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
Pakistan says it has received no request to join Gaza stabilization force
- Foreign Office says any decision on participating in an international mechanism will be guided by sovereign policy considerations
- It says Pakistan’s security collaboration with Saudi Arabia is longstanding and should not be narrowly viewed as troop deployment
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan has not taken any decision on joining a proposed International Stabilization Force (ISF) for Gaza and has received no formal request from the United States or any other country in this regard, the foreign office said on Thursday.
Trump’s Gaza plan, outlined as part of a 20-point framework, envisages the deployment of troops from Muslim-majority countries during a transitional stabilization phase, intended to support security and governance as the war-ravaged Palestinian territory moves toward reconstruction and a longer-term political settlement.
International media outlets claim Washington views Pakistan as a potentially significant contributor given its battle-hardened military, which has fought a brief but intense conflict with India this year and continues to combat insurgencies in its remote regions.
Responding to a query during his weekly media briefing, the foreign office spokesperson, Tahir Andrabi, said discussions on ISF for Gaza were ongoing in “certain capitals,” but Pakistan had neither committed to participate nor received any specific request.
“We have not taken a sovereign decision to participate in ISF as yet,” he said. “I am not aware of any specific request made to Pakistan. We will inform you about any development if it takes place.”
He added that while Gaza and Palestine remain part of Pakistan’s broader diplomatic engagements with regional partners, the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) and members of the United Nations Security Council, the issue of deploying a stabilization force had not been discussed as a standalone, structured agenda item.
“These discussions come up in the broader context of how to stabilize Gaza and ensure peace, but not as a specific, formal proposal,” he added.
The spokesperson maintained Pakistan supports efforts aimed at Gaza’s stabilization and peace but would make any decision on participation in international mechanisms strictly in line with its sovereign policy considerations.
In response to a question about a recent news report by Reuters about a possible visit by Pakistan’s Chief of Defense Forces Field Marshal Asim Munir to the United States to meet US President Donald Trump, Andrabi said there was no confirmation of such plans.
“I can contradict the report in its essence,” he said. “The report suggested as if a visit has been planned or finalized. I do not have any information on the timing or any future visit.”
Earlier, a White House official told Arab News on background no meeting was scheduled between Trump and Munir “at this time.”
The foreign office spokesperson stressed that official visits by Pakistan’s political or military leadership are announced formally by the government ahead of time.
“When an official visit takes place, there is an official announcement. I do not have any such information to share,” he added.
To a question regarding the Pakistan–Saudi Arabia Strategic Mutual Defense Agreement (SMDA) signed in September, he said security collaboration between Islamabad and Riyadh was longstanding, reiterating that the latest pact had only codified and further elaborated the partnership.
Andrabi maintained the pact should not be interpreted narrowly as the deployment of Pakistani forces, noting that defense cooperation covered a wide spectrum including training, joint exercises and institutional collaboration.
“As I said, it’s an ongoing process,” he said. “You should not read it just in the context of sending your forces. There are training, joint exercises that keep on going. If you interpret training as sending forces, I cannot say that. I mean, sending of forces is a very broad term. But our defense corporation, as I said, is ongoing.”
