The first thing that strikes one at Radio Pakistan is the remarkable language that everyone speaks there.

There is a long list of great artists in the country who started from Radio Pakistan, which covers all areas of the country with its programmes in more than a dozen languages from 55 stations, relaying stations and transmitters.

In singer Asif Javed’s words, one of the disciples of late Mehdi Hassan, "Radio has taught us pronunciation -- even the gatekeeper here knows that. At TV, even producers don’t know that."

This he said long time back in a radio programme, ‘Aj di Shaam’ hosted by Mustansar Hussain Tarar and was banned from tv for six months. Javed is associated with Radio Pakistan’s Lahore station since 1968 and says he is still learning. To him "radio is a university."

Syed Shahwar Haider, head of the central production unit (CPU) in Lahore station established in 1973, says, "CPU is a nursery for new singers. For singers who are already good, the CPU is a university." The radio station in Lahore came into existence in 1935 while President Ayub Khan laid its foundation stone on Aug 12, 1965.

Stars like Mehdi Hassan, Noor Jehan, Farida Khanum, Iqbal Bano, Nazakat Ali Khan were discovered through the CPU of Radio Pakistan. Among other singers that emerged from this platform are: Fariha Pervez, Humaira Arshad, Sarah Raza Khan, Ali Abbas, and Anwar Rafi. The list goes on and on.

"At CPU we purchase poetry from poets and pay the musicians and singers. What is produced by CPU is evaluated in Islamabad and aired all over Pakistan," says Haider. The number of music listeners are the highest between 10pm and 12am when people are done with work and want to relax.

There are programmes for everyone -- children, youth, students, women, farmers, people with literary taste, senior citizens, etc. Current affairs programmes, documentaries and drama are besides that. The slot for each segment of the population has been selected keeping their timings in mind. Programmes for children and youth are produced from nearly all stations.

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There are external services as well. Hindi, Tamil, Arabic are some of them. These programmes have listeners in regions outside Pakistan where these languages are spoken. Programmes in foreign languages are transmitted through Medium and Shortwave from Islamabad.

Radio Pakistan has a long list of luminaries: singers, actors and people who have performed or are performing in different capacities. A number of tv artists had radio as their alma mater. Muhammad Qavi, Mustafa Qureshi, Firdous Jamal, Shujaat Hashmi, Ghayyur Akhtar, Khayyam Sarhadi, Uzma Gilani and Abid Ali all came to television from radio.

Children’s programme ‘Honihar’ aired every Sunday gives them an opportunity to speak and be heard. The compere also engages more children in conversation which boosts their confidence. Mohini Hameed, Iffat Inam, Munawwar Saeed, Asim Bokhari and Rehana Siddiqui are among some of the famous personalities doing Honihar. Irfan Khoosat used to be a part of this programme in his childhood.

Senior Producer, Iffat Alvi, recalls how a number of big names were comperes of Sohni Dharti, one of the most popular programmes of all times. Indian actor Om Prakash and Sultan Khoosat are among them. "Call and see for yourself during transmission of programmes on agriculture to find out how popular they are," she says.

Aneela Saleem, Deputy Controller Pakistan Broadcasting Corporation, says a drama ‘Light House’ will always be remembered. It had only two characters. Mainly actor Talat Hussain spoke. The solo sound effect was so powerful that it is still etched in people’s minds."

Radio dramas are popular. "Drama is aired on Thursdays and Sundays on MW and SW at 10:05 pm. Jamil Malik, Jafar Raza, Afzal Rehman are among some of the well-known producers.

She says, "Radio listeners are serious about listening. It makes people think and imagine. It communicates with communities in their local language. What would a person in Mithi understand if we give them a programme in Urdu? We are targeting small populations mostly. If broadcast reaches one person, my job is done." She sees Radio Pakistan’s reporting during floods as the best.

"We try to get the best people to speak on different areas -- people with expertise in the relevant field. We care for quality in every way and that reflects on our good standards. Everybody has to go through audition to enter a programme. There is a committee to assess the audition. Producers get six-month training in Islamabad where they are trained in every format."

"The FM 101 channel of radio Pakistan that started in October 1999 is a family channel," says Senior Producer Abrar. "It has a lot of business. We don’t know how to squeeze in the ads we get, they are so many."

Alongside popular music, the channel keeps giving listeners all-time classics. After 12 at midnight it goes on the national hook-up, so the channel runs 24 hours.

On Thursday last, FM 101 started Pakistan Super League coverage from Dubai. "Special transmission gets very popular," says Abrar. FM radio is heard within a 100 km range.

At present, four channels are working at Radio Pakistan -- FM 101, FM 93, FM 94 & MW 630 kilo hertz.