a means of making local examples of coexistence visible to a wider audience. This retrospective article does not claim to establish the state of interfaith relations across Pakistan. It argues that documentary storytelling can bring local narratives into public view, but responsible representation requires contextual research, careful consent, attention to unequal visibility, and acknowledgement of tensions and limitations. Keywords: documentary filmmaking; interfaith relations; religious harmony; Hasanabdal; Pakistan; media representation; agenda-setting; practice-based research