Pakistan's first literary channel all set to launch

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Academy of Letters (PAL) is all set to launch the country's first literary television channel and radio station for creating better understanding among people on literary and cultural values.

The establishment of the literary channel has reached its final stages with the cooperation of President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gilani and will be launched soon.

Talking to APP, Chairman PAL, Fakhar Zaman said the channel would start its transmission with six hours of transmission initially, adding that literary and cultural programmes will be telecast besides arranging special seminars and book reviews. He said that literary figures will be invited in talkshows to encourage the younger generation to follow the literary teachings of our great poets, writers and intellectuals.

"The literary sessions and talent hunt programmes will also be a part of the transmission," the chairman added. Fakhar said the TV channel would prove beneficial to attract the  younger generation towards literature. However, a number of other steps are being taken to inculcate children's interest in literature.

As a first step in this regard, PAL will award the best writers of children literature to encourage them, he said. The academy will publish the country's only English literary journal "Pakistani Literature" on a quarterly basis. The journal was earlier published twice a year. He said that this publication will not only introduce Pakistani literature abroad but also help to carve its place in the global sphere. The books on literature of regional languages are also being published besides translating foreign literature in Pakistani languages.