ISLAMABAD: The National Assembly’s Standing Committee on National Heritage & Culture Division directed the Iqbal Academy to prepare a short documentary on Allama Iqbal’s life and works ahead of his 150th birth anniversary. In a committee meeting held under the chairpersonship of Syeda Nosheen Iftikhar, regarding the recommendation to ensure preserving the interviews of Allama Iqbal’s family in a book and publish it before Allama Iqbal’s 150th birthday, the Director of the Iqbal Academy, Pakistan reported that the Iqbal Academy Pakistan had already recorded interviews with Allama Iqbal’s son and daughter about his life and work. He further stated that the Academy was compiling and editing these interviews for publication. The Committee recommended organizing the events celebrating Allama Iqbal’s 150th birthday in schools, colleges, and universities. Senior Joint Secretary of the National Heritage and Culture Division apprised the Committee that the Division has already planned to engage the youth in the events throughout the year. The Committee recommended that the provinces, celebrities, and the Chairman of Pakistan Electric Media Regulatory Authority (PEMRA) should be engaged for Allama Iqbal’s 150th birthday celebrations. The Committee recommended that the foreign parliamentarians should be taken to visit the PNCA’s galleries for cultural promotion and trips or visits of students, and the public may also be organized to visit these galleries for cultural promotion and to earn revenue too. The Committee also recommended that the government should construct a National Museum in Islamabad for cultural promotion as early as possible, and also recommended that all heritage sites should be given under the Federal Government supervision rather than the provincial governments. Thereafter, the Committee considered “The Iqbal Academy (Amendment) Act, 2025” (Government Bill) and “The National Fund for Culture Heritage (Amendment) Act, 2025” (Government Bill) and unanimously approved both the bills. Finally, the Additional Secretary, Evacuee Trust Property Board (ETPB), Ministry of Religious Affairs and Interfaith Harmony, gave a comprehensive briefing to the Committee on the renovation of gurdwaras in Daska and Peshawar, and also on all religious sites under the ETPB’s jurisdiction, as well as under provincial jurisdiction. Copyright Business Recorder, 2025