KARACHI, Dec 20: Speakers at a two-day conference held to celebrate one hundred years of radio said despite the arrival of television and FM channels, people still listened to the radio. The falling standards, they said, were due to negligence of the authorities and increasing interference of the rulers and no fault of radio operators. Eminent scholars, educationists, in their speeches highlighted the importance of radio.

The first’s day programmes were divided into four sessions, chaired by Javed Jabbar, Director General Pakistan Broadcasting Corporation Ashfaq Ahmad Gondal, former DG PBC Khwaja Shahid Hussain and Chairman Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (Pemra) Iftikhar Rashid, respectively.

Mr Javed Jabbar said radio had always played an important role in building bridges among communities and spreading information. The role it had played in women’s emancipation and political awareness was more visible. He pointed out that it was radio that had helped women gain the right to vote even in developed countries like France and the United Kingdom.

The DG PBC, Ashfaq Ahmad Gondal, spoke about radio’s role in crisis and said these achievements were unparalleled. Its reach was unimaginable especially during natural calamities, wars and countering anti-state propaganda. The launching of new FM channels, he said, was a good omen. He said through the radio, campaigns against poverty, terrorism and spreading awareness among the masses could be launched in a befitting manner because it was still a forceful medium.

M.Kashif and Bilal Shafi both of whom are blind and avid radio listeners and FM broadcasters shared their experiences and termed radio an academy for special people.

A woman broadcaster, Yasmeen Tahir, recalled the ordeals faced by refugees during the Pakistan movement and hailed the radio’s role in the rehabilitation of displaced people. She said it was the radio that through i announcements helped people reunite with their loved ones, and directed provision of basic requirements of life to the needy. She said it also did a lot in the grooming of artists who are the nation’s asset today.

Burhanuddin Hasan said the radio medium could be better used for development of communities, provision of information and entertainment but our rulers had never bothered to do so.

Sabih Mohsin opposed the appointment of non-professional officers especially on senior positions in Pakistan Broadcasting Corporation and spoke about the role of radio in society.

Azim Sarwar a former PBC official besides presenting a 7-minute documentary about historically important events, in his speech said in the past radio was the only source of information, entertainment and education. It presented purposeful programmes and raised issues directly linked to the people.

Agha Nasir, Khwaja Shahid Hassan, Muneer Husain, Zia Mohyeddin, Seemi Naghmana Tahir, Dr Qurban Ali, Imtiaz Ali, Humayun Ansari, Inayat Baloch, Farhad Zaidi Jamshed Marker, Ashraf Shad, Qaiser Mehmood, Saleem Mughal spoke in detail on the role of radio during the past one hundred years, which they said was our voice yesterday, today and tomorrow. Moin Akhtar and Anwar Maqsood, through an interesting dialogue criticised the role of our state-owned radio channel said it had lost the confidence of the people, who had started listening to private channels.

The two-day conference has been arranged by JJ Media (private limited) in collaboration with Citizens’ Media Commission of Pakistan, South Asian Media Association and the mass communications departments. Today is the last day of the conference.