Pakistan, Iran sign five MoUs to deepen media, cultural cooperation

Federal Minister for Information and Broadcasting Attaullah addresses media in Islamabad, Pakistan on October 10, 2024. (APP/File)
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Updated 05 November 2025
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Pakistan, Iran sign five MoUs to deepen media, cultural cooperation

  • Tarar calls digital media ‘the way forward,’ hoping the accords will enhance collaboration in the field
  • Iranian envoy says the MoUs will promote media cooperation and open avenues for public diplomacy

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan and Iran on Tuesday signed five agreements to strengthen cooperation in broadcasting, digital media and cultural exchange, according to a state media report, with officials describing the development as a step toward stronger ties through enhanced cultural understanding.

The Memoranda of Understanding (MoUs), inked between Iran’s state broadcaster, the Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting (IRIB), and several Pakistani media institutions, aim to boost collaboration in content production, training and regulatory practices.

Speaking at the signing ceremony, Federal Minister for Information and Broadcasting Attaullah Tarar termed the visit of the Iranian media delegation “productive and inspiring,” saying the signing of MoUs reflected both governments’ resolve to strengthen people-to-people connections and promote shared values of peace.

“Digital media is the way forward,” the state-run Associated Press of Pakistan (APP) news agency quoted him as saying, as he highlighted that “the new agreements with Iran focus on enhancing collaboration in this vital domain, allowing both countries to learn from each other’s experiences.”

According to official summaries, the MoUs between IRIB and Pakistani institutions — including Pakistan Television Corporation (PTV), the Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (PEMRA), Box Office (Pvt) Ltd, Sab TV Network, and VSH TV — cover areas such as broadcasting, training, content production and cultural exchange.

Under the IRIB-PTV MoU, both broadcasters will exchange television programs and co-produce news and cultural content.

Iranian Ambassador to Pakistan Dr. Reza Amiri Moghadam thanked the government for its support, saying the new framework would “bring the people of Pakistan and Iran closer through enhanced cultural understanding and media exchange.”

“These agreements will not only promote cooperation between our media organizations but also pave the way for broader public diplomacy,” the ambassador said.


Gunmen kidnap nine laborers in southwestern Pakistan, say officials

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Gunmen kidnap nine laborers in southwestern Pakistan, say officials

  • Gunmen abducted six laborers from Khuzdar district, three from Barkhan on Saturday night, say officials 
  • No group has claimed responsibility for kidnappings but separatist BLA group has targeted laborers in Balochistan

QUETTA: Unidentified gunmen this week kidnapped nine laborers from two separate construction sites in Pakistan’s southwestern Balochistan province, police and government officials said on Sunday, as security forces conduct search operations to recover them. 

The first incident occurred on Saturday night in the mountainous district of Khuzdar, where armed men abducted workers from a water channel construction site.

“Six laborers working for a private construction company were kidnapped after armed men stormed a construction site of a water channel in Mola, a mountainous town in Khuzdar,” Senior Superintendent of Police Khuzdar Shahzad Umar Abbas told Arab News.

He said the laborers were from Sindh and Balochistan, adding that police teams have started search operations to recover the kidnapped laborers. 

The second incident also took place during Saturday night when gunmen abducted three laborers from Dola river located around 12 kilometers from Barkhan city in Balochistan.

Abdullah Khosa, deputy commissioner of Barkhan, said armed men came from the nearby mountains at around 9:30 p.m. and kidnapped the laborers while they were inside their camp. 

“Security forces have been in pursuit of the kidnappers and search operations are going on for the safe recovery of the laborers,” Khosa told Arab News. 

While no group has claimed responsibility for the kidnapping, the separatist Baloch Liberation Army (BLA) has in the past claimed abducting and killing laborers. 

The BLA has targeted laborers mostly from Pakistan’s eastern Punjab province in the recent past. Ethnic Baloch militant groups such as the BLA accuse the central government and Punjab of monopolizing profits from Balochistan’s natural resources. The state denies these allegations. 

Balochistan, which shares porous borders with Afghanistan and Iran, has been the scene of a low-lying insurgency for decades. Militants have frequently targeted government officials, security forces, laborers and Chinese personnel in the area. 

The BLA launched a series of coordinated attacks in Balochistan on Jan. 30-31 which claimed over 50 lives while the army said 216 militants were killed.