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The Pakistan Broadcasting Corporation (); also known as Radio Pakistan, serves as the national public broadcaster for radio in Pakistan. Although some local stations predate its founding, it is the oldest existing broadcasting network in Pakistan. The network was established on 14 August 1947, following Pakistan's independence from Britain. On 20 December 1972 its character was changed to a statutory body governed by a board of directors and led by a Director General. Radio is broadcast through FM, AM and shortwave radio frequencies. Select programming is also available through WRN Broadcast.
PBC offers programming in Urdu and English language on its national radio broadcasts, while offering programming in 23 different regional languages on its domestic radio service. Its external services are broadcast eight hours daily in 10 different foreign languages, covering the Middle East, Central Asia, South Asia, the Far East and parts of Eastern Europe. PBC has employed commercial advertising on its broadcasts to supplement its federal funding since its inception.
...to provide for the establishment of a broadcasting corporation, to ensure effective operation and growth of broadcasting as a function-oriented public service medium, general improvement in the quality of programmes, speedy, implementation of projects and better utilisation of talent, and for matters connected therewith;The functions of the corporation as outlined in the act are:
The announcement was heard as follows:
The English translation of this announcement is as follows:
Greetings. Pakistan Broadcasting Service. We are speaking from Lahore. The night between the thirteenth and fourteenth of August, year forty-seven AD. It is twelve o'clock. Dawn of Freedom.
A 1973 law, signed by Zulfikar Ali Bhutto (President and later Prime minister) regulated Pakistan Broadcasting Corporation (PBC) 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 brought to public awareness the whole range of significant activity.". It was converted into Pakistan Broadcasting Corporation on 20 December 1972 as a statutory body governed by the board of directors and Director General. The Radio Pakistan World Service was established on 21 April 1973. 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 on 21 March 1991 in 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 the 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 Directors 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, Faisalabad, 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.
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