Daily Times

ISLAMABAD: A summer art camp for children started on Tuesday at Pakistan National Council of the Arts (PNCA) on Tuesday.

Over 50 students between the ages of 6 to 16 are participating in the three-month long camp.

An official of PNCA said that during the summer camp, the participants would be trained in painting, music keyboard playing and singing, calligraphy, drama, puppet-making, photography and sculpture. The classes will daily be held from 10:00 am to 12:00 noon.

He said that the arts council continued to create programmes of art courses for children and teens to provide artistic skill-building and exploration capacity.

He said that PNCA Director General Syed Jamal Shah would also join the training session with students on Wednesday. He said that summer art camps were a regular feature of PNCA. “These programmes are arranged to facilitate art lovers, students and amateur artists for boosting their extra skills besides their regular studies,” he said.

PAL: Writers and scholars of Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) on Tuesday lauded the government for allocating funds for establishing a regional office of the Pakistan Academy of Letters in FATA.

Writers and scholars including Professor Dr Danish Bhittani, Dr Ziaur Rehman, Noor Ghulam Noori, Munir Dilgeer Aurakzai, Jehad Gul Afridi, said that PAL regional office FATA would play a vital role in promoting literary activities among the people of FATA. They said that allocation of funds for establishment of the regional office of PAL was a good step by the present government.

They said that literary forums had lauded the government’s decision as it would encourage writers and scholars of FATA, adding that PAL regional office would facilitate people in far-flung areas of the country. He said that the writers’ community from across FATA appreciated the government’s initiative. Pakistan Academy of Letters Chairman Prof Dr Muhammad Qasim Bughio said that PAL regional office in FATA would be established in Khyber Agency.