Foreign dramas to have 'devastating' effect on Pakistani productions, says Fawad Chaudhry

ISLAMABAD: Federal Minister for Science and Technology Fawad Chaudhry became the latest person to join the  Ertuğrul debate when he said that foreign dramas will have a 'devastating' long-run effect on Pakistani productions. 

The federal minister took to Twitter on Sunday to exclaim his 'surprise' at the PTV for "taking pride on other countries productions".

"Surprised on @PTVHomeOfficial taking pride on other countries productions,you guys must focus on Pak productions otherwise foreign dramas ll ruin Pak productions, its always cheap to import foreign dramas but this ll have devastating long term effect on our own programming," he tweeted.

The globally acclaimed Turkish TV series “Diriliş: Ertuğrul” has amassed a massive fan following in Pakistan after, on the directives of Prime Minister Imran Khan, it was broadcast by PTV for the Pakistani audience.

However, the TV series has triggered a debate in Pakistan with many celebrities voicing concern that foreign content will ultimately prove harmful for local content consumption and as a result, harm the showbiz industry in Pakistan.

Renowned actors such as Osman Khalid Butt, Bilal Ashraf and Mehwish Hayat have praised the show and called on Pakistani producers to come up with similar content.