After Modi expresses concern on Balochistan, AIR to launch website, mobile app for Balochi audience today

New Delhi: Days after Prime Minister Narendra Modi highlighted the human rights violations in Balochistan in his August 15 Independence Day address, public broadcaster Prasar Bharati will on Friday launch a website and mobile app for All India Radio's Balochi service to reach out to the people who speak the language across the globe.

The External Services Division (ESD) of All India Radio -- run by the Information and Broadcasting Ministry -- started the Balochi language service in 1974-75.

The website and app, to be launched by launched by Prasar Bharati chairperson A Surya Prakash, will help the ESD to find additional platforms to supplement its existing shortwave transmissions for various language services.

"This technological upgradation will not only provide improved reception quality to the listeners in Afghanistan-Pakistan region, the original target of the service, but would also expand the reach of the service to Baloch Diaspora spread in different countries," an official said.

The move to start an AIR web service comes in the backdrop of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Independence Day speech in which he had brought up the issue of Pakistani atrocities on people of Balochistan and PoK.

It was for the first time that the disturbed areas under the control of Pakistan were mentioned by any Prime Minister during his Independence speech.

Earlier, DD News had also sent a team to Geneva to interview Brahumdagh Bugti, leader of Baloch Republican Party.

The ESD broadcasts daily over 50 multi-transmission programmes covering at least 108 countries in 27 languages.

These include 15 foreign language programmes, mostly from East Asia and South Asian region including Balochi language.

(With Agency inputs)