VOA Launches new TV Program for Pakistan, 'Café DC'

Café DC, a new weekly TV interview show for Pakistan, premiers on Friday with a relaxed and personal look at some of the people making headlines in and around Washington.

In the first edition of the new VOA program, U.S. Congressman Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) talks about his experiences living in Sri Lanka and Turkey as a young boy, and the impact of being born in Pakistan, where his father served as a U.S. diplomat.

The host of Café DC, Faiz Rehman, says the program gives newsmakers “plenty of opportunity to talk about the burning issues of the day, but it also gives them a chance to sit back and discuss what inspires them, as well as the personal things that are important to them.”

VOA Director David Ensor says the new show, which is produced in both English and Urdu, “offers audiences in Pakistan and elsewhere a snapshot of the personalities involved in shaping the policies of the U.S. government.  We hope that giving newsmakers a chance to discuss the things that are important in their lives will help build understanding.”

The 20-minute show is first being offered as a multimedia product on the VOA Urdu website, and a shorter edition will be aired on the popular VOA TV program, Beyond the Headlines, which is broadcast in Urdu on Express TV, Pakistan’s 2^nd largest cable network.

In addition to television, VOA’s Urdu Service has a dynamic full service website and broadcasts 13 hours of radio programming daily.

For more information about this release contact Kyle King at the VOA Public Relations office in Washington at kking@voanews.com.  For more information about any of our programs visit our main website at www.voanews.com.