Tag: PTV

  • ‘Pakistan should be very proud of last 42 years of helping Afghan refugees’: Wendy Sherman

    ‘Pakistan should be very proud of last 42 years of helping Afghan refugees’: Wendy Sherman

    United States (US) Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman, during an exclusive interview on PTV News programme ‘Shahrah-e-Dastoor’, said, “Pakistan should be very proud of 42 years of helping Afghan refugees and the US, as well as the world, was grateful for that,” reports Dawn.

    “It is an extraordinary system,” she said, commending Pakistan for continuously helping Afghan refugees.

    Sherman was also asked about her comments about relations between the US and Pakistan during her visit to India.

    In response to the question about Sherman’s comments where she categorically said, “It’s for a very specific and narrow purpose, we don’t see ourselves building a broad relationship with Pakistan,” Sherman clarified that by “specific steps” she meant that the purpose of her trip to Pakistan was to predominantly focus on the aftermath of events in Afghanistan and review bilateral relationships between the US and Pakistan.

    “The US and Pakistan have had longstanding relations for decades,” she said.

    She went on to say that “this is a time of great change in [this] region because of the events in Afghanistan”, and the US and the world were reassessing what the future would look like.

    She added that the US was glad that Pakistan had called for an inclusive government in Afghanistan and progress on this front should be made so as to “create a better life for the people of Afghanistan”.

    “And we also agree that humanitarian assistance [to Afghanistan] should continue,” Sherman said, sharing details of measures taken by the US for this purpose.

  • VIDEO: Heated argument between PTI’s Shahbaz Gill and anchor Kamran Shahid

    VIDEO: Heated argument between PTI’s Shahbaz Gill and anchor Kamran Shahid

    Special Assistant to Prime Minister (SAPM), Dr Shahbaz Gill, alleged that anchorperson Kamran Shahid was asked to spread fake news and misquote facts about the United Kingdom’s (UK) court order to unfreeze Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) President Shehbaz Sharif and his family’s bank accounts for lack of evidence of corruption and money laundering. A heated exchange took place between the two on Dunya News‘ programme, ‘On the Front with Kamran Shahid’.

    Gill started off by reading a few statements by Kamran Shahid and gave details of the statements, which as per him were fake news and were factually incorrect.

    Gill’s comments led to a heated exchange of words between Gill and Kamran.

    “Sir, no one can make me misquote statements, not the prime minister or Azhar Javed [UK-based journalist working for Dunya News],” replied Kamran Shahid.

    “You cannot say that I misquote my facts. I have been in journalism for the past 15 years. I am not indulging in any personal attacks against you and neither should you. No one can make me say things that are factually incorrect, not PM Imran Khan, not Shehbaz Sharif, no one,” added Shahid.

    “You are wrong here, no one has the courage to make me misquote my statements or facts. Refrain from doing this.”

    “Let the masses decide about your statements, seems like you are running for an election,” said Gill in response to Shahid’s answer.

    “I have the right to judge the prime minister, he is my PM as well. I supported him long before your [Shahbaz Gill] career as a politician started in Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI),” said Shahid.

    “You have a fascist regime, your party is monitoring everything, you all do one-sided reporting on Pakistan Television Network (PTV), there is no mention of the Opposition in their reporting. If you so highly support journalism why haven’t you made media independent from the information ministry,” said Shahid.

    Shahid added, “PM promised in my show that he will raise the standard of PTV like that of the BBC, now should I say the PM lied?”

  • PM Imran Khan expresses grief over ‘Uncle Sargam’s’ demise

    Prime Minister Imran Khan has expressed his grief over the death of Farooq Qaiser, the voice of the legendary fictional character Uncle Sargam.

    “Saddened to learn of Farooq Qaiser’s death,” wrote the PM on Twitter. “He was not just a performer but would constantly raise awareness about social injustices and issues.”

    “My condolences and prayers go to his family,” added the premier.

    Farooq Qaiser passed away on Saturday, May 14 after suffering a heart attack, his grandson Muhammad confirmed to Pakistan Television News (PTV).

    Besides PM Imran, other prominent personalities including Fawad Chaudhry, Humayun Saeed Adnan Siddiqui, Shaan Shahid, Ali Zafar and Maryam Nawaz also expressed their grief over the death of the legendary artist.

    Born in 1945 in Sialkot, Farooq Qaiser was a renowned puppeteer, artist and columnist and was associated with PTV from 1976. Qaiser spent his early childhood in Peshawar and Kohat and in 1970 graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Fine Arts from the National College of Arts (NCA), Lahore. Later he received a master’s degree in Graphic Arts from Bucharest, Romania in 1976 and also trained for puppetry there.

    He also received his master’s degree in Mass Communication in 1999 from the University of Southern California, School for Communication and Journalism, United States.

    With a prolific career, Qaiser was the recipient of the Pride of Performance Award (1993), the Lifetime Achievement Award (2010) and PTV’s Silver Jubilee Award besides many other national and international titles.

    Rest in peace Uncle Sargam! You have been an important part of our childhood.

  • VIDEO: Ahsan Khan’s mother surprises him during Ramzan show

    VIDEO: Ahsan Khan’s mother surprises him during Ramzan show

    Ahsan Khan, who is hosting a Ramzan Transmission on Pakistan Television (PTV), was in for a surprise when a caller on his show turned out to be his mother. The actor’s mother surprised him with a call on Mother’s Day.

    VIDEO: Shoaib Malik fails to recognise Sania Mirza’s voice on live television

    In the video that is doing the rounds on social media, Ahsan instantly recognises his mother’s voice when she spoke and greeted him. She did not even have to introduce herself.

    During the call, Khan’s mother sending prayers to everyone on set and those watching despite Ahsan’s pleas for her to stop. His co-host Rabia Anum also greeted her as it was Mother’s Day and recalled an incident when she had a lovely conversation with the actor’s mother on a flight from Karachi to Lahore.

    Watch the video below:

  • ‘Daughters are Allah’s gift,’ Rabia Anum tells live caller on Ramzan show

    Rabia Anum Obaid, who is co-hosting Pakistan Television’s (PTV) Ramzan Transmission along with Ahsan Khan, recently gave a sweet response to a man who asked for a wazeefa to have sons.

    A video from the Sehri transmission, that has gone viral on social media, shows a viewer asking for a wazeefa so that he can have a boy. The man said that he has five daughters and yearns for a son. After a religious scholar answered his question, Rabia Anum added that having daughters is a blessing.

    Anum further said that Allah blesses those with daughters whom is is happy with. Addressing the live caller, Rabia said that Allah is happy with you which is why you have so many daughters. She also gave an example of the Holy Prophet Muhammad (SAW), who had four daughters.

    Rabia also said that apart from Shahid Afridi’s cricketing career or welfare, she respects him most because of the love he showers on his daughters.

    Rabia, herself has a daughter.

  • PTV, PTV Sports to turn HD, says Fawad Chaudhry

    Fawad Chaudhry, who was reappointed Minister for Information and Broadcasting in a recent cabinet shuffle, has shared his plans on what he plans to do under his ministry.

    “The process that started in 2018 to initiate reforms in the Information Ministry is being resumed,” said Chaudhry in a tweet, adding that the project to make Pakistan Television HD will be completed by June 1.

    In addition to this, work on making PTV Sports HD is also in progress.

    Chaudhry further said an English channel will be launched soon and that reforms to digitize the Associate Press of Pakistan (APP) are underway.

    Chaudhry further said that the revival of the film and drama industry is his ministry’s “first priority” and that production work on the biographies of Sir Syed Ahmed Khan and Tipu Sultan is under process.

    Young film and drama makers will be given loans up to 5 crore under ‘Nujawan Program’ to facilitate the revival of the industry.

    “Journalists associated with print and electronic media will be provided with personal houses under Prime Minister’s housing project, and health cards will be also provided,” said Fawad, assuring to resolve the non-payment of salaries issues of journalists.

    The Minister also extended his support toward Digital Media saying that “we will give them full support.”

    Meanwhile, Fawad also said that a digital recording of the National Anthem is under process.

  • Pakistan Television’s first female anchor Kanwal Naseer passes way

    Pakistan Television’s first female anchor Kanwal Naseer passes way

    Pakistan Television (PTV)’s first female anchor, newscaster and announcer Kanwal Naseer has passed away at the age of 73. The departed soul was hospitalised for the past couple of days, as reported by Radio Pakistan.

    Born in 1948 in Lahore, Naseer entered media at the young age of 17 and remained associated with PTV and Radio Pakistan for over five decades. Naseer made her first announcement at the PTV on November 26, 1964. 

    Naseer has been awarded the Pride of Performance and many other national awards in recognition of her services. She was the daughter of legendary actor Mohini Hameed.

    Meanwhile, several notable personalities including Fawad Chaudhry and Humayun Saeed expressed their condolences over her death on social media.

    https://twitter.com/RajaBasharatLAW/status/1375321768378916868
  • Haseena Moin passes away at 79

    Haseena Moin passes away at 79

    Celebrated dramatist and playwright Haseena Moin has passed away at the age of 79, her family has confirmed. While the exact reason behind her death is still not known, the writer was a breast cancer survivor and had also penned a web-series on the topic, which is expected to release soon. Moin’s funeral prayers will be held in Karachi.

    One of Pakistan’s most renowned writers, Moin was born in 1941 in Kanpur, present-day India. She earned a Master of Arts in History from Karachi University in 1963. Over a career spanning more than 40 years, Moin delivered a plethora of hits.

    In 1987, she was awarded the Pride of Performance award. Some of her most notable works include Tanhaiyaan, Anakhi and Dhoop Kinare. She also penned dialogues for the Bollywood film Heena which featured Zeba Bakhtiar and the late Rishi Kapoor.

    Moin was last seen at Karachi Art Council’s 23rd March celebrations. She also got vaccinated for the novel coronavirus just a few days before her death.

    Moin’s death has left fans shattered, who took to social media to express their grief.

  • Video defending Naeem Bukhari’s posting as PTV chairman comes back to bite Faraz

    Video defending Naeem Bukhari’s posting as PTV chairman comes back to bite Faraz

    Weeks-old footage of Information Minister Shibli Faraz is making rounds on Twitter, in which the minister had claimed that the appointment of then Pakistan Television (PTV) chairman Naeem Bukhari was made in line with the Supreme Court verdict.

    Faraz, who had appeared on the Hamid Mir show, had said that the appointment of Bukhari was in line with the court order. He had added that the government wouldn’t take any risks and make an appointment against the SC verdict in the Ataul Haq Qasmi case.

    But, it seems the minister was lying through his teeth. Because a fortnight after the claim, an Islamabad High Court (IHC) verdict had asked the federal cabinet to review the appointment of Bukhari because he was overaged for the post. The federal cabinet had subsequently removed him from the post.

    In the clip, Hamid Mir had asked Faraz about the appointment of the PTV chairman, alluding to the plea in the high court that had questioned the qualification of Bukhari for the post.

    At this, Faraz said that Bukhari was named as the PTV chairman after fulfilling all the requirements laid out by the top court in its judgement pertaining to the Ataul Haq Qasmi case. He also claimed that the journalist was being misled by some people who are making the appointment of Bukhari controversial.

    BUKHARI BECOMES PTV CHAIRMAN:

    In November 2020, the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting had notified Bukhari, who has a vast experience of doing TV programmes, as chairman of PTV. The appointment was made after a court ruling in Sept 2020 declared the appointments of PTV chairman Arshad Khan and independent members of the board of directors illegal while directing the government to fill the vacant slots in accordance with the law. 

    Bukhari, who has worked as an anchorperson and commentators on PTV for decades, had joined PTI in June 2016. At the time, he called Imran Khan the “only political leader who had the courage to speak the truth”. Bukhari also represented Imran when he went to the Supreme Court against then prime minister Nawaz Sharif following the Panama Papers leak.

    The pleas that were later admitted by the apex court which disqualified Nawaz Sharif for being “dishonest” under Article 62 (1)(f).

    The National Accountability Bureau (NAB) had also hired the services of Bukhari as a special prosecutor to take up cases against close confidants of Sharif brothers — former Lahore Development Authority chief Ahad Cheema and former principal secretary Fawad Hassan Fawad.

  • Naeem Bukhari removed as PTV chairman

    Naeem Bukhari removed as PTV chairman

    The government has removed Pakistan Television Chairman Naeem Bukhari after an order of the Islamabad High Court that asked the cabinet to review the decision taken in violation of a court order.

    According to Geo News, Bukhari, who was also PM Imran Khan’s lawyer in the Panama Papers case, was removed through a circulation summary. The cabinet also restored Aamer Manzoor as the managing director of the state-run television who was removed by the corporation’s board of directors on January 1.

    Earlier this week, the IHC said the appointment was made in violation of the Supreme Court ruling in a similar case pertaining to Ataul Haq Qasmi.

    During the hearing, IHC Chief Justice Athar Minallah had said the government ignored the guidelines set by the SC in a decision pertaining to the posting in the said position. It had said there must be a clear reason for relaxing the upper age limit for 65-year-old Naeem.

    It had advised the counsel for the PTV chairman to peruse the decision of the top court that had set aside the appointment of Qasmi.

    It may be noted that the apex court had declared the appointment of Qasmi illegal in Nov 2018 over loopholes. It had said the government had failed to appoint a full-time managing director in accordance with the law.

    During today’s hearing, the IHC CJ said the cabinet did not take a clear decision to relax the age limit for the incumbent chairman. He said the matter will be referred to the federal cabinet so a decision could be taken in light of the SC decision.

    At this, the counsel said the cabinet had approved the summary for the appointment of Bukhari. “You should have informed the cabinet about the top court’s decision so that it could have avoided the embarrassment,” the IHC CJ said.

    The hearing was adjourned for two weeks.

    BUKHARI BECOMES PTV CHAIRMAN:

    In November, the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting had notified Bukhari, who has a vast experience of doing TV programmes, as chairman of PTV. The appointment was made after a court ruling in Sept 2020 declared the appointments of PTV chairman Arshad Khan and independent members of the board of directors illegal while directing the government to fill the vacant slots in accordance with the law. 

    Bukhari, who has worked as an anchorperson and commentators on PTV for decades, had joined PTI in June 2016. At the time, he called Imran Khan the “only political leader who had the courage to speak the truth”. Bukhari also represented Imran when he went to the Supreme Court against then prime minister Nawaz Sharif following the Panama Papers leak.

    The pleas that were later admitted by the apex court which disqualified Nawaz Sharif for being “dishonest” under Article 62 (1)(f).

    The National Accountability Bureau (NAB) had also hired the services of Bukhari as a special prosecutor to take up cases against close confidants of Sharif brothers — former Lahore Development Authority chief Ahad Cheema and former principal secretary Fawad Hassan Fawad.