Pakistani duo wins international award for radio drama in US

Ali Yaldram and Masood Mallhi's drama focuses on Pakistan's fight against terrorism, competing among 180 other entries

A duo of students associated with Punjab University’s Institute of Communication Studies (ICS) has won an international award for a radio drama depicting Pakistan’s struggle with terrorism and how the country copes with its related tragedy.

Ali Yaldram and Masood Mallhi took part in the event held at the University of South Carolina School of Journalism and Mass Communications Broadcast Education Association (BEA). The competition was part of the Fall Super-Regional Conference held between October 13 and 15 in Columbia.

The three-day conference featured professional and academic training workshops; topical and timely panel discussions; and competitions for both scholarly research and creative works.



Their radio drama titled Mom Calling received the third prize in the Student Creative Works category. The drama was directed and produced by Mallhi, while Yaldram played the main character of the drama.

The team won the prize among 180 other entries in the competition. Yaldram received the award at a ceremony held at the University of South Carolina.



The drama centered around the Gulshan-e-Iqbal Park tragedy in Lahore where as many as 65 people were killed in a suicide attack on March 7, 2016.



Talking to The Express Tribune, Mallhi said, “We focused on the life of ordinary Pakistanis who keep fighting despite terrorism attacks in the country.”

He added: “The drama depicted our [Pakistan’s] struggle and the courage of the people. It also gave us a chance to show the world that we are a strong-willed nation who can fight terrorism and move on in life despite these challenges.”