ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s state television said on Wednesday a Pakistani soap opera with Arabic subtitles would air in Saudi Arabia in June this year, one of two television series to be broadcast in the Muslim Kingdom.
Last week Pakistan’s information minister Fawad Chaudhry announced during a visit to the Saudi capital of Riyadh that Islamabad would soon export its television series to the Kingdom.
The move is part of a push by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in the last three years to modernize the deeply conservative Kingdom where cinemas, public concerts and other forms of entertainment have been banned for decades.
“We have selected two very popular dramas, Dhoop Kinare (Sunlight’s Edge) and Tanhaiyaan (Loneliness), for Arabic subtitles,” Shahzia Sikander, Director International Relations at Pakistan Television, told Arab News. “We will be able to send Dhoop Kinare to Saudi Arabia by June this year.”
She said the move would not only be a source of revenue for Pakistan but also bring recognition for local television series and actors and help Saudi nationals understand the culture of Pakistan.
“This is the first time that Pakistan Television is subtitling Pakistani drama into Arabic for Saudi viewers,” Sikander said.
Last week, during the information minister’s visit to the Kingdom on the invitation of Saudi Culture Minister Prince Badr bin Abdullah bin Farhan, Chaudhry said Saudi Airlines would soon include Pakistani television dramas in their in-flight entertainment. He also said Pakistan’s art academies and actors would extend their support to Saudi Arabia as it established new academies for performing arts.
Pakistan is also once again expected to participate in a music festival to be held in Saudi Arabia in April this year. Last year, Pakistani singer Rahat Fateh Ali Khan participated in the festival at Riyadh’s King Fahad Culture Center.
In September 2018, Saudi Arabia’s Minister for Information Dr. Awwad bin Saleh Al-Awwad had visited Pakistan to discuss how the two allies could broaden their relationship in the fields of media and culture.
Two major Pakistani drama series to air in Saudi Arabia this year
Two major Pakistani drama series to air in Saudi Arabia this year
- Pakistan Television has picked two television series, Dhoop Kinare and Tanhaiyaan, for broadcast in the Kingdom
- This is the first time Pakistan is subtitling its drama series into Arabic for Saudi viewers
PIA denies social media claim its entire flight crew went missing abroad
- Airline says the allegation emerged from ‘anti-Pakistan quarters’ to defame both the national carrier
- Some social media posts recently said a PIA flight crew had gone missing during a layover in Toronto
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) on Sunday dismissed as “fake news” a social media claim that the entire crew of one of its flights had disappeared overseas, saying the post was circulated to defame both the national carrier and the country.
The statement came after social media posts said a PIA flight crew had gone missing during a layover in Toronto, Canada.
Previously, there have been reports that individual crew members have used layovers to remain abroad, often linked by analysts to economic conditions at home and perceived asylum opportunities under Canada’s immigration policies. However, PIA has adopted measures such as holding passports with station managers and assigning older crew to Canada routes to curb the trend.
“A tweet, circulated by certain anti-Pakistan quarters, claiming that the whole crew of a particular #PIA flight is missing, is entirely baseless,” the airline announced in a post on X, adding that the purpose of the message “seems to malign PIA and #Pakistan.”
“There has been no such incident, and the news is fake,” it said.
According to local media reports, the information had been circulated by an “Afghan and anti-Pakistan account.”
“The misleading tweet is part of a well-conceived plan based on hostility toward Pakistan and is aimed at damaging the reputation of the national airline and the country,” Pakistan’s English-language broadsheet, Dawn, quoted the airline spokesperson as saying.
Pakistan has been striving to privatize PIA along with other state-owned enterprises under an International Monetary Fund (IMF) loan program.
The airline was banned from operating in Britain and Europe, though those restrictions have been removed more recently.
