Tele series on unsung heroes of anti-terror war launched
By Peerzada Salman
KARACHI: A tele-film series titled Faseel-i-jaan se aagey presented by the Inter-Service Public Relations (ISPR) and Communications Research Strategies (CRS) to pay homage to the unsung civil and military heroes of Pakistan`s war against terrorism was launched at a hotel here on Saturday.
Sindh Assembly Speaker Nisar Khuro was the chief guest of the event. The series is based on true stories and will be aired on PTV Home from Jan 14. The ceremony was interspersed with speeches and visuals of the promos of six out of the 11 stories that are going to be shown on TV, along with a theme song sung by Rahat Fateh Ali Khan and Shafqat Amanat Ali.
Media person Javed Jabbar, who was the first speaker of the evening, complimented the ISPR and the CRS for coming up with the project and hoped that it would exceed expectation. He said the series would provide an opportunity to the public to witness what it meant to die unnatural deaths in the line of duty, where there`s no choice but to be brave. Referring to an incident that took place some days back in Islamabad, he said the tele-films couldn`t have come at a better time when the nation was going through violent times, where Muslims were killing Muslims in the name of religion. He said a new phenomenon was emerging in which one group was imposing its brand of Islam on others. He said things had come to a point where a public office holder was found saying that he`d kill with his own hand anyone who committed blasphemy.
He said our heroes deserved to be portrayed for their heroism. However, he argued, there was restriction in Pakistan on portraying personnel of the judiciary and the armed forces in any other form than heroic. He said everyone`s life should be truthfully depicted, because not every human being was a hero.
Talking about the tele-film series he said such projects should be made in English, French and other languages using their idiom in order to convert the unconverted. He said in the midst of the mayhem there were people with outstanding character and we needed to put their stories on screen, and not in a one-dimensional manner. He said the only institution that`s authorised to use violence was the state; no individual had the right to use violence.
Khawar Azhar of the CRS told the attendees about the hard work that had gone into the making of the series and iterated that purposeful media and meaningful communication could be made saleable.
PTV DMD Shahid Mehmood Nadeem said we were living in difficult times in which the effects of a war was engulfing all and sundry. He said we could not pretend that it wasn`t our war, and making drama series like Faseel-i-jaan se aagey would help in tackling the problem. He said today wars were being fought through the media and our media should play a positive role in the war on terrorism and mustn`t get caught in the breaking-news race. He spoke about the former governor of Punjab Salmaan Taseer who he said was the heir to the Quaid-i-Azam`s Pakistan, a role model, someone who fought for a helpless Christian woman and lost his own life in the process.
ISPR DG Maj-Gen Athar Abbas began his speech by saying that the central point of the stories in the tele-film series was the valleys of Swat and Malakand and their innocent people who became victim of the terrorists` barbarism. He said it`s a tribute to the unsung heroes of the war on terror and an effort to bring the human face of the war to the public. He said not just the officers and soldiers of the Pakistan Army but the public had also played their part in the struggle. He said these were the “people who sacrificed their present for your future”.
He then gave the background to the military operation that began in July 2007 which was halted because the then government wanted to talk out the issue with the terrorists and then efforts were made till November 2007, and in January the valley was cleared of militants. But this was followed by the 2008 elections after which it was again considered if things could be settled through negotiations. This made the terrorists increase their demands and gain more space attacking military convoys and checkpoints. Then again in Aug 2008 other options were thought of and even the Nizam-i-Adl was allowed in the region, but what the terrorists wanted was power, authority and money. So the third operation, which also had the support of the public, finally met with success.
He said extremism had taken root in the country. To rectify the situation all state institutions must work together. He said there`s unemployment and poverty in the region where the terrorists existed, and it needed to be de-radicalised. He rounded off his speech by reading Faraz`s couplet: Shikwa-i-zulmat-i-shab se to kaheen behter tha/Apney hissey ki koi shama jalatey jatey.
Sindh Assembly Speaker Nisar Khurho highlighted the fact that everybody was responsible for the situation that the country was faced with.
He said even after 60 years of the country`s inception a certain mindset had got the better of many people and they deemed it manly to kill a person in the name of anything they thought right. He said the way Pakistan`s name was mentioned in the rest of the world was something that we should mull over. He claimed that from a political worker to a religious person everybody had contributed to where things had reached today.
He said the tele-film series was a good endeavour in highlighting the unsung heroes. “We should tell all those who wanted to impose their opinion on us that we won`t bow before you.” He ended his speech with a line from a Faiz couplet, Jo rukey to koh-i-garan thay hum jo chaley to jaan se guzar gaey.
The event was conducted by Abida Hameed.
Source: Dawn
Date:1/10/2011
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