Khizar Hayat Abbasi
Muzaffarabad: The last program of the series broadcast by Pakistan Television on provincial level to pay homage to father of nation Quaid-e- Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah was organized by AJK TV was held here on the other day. President of Pakistan Mamnoon Hussain was Chief Guest in the elegant and colourful show titled ‘Manzil-e- Quaid’ while AJK President Sardar Muhammad Masood Khan, Prime Minister Raja Farooq Haider Khan, First Lady of Pakistan, First of Azad Kashmir, wife of AJK Prime Minister, senior government officials and people from different walks of life attended the program.
The show featuring tableaus, national and folk songs and skirts amply reflected Kashmir’s deep-rooted cultural and natural affinities with Pakistan. The show was so organized, entertaining and captivating that that chief guest, president of Pakistan, President AJK and Prime Minister left their seats and joined national songs by stepping on the dice. The performers and children participating in the show received thunderous applauses both from the guests of honour and audiences. All the artists and the children from different schools who participated and performed in the show ‘ Manzil-e- Quaid were from AJK.
Rehmat Bano who frequently represents AJK at national and international level along with Nadir Swati, Ashiq Butt and Abdul Basit enthralled the audiences with their immaculately magical voices while prominent local artist Rustam Charli and his team along with the talented kids of the schools captured the hearts of the crowed with their performances. The show was jointly produced by Producers Shazia Aslam, Asif Iqbal Malik, Ghazanfar Abdullah and Abid Naqi under vigilant supervision of General Manager AJK TV Syed Amir Zia.
The Chief Guest, president Mamnoon Hussain highly praised both contents of the program and performance of the artists and said program had refreshed the national spirit of Pakistan movement that resulted into separate homeland for the Muslims of Subcontinent under the impeccable and sagacious leadership of Quaid Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah. Both AJK President and Prime Minister highlighted the unshakable strength of religious, historical, cultural and emotional links between Kashmiris and Pakistan. Prime Minister Raja Farooq Haider Khan narrated the sufferings and plights of people in occupied Kashmir with tears welling in eyes made the audience emotional.
Launch back in 2004, the AJK television channel for Azad Jammu and Kashmir was highly appreciated by all and sundry as significant development for providing opportunities to promote region’s languages, arts and culture besides Kashmiri peoples struggle for their right to self determination. The channel was initially funded with Rs 340 million grant from the federal government and consists of one television station and the accompanying broadcast infrastructure, including seven boosters.
The stated objective of the channel was to project the Kashmir cause in an effective manner and it did the job despite numerous problems faced by its employees. The employees working in the channel since its launch 13 years ago are still waiting for regularization of the services. It is high time for the top management of Pakistan Television to pay its attention on this most important issue and develop the centre like others provincial centers to make it an effective channel for countering the negative propaganda coming from across the border. Moreover the TV channel has been consistently serving the national cause by showing richness of Kashmiri culture, its traditions, local arts and crafts and economic development of the region and opportunities for tourism with the clear objective to project fruits of freedom that people of AJK enjoy.
