Turk Lala: What will Pakistan and Turkey's joint TV series revolve around?

• Series will focus on Abdur Rehman Peshawari, who left his studies to fight for the Ottomon Empire 
• He was also one of the first reporters of Anadolu Agency
• Series will also focus on the role of subcontinent Muslims and their struggle for Turkey in the Balkan Wars
  

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After the massive popularity of Turkish series Resurrection: Ertugrul, Pakistan and Turkey are considering working on a joint project, a statement from Prime Minister Imran Khan's office had revealed the other day. 

Read more: PM Imran Khan meets Ertugrul's team, discusses Pak-Turk joint project

The two countries are considering working on the project "Turk Lala" which will focus on the role played by the Muslims of the subcontinent in the Balkan War.  

Prime Minister Imran Khan on Thursday discussed the proposal with leading Turkish director Kemal Tekden and his team, who met with Khan at his office in Islamabad.

Tekden is the director of the world famous series, Resurrection: Ertugrul, which has garnered massive popularity in Pakistan. Tekden arrived in Pakistan on a five-day visit to discuss the project with the prime minister and his team. 

Read more: Why are Turkish dramas being aired in Pakistan? PM Imran Khan tells Hamza Ali Abbasi

Lala is a word in Pashto that means "elder brother" and will chronicle the events of the life of Abdur Rehman Peshawari. He had the distinction to become one of the first reporters of Anadolu Agency when it was founded in the 1920s. 

Born in Peshawar in 1866 in the wealthy Samdani family, Peshawari left his studies to take part in the Balkan War to help Turkey.

"Most of the Muslims who helped the Turkish side travelled from present-day Pakistan under the Khilafat Movement flag -- a campaign to support the Ottoman Empire in the early 20th century," read a statement on the Anadolu Agency website. 

Prominent members of the Pakistani government attended the meeting which included Information Minister Senator Shibli Faraz, Kashmir Committee Chairman Shehryar Afridi and leading actors from the Turkish and Pakistani film industries.

Read more: Makers of Turkish series 'Ertuğrul' overwhelmed by sweeping response in Pakistan

Afridi spoke about Turk Lala and his achievements during the Balkan War for Turkey. 

"This series [Turk Lala] will educate our younger generation about our heroes," Afridi had said. 

Tekden praised Prime Minister Imran Khan's vision to broadcast Turkish drama serials in Pakistan, adding that Turkish President Erdogan held the same view that the youth can benefit from studying about Muslim heroes. 

"Both Prime Minister Khan and Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan have the same vision that youth could play an important role in the development of any country and they [youth] must be educated about their history and culture," Tekden said.

"We observe June 30 every year as a national day in respect of Turk Lala in Turkey," he added.

Tekden said that the series can open a new chapter in the friendship fo Turkey and Pakistan while at the same time, educate the youths of both countries about their Muslim heroes and role models. 

Prime Minister Imran Khan was all praises for Ertugrul during the meeting, telling the Turkish director that his series has become extremely popular across Pakistan. He said Pakistani dramas and films were very popular across the world until the 1980s.

"When Muslims were ruling the sub-continent... it was a golden age of our history. But unfortunately, our younger generation do not know about it," Khan was quoted as saying. 

The Pakistani prime minister proposed to make more dramas on that golden era and counter propaganda against Muslims.