ISLAMABAD, Feb 18 (APP): The 7th Pakistan Mother Languages Literature Festival kicked off at Pakistan Academy of Letters today.
The three-day festival, organised by the Indus Cultural Forum (ICF), in collaboration with the Pakistan Academy of Letters (PAL), UNDP Pakistan and other partners including Culture Department Government of Sindh, Forum for Language Initiatives (FLI), ECO Science Foundation and others, will continue till February 20.
Chief guest of the event Parliamentary Secretary for Cultural Affairs Ghazala Saifi appreciated the struggle of writers and thinkers who produce literature in their mother languages. Addressing the occasion, she said “Pakistan’s national language Urdu is inclusive and keeps us connected to each other. Mother languages are beautiful flowers of our national identity.”
UNDP Pakistan Resident Representative Knut Ostoby stressed on building local and regional networks for cultural preservation and promotion of diversity as essential ingredients to create a harmonised society. Pakistan was a rich society and diverse land of art loving people, Knut added.
Chairman Pakistan Academy of Letters Dr. Yousuf Khush underlined the need for immediate efforts to save languages vulnerable to distinction. He said several economic and social motivations result in migration ultimately leading to the death of languages. He shared that the PAL had last year documented the facts and figures of local languages in a book and that the federal government was fully onboard to take forward the project.
Prominent writer Nasir Abbas Nayar in his keynote speech said, “Languages are not competitive entities but coexisting communication sources and they tie together to stabilise society and encourage peace.”
Chairperson of Indus Cultural Forum Munawar Hassan added, “Pakistan is home to over 72 languages but beauty of these languages is hardly known at national level and their organisation is promoting the heritage of those languages.”
In today’s session, the book of Dr. Manzoor Veesrio was also launched. The book launch was followed by an award ceremony to recognize lifetime efforts of several legends including Noor-ul-Huda Shah, Zahida Hina, Sheeraz Tahir, Darwesh Durrani, Ghani Parwaz, Parveen Malik, Dr. Nasrullah Nasir, Asif Saqib, Gul Bangulzai, and Hassan Hasrat.
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