Washington, Nov 12 (ANI): The Voice of America will start telecasting a 30-minute TV programme Beyond the Headlines across Pakistan on GEO TV, depicting the life of Pakistanis in the US. The programme, to be telecast through selected international satellites, including AsiaSat and IOR, will carry all the ingredients of a good TV programme viz.

international developments, technology, politics, social issues, education, religion, sports, and entertainment.

The 'Beyond the Headlines' programme will focus not only on the big issues of the day, but also on features, business, and culture stories that illuminate the world we live in. For example, we'll show how Pakistanis live and work and go to school in the US. We want to provide a unique mix of stories that viewers can't find anywhere else, the Daily Times quoted VOA Director David S Jackson as saying.

The programme will be aired at 7:30 pm, five days a week.

It would be produced and presented by a host of experienced journalists, from both print and electronic. Farah Ispahani, the show's managing editor and executive producer, joined VOA earlier this year, bringing, according to VOA, more than 20 years of experience in print and television media at such news organisations as CNN, ABC, and NBC. She is married to Pakistani journalist and writer Hussain Haqqani. Aneka Osman, formerly of PTV, will be the news anchor, while Islamabad-based Ayaz Gul, who works for VOA's 'Radio Aap ki Duniya,' will be filing for the television segment as well, said the paper.

However, it wasn't clear that if the broadcast of a foreign government-produced programme on a Pakistani commercial channel was in accordance with Pakistan's existing laws.

We look forward to opening this important new channel of communication between the American people and Pakistan. This new programme, together with our expanded radio service, demonstrates our growing commitment to reach the people of Pakistan with new, engaging programmes on both radio and TV, the paper quoted Steven J. Simmons, a member of the Broadcasting Board of Governors, as saying. The Broadcasting Board of Governors oversees all US international radio and television services. (ANI)