ISLAMABAD: Pakistan first exclusive News Channel will start test transmission from 15, and it would be formally “launched soon by Federal Minister for Information Mushahid Hussain.

Yousaf Beg Mirza, the Managing Director of the PTV, told news reporters on Saturday that the channel would not have “protocol coverage of VVIPs and VIPs” . Who said only those activities of the president and the prime minister would be covered which were very important.

The press briefing about the new channel was cancelled as the information minister had gone out of city.

The government has decided convert Shalimar Television Network (STN), a semi private channel into a fully-fledged News Channel.

The Managing Director of the PTV said that the government was in no hurry, and wanted to launch the project after making full preparations. He said the new News Channel would be credible.

To a question about Pakistani media’s inability to effectively counter Indian and other interntaional media’s propaganda on the Kargil issue, he said Indians always wanted to build the atmosphere of war.

On the other hand, he said, Pakistan never wanted to raise war hysteria and as such the PTV always tried to follow a calm, non violent and reconciliatory approach to the problem.

He said it had been planned to cut the protocol coverage of VVIPs and VIPs on the News Channel by 95 per cent.

Source: Dawn

Date:8/8/1999