Pakistan Television Corporation (PTV) has resumed the Arabic dubbing of two Urdu drama serials as part of a cultural exchange program initiated between Islamabad and Riyadh last year, Pakistan’s information minister said on Tuesday.
It follows former information minister Fawad Chaudhry’s visit to the Saudi capital last year wherein he had announced Islamabad’s plans to exports its television series to the Kingdom soon.
Three serials have since been selected for dubbing, namely Dhoop Kinare, Tanhaiyan and Aahat, with PTV officials citing delays in the dubbing process of the latter two due to budget constraints. The Arabic version of Dhoop Kinare, however, has been completed, according to Dr. Lubna Farah, a translation expert who is supervising the project.
“Work has resumed on the project and [the finished product] will soon be given probably to Saudi Arabia and the UAE [to air on] their television channels,” Information Minister Shibli Faraz told Arab News, declining further details.
However, Muhammad Idrees, Controller International Affairs at PTV, said it was as yet unclear when pending work would resume on the two dramas, adding: “It is entirely a ministry [of information] prerogative when and where they send these dramas.”
“The project was initiated three years ago…the other two [Tanhaiyan and Aahat] could not be completed because of the non-availability of the remaining funds,” said Shazia Sikander, a former international affairs director at PTV during whose tenure the project was started.
This is the first project in which PTV has dubbed local TV productions for Saudi viewers, and is the result of Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s vision to modernize the Kingdom and create new entertainment avenues for its people.
