Four-day Urdu Conference kicks off

Literature can bring people of different backgrounds, cultures, and ways of life together, says CM

KARACHI:

Sindh Chief Minister Justice (retd) Maqbool Baqar has said that the International Urdu Conference being organised by the Arts Council for the last 16 years has now become our `literary brand' to spread the message of love, respect and tolerance.

This he said while speaking at the inauguration of 16th International Urdu Conference at the Arts Council of Pakistan, Karachi.

The CM said, "Literature can bring people of different backgrounds, cultures, and ways of life together. When people relate to a piece of literature, it makes you think that you're not alone and that someone else has been through what you are going through."

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Quoting Shakespeare, he said that literature is the expression of life in words of truth and beauty; it is the written record of man's spirit, of his thoughts, emotions, and aspirations; it is the history, and the only history, of the human soul.

Justice Baqar appreciated the leading literary figures who contributed to the conferences through their literary work and developed a spirit of tolerance and co-existence among the people of different languages, religions and faiths.

The CM urged the youth not only to participate in such conferences which were bound to inculcate the spirit of humanity among them but also develop a habit of reading books. He urged the leading literary figures to play their role in making Pakistan a peaceful and tolerant society.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 1^st, 2023.