ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan Cricket Board is planning to launch its own television channel.
“The channel will broadcast cricket matches, analysis of the sport, documentaries and talk shows for national and international viewers,” said Shakeel Khan, the PCB’s public relations officer. Preparations for the launch have already begun but it will take some time to complete the legal and official formalities before it premieres, he added.
Khan said the PCB has applied to the Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority for a broadcast license, adding: “We are hopeful of getting the license, as all legal requirements for it have already been fulfilled.”
It has yet to be decided whether other sports will appear on the channel.
“It will be priority of the channel to broadcast domestic cricket matches, including Pakistan Super League live, besides major international cricket tournaments,” said Khan.
Pakistan would be the first Test-playing country in the world to have a dedicated TV channel run and managed by its cricket board.
In August 2016, a Senate Standing Committee on Inter-provincial Coordination endorsed a request by the PCB to have its own television channel and radio station to promote the game. Najam Sethi, who was head of the PCB executive committee at the time and is now chairman of the cricket board, told committee members at the time that the then Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif had given the go-ahead for an cricket TV channel.
The Senate committee also recommended to the PCB that its TV channel should also allocate a share of its schedule to coverage of other sports, especially hockey, which is the national sport of Pakistan.
Imran Naeem Ahmad, a senior sports journalist and analyst, said the cricket board should focus on improving the structure of domestic cricket rather than setting up a television channel.
“It is not the job of the cricket board to run a television channel,” he said. “This would be a bad precedent as every other sports organization would then want to launch its own channel.”
Privately run channels and the state-run Pakistan Television already have sports channels, he added, which have been doing their best to promote the sport in the country.
“There is no need to create another set of bureaucracy in the PCB through a TV channel,” Ahmad said. “The cricket board can only improve the game through a good selection process of the players, and the introduction of merit in the team.”
Pakistan Cricket Board planning launch of its own TV channel
Pakistan Cricket Board planning launch of its own TV channel
- The Pakistan Cricket Board’s channel will broadcast domestic matches, Pakistan Super League and other international tournaments
- Pakistan would be the first Test-playing country in the world to have a dedicated channel run and managed by its cricket board
Pakistan engages Saudi Arabia, China in bid to ease surging Middle East tensions
- Pakistan’s foreign minister stresses need for de-escalation in conversations with Chinese, Saudi counterparts
- Tensions in the Middle East continue to remain high as conflict between US, Israel and Iran intensifies
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar spoke to the foreign ministers of Saudi Arabia and China on Tuesday, stressing the importance of diplomatic engagement to de-escalate tensions in the Middle East as the Iran war intensifies.
Pakistan has constantly engaged regional countries in efforts to broker a ceasefire in the Middle East, after the US and Isreal launched coordinated strikes against Iran on Feb. 28.
Iran launched fresh attacks on Gulf countries on Tuesday morning, where it has targeted US military bases in recent weeks. In addition to firing missiles and drones at Israel and American bases in the region, Iran has also been targeting energy infrastructure which, combined with its stranglehold on the Strait of Hormuz, has sent oil prices soaring worldwide.
Dar spoke to Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan to discuss developments in the Middle East and ongoing deliberations at the UN Security Council, Pakistan’s foreign office said in a statement.
“DPM/FM shared Pakistan’s perspective, underscoring the importance of continued coordination and diplomatic engagement to support de-escalation and promote peace and stability across the region and beyond,” the statement said.
Dar, who also serves as Pakistan’s foreign minister, spoke to Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi over the telephone separately. The two discussed the evolving regional situation and broader global developments.
Dar underscored the need to ease tensions in the Middle East and the wider region during the conversation, the foreign office said.
Yi appreciated Pakistan’s constructive efforts aimed at promoting de-escalation and stability in the region, it added.
“The two leaders stressed the importance of de-escalation and emphasized the need to pursue dialogue and diplomacy in accordance with the principles of the UN Charter,” the foreign office’s statement said.
The conflict in the Middle East has hit Pakistan hard as well, forcing Islamabad to hike petrol and diesel prices by Rs55 per liter last Friday.
Pakistan’s government has also announced a set of austerity measures, which include closing schools and cutting down on government expenditures, as it evaluates petrol stocks and looks for alternative supply routes.
