Prime Minister Imran Khan held a meeting via video conferencing with the renowned writers of the country on last Friday and urged them to familiarize youth with our social values and national identity through their work. Minister for Information and Broadcasting, Senator Shibli Faraz and Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Information Lt Gen (Retd) Asim Saleem Bajwa also attended the meeting.
Renowned writers, who have given us memorable television dramas, were a part of the meeting including Hasina Moin, Amjad Islam Amjad, Bee Gul, Fasih Bari Khan, Zafar Meraj, Zanjabeel Asim Shah, Amna Mufti, Saima Ikram Chaudhry and Jahanzeb Qamar.
According to APP, the PM assured the writers that the government will always support them for the promotion of national culture and identity. Imran Khan emphasized that the education and training of the youth has been jeopardized by modern communication tools, internet, easy access to objectionable content and introduction to westerns culture and traditions, hence it is time we put forward our culture on TV.
1) وزیر اعظم عمران خان سے ملک کے نامور لکھاریوں کی ویڈیو لنک کے ذریعے ملاقات
وزیر اطلاعات سینیٹر شبلی Ùراز اور معاون خصوصی برائے اطلاعات Ù„ÛŒÙٹنٹ جنرل(ر) عاصم سلیم Ø¨Ø§Ø¬ÙˆÛ Ø¨Ú¾ÛŒ اجلاس میں شریک pic.twitter.com/lSCJgAs66x
— Prime Minister’s Office, Pakistan (@PakPMO) June 19, 2020
He said the onslaught of the culture contrary to Islamic teachings and social values were not only imperiling our history, culture and social values but also reducing the youth’s knowledge about the Islamic personalities, sages and the national history.
2) وزیر اعظم Ù†Û’ قومی تÛذیب Ùˆ تمدن اور پاکستانیت Ú©Ùˆ اجاگر کرنے Ú©ÛŒ اÛمیت پر زور دیتے Ûوئے Ú©Ûا Ú©Û Ù…Ø§ÚˆØ±Ù† ذرائع ابلاغ ØŒ انٹرنیٹ پرÛر قسم Ú©Û’ مواد خصوصاً قابل اعتراض Ú©ÛŒ آسان دستیابی اور مغربی طور طریقوں اور بیرونی کلچر Ú©ÛŒ یلغار سے Ûماری اقدار اور –
— Prime Minister’s Office, Pakistan (@PakPMO) June 19, 2020
The PM said the government is specially focusing on the reformation of the Pakistan Television to help revive its previous glory. He hoped that the private television channels could also play their part in this regard. He also expressed his desire that a play like ErtuÄŸrul should be produced in Pakistan.
According to a report in Independent Urdu, Fasih Bari Khan stated that the prime minister also highlighted that our society is in a state of moral decay with alarming rates of child pornography dealings in Pakistan and rising divorce rates.
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Though he urged playwrights to help in the character building of the new generation, writer Bee Gul disagreed to his stance. She said that while divorce should be discouraged, it should not be stigmatised as it puts stress on the woman. She emphasized that it is essential that we make relatable stories to inspire youth and not just put stress on historical figures and tales.
Unfortunately, some of the writers didn’t get a chance to speak in the meeting but they hope that the government’s interest may result in positive changes, because more often than not, writers are pressurized into writing a certain type of story by private channels.
