Culture minister irked by demolition of his dept’s studio by tourism department

Sindh Caretaker Minister for Culture, Labour and Sports Dr Junaid Ali Shah has expressed his displeasure at the act of dismantling a studio that was established at the Pakistan Institute of Tourism and Hotel Management (PITHM) in Clifton for live-streaming of programmes and production of digital media content to promote the culture of Sindh.

A statement issued on Thursday quoted the interim minister as saying that the demolition of the studio had taken place at the PITHM without consulting the culture department.

He said the demolition of the studio had ended two special initiatives of the culture department, Café Saqafat and Lok Studio, which had been producing video content for digital media platforms for the promotion of Sindh’s culture.

Dr Shah said the Sindh tourism department should have first taken the culture department on board before taking such a step. He lamented that the lack of coordination in the case had caused irreparable damage to the assets of the culture department.

He said the institutions and buildings were not built overnight as they were built keeping in mind specific aims and objectives. The interim culture minister said the public reaction against the demolition of the studio was natural and justified.

He mentioned that the studio had been established to introduce the culture and folk music of Sindh to the rest of the world by creating video content for digital media platforms. Dr Shah recalled that the studio had been established during the coronavirus pandemic to produce online content to promote the culture of Sindh and entertain the people when conventional cultural events were not being held due to the lockdown imposed against the spread of Covid-19.

He said Café Saqafat produced digital media and live-streaming content based on interviews with famous artistes and literary figures of the province.

He said the initiative of Lok Studio provided a recording environment to folk singers of the province who could not use expensive private studios for recording their songs.

He said that those involved in the demolition of the studio were under an obligation to issue an explanation on this issue. Dr Shah said all the assets of the culture department were public properties and safeguarding them was a national duty.

It is worth mentioning that the studio in question was established during the Covid-19 lockdown when culture, tourism, and antiquities was a single department of the Sindh government under former provincial culture and education minister Syed Sardar Ali Shah. Apparently, tourism and culture are separate entities in the caretaker setup in the province being looked after by two interim ministers.