Documentary 'Iron Brothers' on China-Pakistan friendship screens

The screening ceremony of a documentary titled The Pledge of Iron Brothers produced by Islamabad based English language newspaper The Daily Mail and Pakistan China Media Friendship Association was held on Sept 5 in Beijing.

"This documentary on the time-honored friendship between Pakistan and China highlights these shared values and the tangible benefits of our increasingly wide-ranging collaboration through CPEC and the BRI," Ms. Naghmana Alamgir Hashmi, Ambassador of Pakistan to the People's Republic of China, said in her speech at the launch ceremony.

She also commended the contribution of the media, in particular, the documentary producer, The Daily Mail and Mr. Makhdoom Babar, in promoting Pakistan-China friendship and CPEC.

"The media organizations have an important role to play in promoting mutual understanding and a factual appreciation of CPEC and Pakistan-China ties," she added.

"This documentary is a tribute to those who have been working for the promotion of Pakistan-China relations over the decades," Mr. Makhdoom Babar, the president and editor-in-chief of The Daily Mail, and chairman of the Pakistan China Media Friendship Association, said during his address at the ceremony.

According to him, the making of this documentary started in 2018, receiving support from organizations including CRI, People's Daily, China Daily, Beijing Review, management of Shanghai Free Trade Zone, and Alibaba Group.

He also announced that he will put efforts in another two documentary projects, on the theme of "tourism in China and Pakistan" as well as "brothers of media from the two countries" respectively.

Mr. Makhdoom Babar said The Daily Mail was the only newspaper in the world that has been publishing two pages on China every day for the past 15 years, which clearly reflects the esteem and importance the management pays to China-Pakistan relations.

The Pakistan China Media Friendship Association was founded in 2005 to take on the media challenges through joint efforts of Pakistani and Chinese media, enabling people of both sides to understand each other and confront negative propagation.

He said that now, the CPEC and BRI give the two sides more opportunities to work closer and the documentary was just a new beginning in this direction.

During the screening ceremony, Ms. Naghmana Alamgir Hashmi and Mr. Makhdoom Babar also distributed certifications of commendation to individuals from the media who contributed to China-Pakistan relations, among whom Wang Wei with China.org.cn and Li Xin with Chinadaily.com.cn were awarded.

"As the entire Chinese nation is preparing to mark the momentous 70th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic, it is a most befitting opportunity to launch this documentary as a tribute to the time-tested all-weather strategic cooperative partnership between Pakistan and China," the ambassador concluded.