INSTEAD of protesting and seeking government protectionist regulations against Turkish, Spanish dramas, the United Producer Association (UPA), which represents private television producers and production houses, should compete with foreign dramas by improving their quality and standards, so that the local viewers prefer watching Pakistani dramas rather than Turkish and other foreign soaps.

The real reason of their protest is to save their financial interest as these dramas are less expensive than their own cost of drama production. Anyway, how long it will take us as a nation to understand that the world is becoming one global village, the movements of people and goods across countries’ borders are now becoming free passage.

Should not we want to see our country to be like Turkey in which the majority of the population is Muslim, but the state is secular, as the Quaid wanted for Pakistan?

I feel sorry to see TV artistes protesting against liberal values and that Pakistan may become a corrupt society when they are themselves liberal and want freedom from government restriction on live theatre performances.

As for the concern of UPA protesters that Pakistani culture is being attacked to destroy our society, I would like to ask them: what evils we don’t have in our society? We are considered the most dangerous country in the world. We are killing each other for the glory of our religion.

We should stop blaming others for our own failure in every sphere of human endeavour. Why should Pakistanis not have the basic rights of choice and the personal liberty to decide what is good and bad, and what is right and wrong for them? Why do the state and government have to decide what we should watch?

SYED TASADUQ Lahore