Branding PBC Headquarters Islamabad, Pakistan | Availability Pakistan
Worldwide Area Nationwide
Worldwide | |
 | ||
Type Radio network
International public broadcaster Motto قُولُوا لِلنَّاسِ حُسْناً from Qur'an 2:83; "Speak to men good (words)" | ||
Pakistan Broadcasting Corporation (Urdu: ریڈیو پاکستان; Reporting name: PBC), also known as Radio Pakistan, is a public radio broadcasting network, as well as a mass-media state-owned megacorporation in Pakistan.
Contents
PBC provides a wide range of radio and news services which are broadcast in TV, internet, and radio, outside Pakistan in 10 different languages. PBC's programmes served as mission purpose to entertain people through cultural music, features, and plays, while educating the overseas audience about the Pakistan, its culture and government, and the world. PBC programmes educate peoples on socioeconomic issues covering "health‚ education‚ environment‚ population welfare‚ agriculture‚ special persons‚ rights of women‚ human rights‚ minorities and media freedom".
A 1973 law, signed by Zulfikar Ali Bhutto (President and later Prime minister) regulated PBC to as "to publish, circulate, distribute and regulate (reliable and trusted) news and information in any part of the world in any manner that may be deemed fit". Its one core mission states: "education, news and information to be bring to public awareness the whole range of significant activity.". PBC's radio services and television programmes are broadcast through satellite, cable, FM, AM, and shortwave radio frequencies. Select PBC programming is also available through WRN. At national level, PBC broadcast its programmes in 23 different state-recognized languages at 24-hour news cycle period. While its external services programmes are broadcast eight hrs daily in 10 different foreign languages, covering Western, Southern, Eastern, Northern Asia and some parts of Eastern Europe.
History
The Pakistan Broadcasting Corporation, popularly called Radio Pakistan came into being as Pakistan Broadcasting Service on 14 August 1947 when Pakistan emerged on the world map as a new country. The independence of Pakistan was announced through Radio Pakistan on 13 August 1947 at 11:59 pm in Urdu, followed by a similar announcement in English. Mustafa Ali Hamdani (1909–1980) made the Urdu announcement in the following words:
The English translation of this announcement is as follows:
Greetings!
Pakistan Broadcasting Service. We are speaking from Lahore. The night between the thirteen and fourteen of August, year forty seven. It is twelve o'clock. Dawn of Freedom. This announcement is aired by Pakistan Television Network (A state run TV network – PTV) every year during the special independence day transmissions. One of the sample announcements by PTV can be found at this link.
Abdullah Jan Maghmoom (1928–2013) made the announcement for Radio Pakistan, Peshawar on 13 August 1947 in Pashto.
At independence Pakistan possessed three radio stations at Dhaka (established in 1939), Lahore (1937) and Peshawar (1936). A major program of expansion saw new stations opened at Karachi and Rawalpindi in 1948, and a new broadcasting house at Karachi in 1950. This was followed by new stations at Hyderabad (1951), Quetta (1956), a second station at Rawalpindi (1960) and a Receiving Centre at Peshawar (1960).
In 1970, training facilities were opened in Islamabad and a station opened at Multan. A major step was the establishment of the Radio Pakistan World Service on 21 April 1973 for overseas Pakistanis followed by new stations at Khairpur (1974) and Bahawalpur (1975).
The main broadcasting unit of PBC at Islamabad moved to the new National Broadcasting House in 1977 and the service reached the remotest parts of Pakistan with stations at Gilgit (1977) and Skardu (1977) in the far north and Turbat (1981) in the far southwest. From 1981 to 1982 stations and transmitters were also established at Dera Ismail Khan, Khuzdar and Faisalabad.
Radio Pakistan opened a new broadcasting house in Khairpur on 7 May 1986, followed by relay stations in 1989 at Sibi and Abbottabad. The remoter parts of the country began to receive coverage with new stations opened in the 1990s at Chitral, Loralai and Zhob. In 1997, the Federal Minister of Information inaugurated the computerisation of the PBC news processing system and availability of the news bulletins on the Internet in text and audio form.FM 101 Channel of PBC was launched on 1 October 1998 having stations at islamabad,lahore and karachi and now this channel have nine stations throughout Pakistan and is the biggest FM Radio network of Pakistan.
In October 1998, Radio Pakistan started FM transmission and over the period 2002–2005, new FM stations were opened at Islamabad, Gwadar, Mianwali, Sargodha, Kohat, Bannu and Mithi. In last two and a half years three new networks have been launched by PBC. On 28 August 2008 PBC launched National Broadcasting Service (NBS) the first dedicated Current Affairs Channel. It is a combination of 5 (100 KW) AM transmitters permanently linked together to broadcast a single national program beamed across Pakistan. Islamabad, Peshawar, Lahore, Quetta and Karachi are the main stations generating the national programming. It is a 17 hours programming on major national and international issues, target audience and literary and cultural programs. PBC launched a new Community FM channel after February 2009 Station Director Conference. The network is called FM-93 Network with 22 stations across Pakistan. Gilgit, Muzaffarabad, Mirpur, Abbottabad, Chitral, Bannu, Kohat, Dera Ismail Khan, Sargodha, Mianwali, Faislabad, Lahore, Multan, Larkana, Khairpur, Bhit Shah, Hyderabad, Mithi, Karachi and Gwadar transmit the FM 93 network. On 14 November PBC launched its first English Music Channel in Islamabad called Planet 94. The network operates on FM 94. The second and third stations of the English channel are soon to start their transmissions from Lahore and Karachi.
Legal basis
The PBC Act of 1973 contains inter alia provisions concerning management (chapter III, ss. 4–9) and finance (chapter VI, ss. 13–20). According to the act it is among the corporation's functions (chapter IV) "to broadcast such programmes as may promote Islamic ideology, national unity and principles of democracy, freedom equality, tolerance and social justice as enunciated by Islam, discourage parochial, racial, tribal, sectarian, linguistic and provincial prejudices and reflect the urges and aspirations of the people of Pakistan" (s. 10(1)(b)).
PBC Services
The PBC provides several services including:
PBC News
The PBC News service broadcasts 149 news bulletins in 31 languages daily, covering world, national and regional news as well as sports, business and weather reports.
World Service
Punjab
Punjabi language is spoken by majority of Punjab as well as in Pakistan,still PBC has not a separate devoted TV or radio channel in Punjabi.Pakistan radio makes its announcements in Urdu,Punjabi language is being marginalised by PBC.