Minister of State for Information and Broadcasting, Marriyum Aurangzeb said on Friday that a film festival will be held next month in the country where local and foreign films will be screened. During her address while inaugurating four-day International Calligraphy Exhibition at Pakistan National Council of the Arts (PNCA) in the federal capital, the minister said that Film and Broadcasting Policy will be announced within a fortnight to help promoting soft image of Pakistan.

She said the film festival will be held as a part of celebrations of Pakistan's 70th Independence Day. Talking about the calligraphy exhibition, Marriyum said that its objective is to showcase rich culture, art, heritage and history of the country. The minister said that Pakistan is a peace-loving country, but regretted that its image has been affected by the menace of terrorism; thus, there is a dire need to highlight the country's soft image through activities like calligraphy exhibitions.

The Exhibition is being arranged by National History and Literary Heritage (NH&LH) Division in collaboration with Research Centre for Islamic History, Arts and Culture (IRCICA), and Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC). Besides Pakistan, art pieces from Iran, Iraq, Morocco, Palestine, Syria, Turkey, Britain, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Spain, Indonesia, Tunisia, Sudan, Jordan and Thailand are also on display.

Later, talking to the media Marriyum Aurangzeb said that according to the Constitution of Pakistan, there should be sovereignty of people. She said the vote of people should be respected.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2017