Television Playwrights’ Association announces new executive committee

The Television Playwrights’ Association has announced its executive committee for the 2026–2028 term, with playwright and director Shihab Shaheen elected president and playwright Mezbah Uddin Sumon general secretary at the association’s biennial general meeting in Dhaka on Friday.

The meeting was held on August 21 at the International Mother Language Institute in Segunbagicha, where Aranya Anwar, a founding member of the association as well as a playwright and director, announced the new leadership.

Playwrights Zakir Hossain Ujjal, Litu Sakhawat and Masum Shahriar have been appointed vice-presidents. Mansur Rahman Chanchal, Elina Shammi and Bidyut Roy will serve as joint general secretaries.

The new committee also includes Prabhat Ahmed as organising secretary, Pappu Raj as finance secretary, Dayal Saha as office secretary, Sayem Khan as programme and information technology secretary, Faridul Islam Rubel as publicity secretary, Afrin Jessica as law and welfare secretary, and Maruf Hossain Sajib as training and research secretary.

Lipi Monwar, Ahmed Tawkir, Sheikh Hannan and Arka Mostafa have been named executive members.

Following the announcement, members of the association welcomed the newly elected president, general secretary and other committee members with flowers.

Speakers at the general meeting highlighted the role of television drama beyond entertainment, describing it as an important medium for reflecting society, culture and people’s lived experiences. They also stressed the need for collective efforts to support playwrights’ creativity, professional recognition and welfare.

The newly elected leadership expressed its commitment to making the Television Playwrights’ Association a more organised, effective and stronger platform during its 2026–2028 term.