Source: Dawn
In his 2003 book Uncensored, former general manager of PTV, Burhanuddin Hasan wrote that after coming to power in July 1977, one ‘advice’ which Gen Zia issued to PTV was that TV plays (and films) should always depict clerics in a positive light.
The advice had been triggered by a concern exhibited by Zia’s information ministry which believed that the country’s cultural zeitgeist, partially shaped by Urdu films, TV plays and Urdu literature, had always portrayed a negative image of clerics and ulema.
It was a reflection of the larger paradigm shift initiated by the Zia regime in which the ulema were pulled in to play a more direct role in political and legislative matters.