PESHAWAR, Jul 11 (APP): Federal Minister for Information and Broadcasting, Marriyum Aurangzeb Tuesday inaugurated a project aimed at ensuring regional languages around-the-clock transmission on Pakistan Television (PTV) National.
The initiative was meant to promote regional languages and provide quality entertainment to locals and overseas Pakistanis.
Addressing the inaugural ceremony at PTV Peshawar Center, Marriyum Aurangzeb said besides people of Khyber Pakthunkhwa, the overseas Pakistanis living in Saudi Arabia, UAE and other Gulf countries would also be able to watch their favourite programs and musical shows through satellite on PTV.
Congratulating the ministry of Information team and PTV management, she said the project was launched in response to the long-standing demand of the people of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. It would not only promote the culture and heritage of Khyber Pakthunkhwa abroad but would also bring people of different languages closer.
She said the closure of cinemas in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa especially in Peshawar had adversely affected the entertainment industry. PTV was a family channel and its transmission could be watched across the country, she added.
Marriyum Aurangzeb said KP was rich in culture and heritage and its entertainment industry would be instrumental in curbing intolerance in society.
To promote cinema culture, she said a cinema was inaugurated on the premises of Radio Pakistan Lahore and Peshawar to provide recreational opportunities to the public.
The minister said those who ransacked and burnt the Radio Pakistan Peshawar building, its Chaghi model mountains, studios, auditorium and dramas/music archives had been exposed before the masses.
She said under national digitalization program, the music and other archives of Radio Pakistan and PTV would be digitalized.
The minister said that the people of Khyber Pakthunkhwa had bravely fought the war against terrorism and the promotion of cinema and films was meant to provide them with healthy entertainment, information and education.
Marriyum Aurangzeb lashed out at the previous government for its poor policies and hollow slogans, saying that she had neither seen 350 dams nor billions of trees in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
Through PTV Flix, she said the people of Pakistan could now watch their favourite dramas, films and songs through their mobile phones.
She said one party had put on fire the national installations and attacked national monuments on May 9 after its politics became irrelevant while Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz had constructed motorways, energy projects and made Pakistan’s defense impregnable.
The minister said that Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif had launched free laptops scheme for students of Pakistan including Khyber Pakthunkhwa. She said the prime minister distributed laptops among talented students of different universities in Peshawar today.
She said Fata University Phase-1 completed with an estimated cost of Rs1.5 billion was inaugurated by the prime minister today, however, its foundation was laid during the previous Government of PML-N.
She said the development projects launched by the PML-N government had brought positive changes in people’s lives.
Engr Amir Muqam, Adviser to the Prime Minister for Political and Public Affairs and National Heritage said that PTV being a family channel had provided quality education, information and entertainment since its establishment.
He said extension of transmission of PTV National was the long awaited demand of the people of Khyber Pakthunkhwa and overseas Pakistanis that was fulfilled today by the Government.
He expressed that PTV National would give appropriate time to all languages of Khyber Pakthunkhwa.
Secretary Information and Managing Director PTV, Sohail Ali Khan said that existing resources were used in the extension of the transmission period of the PTV National.
He said it would help create national cohesion and bring people of different languages closer.
He said that the transmission time of PTV Multan’s Seraiki, PTV Lahore’s Punjabi and PTV Sindh’s Sindhi would be increased shortly.
Besides PTV authorities, the function was also attended by Adviser to the Chief Minister for Revenue, Pir Haroon Shah, Principal Information Officer, Mubashir Hassan, DG PID Ashfaq Khalil and GM PTV Peshawar Aurangzeb Afridi.
Later, traditional gifted was presented to the Federal Minister.