Monthly honorarium: Actors demand impartial committee to review grant selection

Threaten to approach court for stay order

PESHAWAR: Actors reiterated their demand for a closer look at the selection of artistes who receive monthly stipend from the government. They held a news conference at Peshawar Press Club on Monday, demanding the government constitute an impartial committee to review the selection process.

The artistes—mostly from the CD drama sector—also threatened to take the matter to court if the selection was not examined again.



Commenting over the matter, senior actor Zamir Bacha, who has been working with Pakistan Television and Radio Pakistan for the last several years, said, “Those artistes who left the TV industry many years ago have been included in the list but those still working have not been taken into consideration.” He added, “If [current actors] were not included in the process, then they deserve the right to approach the court for a stay order.”

Bacha added, “Members of the selection committee, including Bushra Farrukh, Aziz Ejaz and Najeebullah Anjum are Hindko-speaking artistes and have no knowledge of Pashto drama; we don’t have confidence in that committee.”

Waseem Bacha, another actor, criticised the K-P government. “Senior artistes from Radio Pakistan and PTV should be included in the committee as all of them started at the grass-roots level.”

Bone of contention

Earlier, the K-P government decided to select 500 artistes who would receive a monthly honorarium of Rs30,000 in recognition of their services in the field of culture.



Artistes were shortlisted from a pool of 1,600 applicants. However, people associated with performing arts have levelled allegations of nepotism and favouritism against the provincial culture department. This includes people from both Hindko and Pashto-speaking industries.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 1^st, 2016.