17th PTV Awards

The 17th annual PTV National Awards took place on 11 June 2012 and was aired on 30 June 2012. The awards were presented by the Pakistan Television Corporation (PTV) to honor the best drama programs on Pakistani television of the preceding 12 months. The ceremony was held at the Jinnah Convention Centre in Islamabad, Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT) and the hosts were Saba Qamar, Imran Abbas, Nadia Ali, and Mikaal Zulfiqar. The event had the highest number of viewers for the awards show since the first PTV Awards in 1970. The aim of the awards ceremony is to encourage and foster television talent in Pakistan.

Dil Behkay Ga won the highest number of awards for a single nominee with four awards, including 'Best Drama Director' for Owais Khan. Aurat Ka Ghar Koun SA won three awards, including 'Best Playwright Series'. Juno and Tera Pyar Nahi Bhoole won two awards. Other winners were Jina Tu Hai, Payal (which got nine nominations), and Kachra Kundi, Virsa, Ramadan Transmission, Hama Tan Goosh and Raat Gaye with one award each. Saba Qamar won the 'Best Actress' award for her role in Tera Pyar Nahi Bhoole, and Noman Ejaz won the 'Best Actor' award, 24 years into his acting career, for his portrayal of a popular character in Dil Behkay Ga.

17th PTV Red Carpet Event
The Red Carpet Show for the 17th PTV Awards was hosted by the Pakistani model and actress Nadia Hussain on 30 June 2012.

Purpose
PTV presents the Annual Awards to honor Pakistani public figures and promote emerging new talents in the Pakistani television drama scene, aiming to host the awards ceremony every year since its establishment in 1970. Each year, PTV chooses a tag line that best represents its prevalent theme. This year the PTV Awards tag line was "kasb-e-Kamal kun", which translates to "Tribute to Excellence".

Guest speaker
The Guest of Honor was former Pakistani Prime Minister; Yousaf Raza Gilani, accompanied by Information Minister Qamar Zaman Kaira, Federal Minister Syed Khursheed Ahmed Shah, Railway Minister Ghulam Ahmad Bilour, Taimur Azmat Usman, PTV Managing Director Yousaf Baig Mirza, and Interior Minister of Pakistan Rehman Malik. In his address, Gilani stated that the country is surrounded by depression and hopelessness and the PTV awards played a key role in lifting up the morale and spirits of the nation.

Pakistani government ministers Rehman Malik and Qamar Zaman Kaira gave away awards to the winning actors and actresses.

Winners and nominees
The nominees for the 17th PTV Awards were announced on 12 May 2012. Viewer’s Choice Awards were also there and were officially open for polling by PTV for the categories of 'Best Actor' and 'Best Actress'. The TV Drama category receiving the most nominations was Payal with nine, followed by Tera Pyar Nahi Bhoole and Aurat Ka Ghar Koun SA with seven nominations.

Awards
The Winners are listed first.

PTV Awards in Future
The PTV Awards are the longest-running award ceremony in Pakistan which has honored the new talents in every field consistently for 43 years since the first award ceremony in 1970, and is the main television awards show for honoring the art and culture of Pakistani TV Dramas. PTV awards are often compared with the Indian Television Academy Awards and the American Emmy Awards. The 18th PTV Annual Awards are expected to be held on 4 July 2013 at Jinnah Convention Centre in Islamabad, Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT), Pakistan.