NA body urges Govt to save Lok Virsa
By Asim Hussain

ISLAMABAD—The National Assembly Standing Committee on Culture, which met at the Parliament House on Wednesday has called upon the Government to initiate immediate steps to save the National Institute of Folk Heritage (Lok Virsa), which is facing a severe financial crunch and is on the verge collapse.
Terming Lok Versa as a prestigious national cultural and folk heritage complex, the committee asked the Government to meets its most essential requirements, which had been identified by the Committee during its scrutiny of the organization, said a press release issued here on Wednesday it also recommended that the National Heritage Museum be re-structured as an autonomous body within the Lok Versa Complex with its own maintenance and operational budget and professional staff.
The Committee meeting was presided over by its Chairperson Dr Attiya Inayatullah and attended by the member and the senior officials of the Ministry of Culture. The meeting decided to make an appeal to the Prime Minister for release of an emergency grant for the Lok Virsa to meets its urgent requirements.
The Committee also called for redressing the financial grievance of the. It observed that the PNCA is in dire economic straits and there is a need to provide a financial allocation to keep it operational. It endorsed the useful role being played by the National Art Gallery under the PNCA particularly in projecting various facets of the Pakistani art and culture and stressed the need to grant an autonomous status to its body.
The Committee endorsed the need to review the countries Cultural policy, which had been formulated back in 1993 in the light of the new realities and developments taking place afterwards. It also decided to make all out efforts to projects the Pakistani Arts and Culture at the national and international levels and to utilize the same for promoting national cohesion and integration.
Earlier the Committee was briefed on the Cultural Policy by the Ministry of Culture and was informed that the Draft Policy based on the guidelines and the framework provided by the Standing Committee was in its final stage of preparation. The Committee directed the Ministry to expedite the process and take input from all stakeholders including the Provincial Government by the end of the October.