About FM2000 Radio Station
FM2000 Radio Station was a music, information, entertainment, and knowledge-based radio channel, designed by Shakeel Ahmad in the year 2000. It was the evert first Radio Station in the history of SwatValley and was very popular among the citizen of Saidu Sharif, Mingora, and adjacent villages (Swat Valley – KPK).
This page has been created to preserve and transfer the information related to FM2000 Radio station to the next generations.
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✪ Information:
✤ Mission:
- This radio station was established to bring positive change in society through awareness/education, and motivate youngsters towards patriotism, love, brotherhood, teamwork, harmony, and friendship.
✤ Coverage Area:
- Saidu Sharif
- Mingora
- Adjacent villages
✤ Operation Period:
- First Radio Broadcast: Feb. 14, 2000
- Last Radio Broadcast: Nov. 03, 2000
✤ Schedule:
- Program Schedule: 7 days a week
- Program start time: 9:30 pm
- Program end time: 12:00 am
✤ Technical Info:
- Radio Band: FM
- Frequency: 100Mhz
- Transmitter Output: 10 Watts
- Broadcast Range: 15 KMs
✤ Setup Cost:
- The whole setup was designed locally by Shakeel Ahmad within a budget of PKR.20,000/- without any financial aid or sponsorship.
✪ Facts:
- In the year 2000, mobile phones, computers, and internet services were luxuries. SwatValley was not connected to the mainstream internet backbone & there were no mobile phone operators in the Valley.
- Youngsters of Saidu Sharif & Mingora were not aware of social media, mobile phone technology, and digital communication. A young Electronic Engineer from Saidu Sharif (Shakeel Ahmad) realized that the native youth have a lot of potential but it couldn’t be explored without providing them the right opportunity and a platform, which will help the youngster network, build positive relationships in the society, grow and glow.
- To unite the youth at a common ground and let them explore their hidden talent, which might help this deprived nation to prosper and get ready for the challenges of the 21st century, Shakeel decided to establish a small-scale radio station in Saidu Sharif.
- The whole radio station setup was locally designed by Shakeel (in-house) without any technical or financial support from Govt. or private sector with painstaking day and night efforts within two months.
- The ever first transmission was done on 14th Feb. 2000 and within a few days, it became the most popular medium of communication among the natives from different age groups and backgrounds.
- Since radio communication needs a license to operate, hence Shakeel had officially applied for broadcast permission from the authorities, which was not approved due to complicated procedures, political resistance, and financial limitations to obtain a valid license.
- After 9 months of successful broadcasts, which won the hearts of thousands, Shakeel decided to suspend the radio transmission, due to political pressure and the potential threat of the misuse of the radio broadcast (anti-national interest).
- He has also disposed of the radio transmission equipment to ensure nobody could ever misuse them.
- The everlast radio show of FM2000 went on air on 3rd Nov. 2000, which was a memorable experience, where the radio station fans got emotional and didn’t allow the program to get terminated.
- The voice, which once glorified the valley had died forever, leaving behind its footprint in the history of beautiful SwatValley.
- After terminating the Radio Broadcast, dishearted Shakeel left the country to render his services abroad.
✪ The Winning Team:
Below are the names of a few prominent reporters of FM2000 various programs. We pay special thanks to their unconditional support and efforts to make the radio show the preferred choice of the listeners.
- Director, Presenter & Sound Engineer
- Shakeel Ahmad
- Scientific:
- Said Akber Shah
- Arshad Iqbal
- Mohd Ali
- Naila
- Hina
- Honey
- Faryal
- Riaz
- Literature:
- Urooj Khan
- Syeda Zubaria Mohd
- Janbaz
- Islamic:
- Naila
- Ainy Sadaf
- Hina Gul
- Naz
- Neelam
- Quiz:
- Zahid Hussain
- Naz
- Neelam Iqbal
- Children Counselor:
- Mian Said Ghaffar
- Technical Consultant:
- Syed Akbar Ali Bacha
- History:
- Syed Mushtaq Ahmad
- Aziz Ul Haq
- A. Tanha
- Hina Gul
- Sports:
- Rehmat Ali Sahab
- Asghar Chand
- Health & Hygiene:
- Neelam Iqbal
- Social Advisor
- Janbaz
- Music Library Contributor
- Mian Said Ghaffar
✪ Weekly program schedule:
✦Saturday ➜(Child's Play) Child's play was one of the best & popular most programs of FM2000. In this program children used to participate & sing songs, read poems, ask different questions, read jokes, play music, recite from the Holy Quran,read naats & hamads.
✦Sunday ➜(Letters & Poetry) Radio presenter used to read selected letters received last week and read various poetry based on the theme and topics. Selected poetry (English, Pashto & Urdu) were shared on request of the listeners. Program listeners used to call and read poetry in LIVE show and dedicate it to their friends and family members.
✦Monday & Wednesday ➜(Music on demand) Listeners used to call and request music from various genres and languages (English, Pashto & Urdu) and dedicate the songs to their friends and / or family members. This was one of the popular programs and thousands of listeners used to participate in the "Music on demand" program.
✦Tuesday ➜(Open Discussion) This program was very popular among the youth, where open discussions were made on any social issue or other interesting topics i.e; Pashtoon Culture, Our Forefathers, Careers, Professions, Books, City Infrastructure, Transportation, Muncipality Works, Road Conditions, Street Lights, Security etc
✦Thursday ➜(Islamic Program) The program used to start with recitation from the Holy Quran. Various Hamads and Naats were presented as well speeches from renowned Islamic scholars were broadcasted on public demand.
✦Friday ➜(Scientific Program) The program was designed to share various technical innovations, information technology, computers and various information sharing with an objective to create technical and scientific awareness among the youth to make them ready for the challenges of the 21st century.
✪ About Shakeel Ahmad:
Shakeel Ahmad was born in Saidu Sharif, Swat (June, 6) and is an Electronic Engineer by profession. One year after the suspension of FM2000 (Dec. 2001) he left Pakistan and joined Mitsubishi Electric. In year 2021 he took an early retirement and returned back Pakistan to serve local community with his acquired skills, knowledge & international experience. He is residing in Islamabad at present.