Defending his decision to air Turkish drama series on state-run television,Pakistan’s prime minister has said the blockbuster productions are beingbroadcast to educate and provide good role models to the people,particularly the youth.

In an interview with local broadcaster Hum News aired Saturday night, ImranKhan said the airing of quality content like Turkish dramas was an attemptto provide alternative entertainment to the people.

Observing that the misuse of technology, like mobile phones, has”devastated” society, he said: “You cannot ban things, but you can providealternative entertainment to the public.”

Pakistan, he went on to say, will try to produce quality productions suchas Yunus Emre: Askın Yolculugu (Yunus Emre: Love’s Journey) and Dirilis:Ertugrul (Resurrection), which have enjoyed record viewership in thecountry and abroad.

Earlier this week, Khan had publicly recommended that people watch YunusEmre: Askin Yolculigu to explore their interest in Sufism.

The blockbuster series is being broadcast under the title Raah-e-Isahq,meaning path to love, with Urdu dubbing on the state-run PakistanTelevision, already having attracted a large viewership.

“I strongly recommend the serial Yunus Emre being shown on PTV for allthose who are interested in Sufiism (Marayfat),” Khan said in a tweet onTuesday.

It follows the record-breaking historical drama Diliris: Ertugrul, whichhas taken Pakistanis by storm.

Already becoming a household name in the South Asian country, Ertugrul hasset yet another record as its Urdu YouTube channel last week surpassed 10million subscribers.

In 2013, Pakistani TV channels screened 11 Turkish-made TV series and twomovies, with 34,000 tourists visiting Turkey that year. The number jumpedto 113,000 in 2018 and is estimated to exceed 120,000 by the end of thisyear.