Minister of State for Culture and Youth Muhammad Ali Durrani has said that the issue of the seventh National Finance Commission (NFC) Award has been resolved and President Pervez Musharraf would announce it soon. He stated this, while talking to newsmen after the concluding session of inter-provincial cultural conference here on Thursday, which was organised by the Institute of Languages, Arts and Culture.
Durrani also said that differences among the provinces on various issues, including Kalabagh Dam, could only be resolved through dialogue.
On the issue of screening of Indian movies, he said that it was not a cultural issue, but a political one, and its resolution was linked with the resolution of Indo-Pak outstanding issues, which could be achieved through talks.
He believed that screening of the Indian films should be permitted in the country, and we should not feel threatened by them. "There was no cultural threat from outside. In fact, our local culture has strengthened to counter the cultural invasion," he added.
Addressing the conference, the minister said that Punjab has been painted as villain, which was not the case. In fact, Punjab had always made a positive contribution in keeping the country united, although it has not been appreciated, the history would prove that.
He said that Punjab's role is vital in the integration of Pakistan and it has to act in a responsible manner as a big brother. He said that inter-provincial hatred has to end and resources must be distributed in a just manner.
"It is the need of the hour to end differences and distances between the four provinces and this was only possible through dialogue. This conference was the right step in that direction," he added.
He invited all the provincial cultural secretaries, writers, artists and poets to hold a similar conference in Islamabad and the Culture Ministry would facilitate them.
He also assured the participants that President Pervez Musharraf and Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz would attend the conference.
Durrani condemns use of Islam to suppress local cultures and carrying out terrorist activities in the name of religion. He said that no religion negates local culture. In fact, Islam took the help of local norms to spread its message.
Earlier, various writers, poets and scholars from all the provinces read papers during the sessions on "Socio-political history of folklore in Pakistan" and "Role of media in promoting culture of Pakistan".
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