ISLAMABAD: Federal Minister for Information and Broadcasting Fawad Hussain Chaudhry announced on Wednesday that the country’s state-owned television news channel, PTV News, would begin its high-definition transmission from June 1 while also promising the same technological upgradation for PTV Sports during the course of this year.
In a brief Twitter thread, Chaudhry informed that Pakistan Television Corporation would also launch a channel in English to enhance its outreach.
“The revival of film and drama is our first priority,” he said in a social media post written in Urdu. “We are beginning to work on the lives of Sir Syed Ahmed Khan [an Islamic reformer] and Tipu Sultan [a Muslim ruler who resisted the onslaught of the British East India Company].”
He added that the government would offer up to Rs50 million in loans to young filmmakers to help them unleash their creative potential.
Chaudhry, who was recently assigned the information ministry for a second time under the ruling Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf administration, said he wanted to turn the Associated Press of Pakistan into a digital news agency and help strengthen the media community by facilitating them through the prime minister’s housing project and health insurance scheme.
He noted it was his policy to support digital media in the country, adding that he also intended to introduce a legislation to ensure that journalists were paid their salaries by owners of media houses on time.
Other than that, Chaudhry expressed his intention to provide more facilities to press clubs across Pakistan.
Pakistan’s state-owned television to begin high-definition transmission this year
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Pakistan’s state-owned television to begin high-definition transmission this year
- The country’s information minister says the government will offer loans to young filmmakers who want to unleash their creative potential
- Fawad Chaudhry maintains the PTI administration wants to help the media community through prime minister’s housing project and insurance program
At least 15 killed, over 80 injured in blast at Islamabad mosque
- Explosion strikes during Friday prayers in Tarlai area on capital’s outskirts
- Attack follows deadly suicide bombing near Islamabad court complex last year
ISLAMABAD: At least 15 people were killed and more than 80 injured after a blast hit a mosque on the outskirts of the Pakistani capital Islamabad on Friday, the city’s district administration said.
The explosion occurred in the Tarlai area around the time of Friday prayers, when large numbers of worshippers gather at mosques across the country, raising fears of a mass-casualty attack.
The attack comes amid a renewed surge in militant violence in Pakistan and follows a suicide bombing outside a district court complex in Islamabad in November last year that killed at least 12 people and wounded dozens, underscoring growing security concerns even in heavily guarded urban centers.
“The death toll from the blast in the federal capital has risen to 15,” a spokesperson for the district administration said in a statement, adding that at least 80 people were injured.
Emergency measures were imposed at the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS), Polyclinic Hospital and the Capital Development Authority (CDA) Hospital, the statement said, adding that assistant commissioners had been deployed to oversee treatment of the wounded.
“The site of the blast has been completely sealed,” the district administration spokesperson said.
Earlier, police spokesperson Taqi Jawad said the blast occurred at an imambargah, a place of worship for the Shiite Muslim community.
“More details will be shared in due course,” Jawad said.
No group has so far claimed responsibility for the attack.
Islamabad has historically been less affected by militant violence than Pakistan’s northwestern and southwestern regions, but the November suicide bombing near the district courts, and Friday’s explosion, have heightened concerns about the capital’s vulnerability amid a broader nationwide resurgence of militancy.
