MUMBAI: The BBC Pashto flagship TV programme, BBC Naray Da Wakht (BBC World Right Now), is launching a weekly arts supplement. From 1 July 2017, the weekly slot, Hunary Shabay (Art Moments), will focus on art and literary news from Afghanistan, Pakistan and from around the world. BBC Pashto is part of the BBC World Service.

BBC Pashto TV editor, Emal Pasarly, commented: “The region has a vibrant and amazingly diverse cultural scene, and there is a need for an art news programme on TV in Afghanistan and Pakistan to reflect it – and also to bring the world’s cultural news that resonates with our audience. We hope Hunary Shabay will be a welcome addition to the prime-time weekend TV schedule, bringing reports, interviews and commentary from Afghanistan, Pakistan and the rest of the world on everything art. Bollywood or Hollywood, traditional music or pop, books, theatre, exhibitions - you name it, we will bring our viewers the latest from the world of arts.”

Hunary Shabay will be part of the Saturday edition of the daily TV news programme, BBC Naray Da Wakht. On Sundays the programme features the economy and business edition, Da Eqtesad La Narray; on Thursdays - the phone-in edition, Staso Ghag (Have Your Say), while the Friday sports supplement, Lobay, brings sports news.

BBC Naray Da Wakht is broadcast live from London in prime time on the Shamshad TV network in Afghanistan (18.00 local time) and Mashriq TV in Pakistan (18.30 local time). The programme is also available on demand via the BBC Pashto channel on YouTube and its website.

BBC Pashto content – on radio, TV, online and on social media - reaches around 7m people in Afghanistan, Pakistan and the rest of the world every week*. The BBC Pashto Facebook has more than 2.8m followers (June 2017), engaging 400,000** people every week. BBC Pashto also connects with its audiences via Twitter, Google+, YouTube, Instagram and SoundCloud.