Poets remembered: ‘Extremist mindset can be changed through literature’

Academy of Letters holds event to honour Ahmed Faraz, Parveen Shakir

ISLAMABAD: Minister of State for Communications Abdul Hakeem Baloch has said that the government is hoping to end extremist mindset by promoting literary culture.

He said this at a literary event organised in memory of poets Ahmed Faraz and Parveen Shakir here on Tuesday, said a press release.

The event was organised by the Pakistan Academy of Letters (Pal).

Muhammad Hameed Shahid, Dr Najeeba Arif and Wafa Chishti presented papers on the poets. They termed Faraz a poet of revolution and Parveen Shakir a poet of love.

Baloch said that poets contribute towards changing the thinking of a nation. He said that one of the reasons the country was facing extremism was due to public negligence towards giving due importance to literature and art in the society.

PAL Chairperson Dr Muhammad Qasim Bughio said that the academy would encourage both established and amateur writers, and would soon launch projects to promote their work.

The evening ended with a poetry recital where a number of young poets presented their work.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 14^th, 2016.