‘Urdu as official language’: LHC seeks reply from federal government

Petition says Urdu should be made official language as Quaid-i-Azam had envisioned.

LAHORE: Chief justice of the Lahore High Court on Monday has sought a reply from federal government and assistance of the attorney general on a petition which seeks to make Urdu the official language.

Petitioner Advocate Rana Ilmuddin Ghazi said the Quaid-i-Azam in 1948 had announced that Urdu would be made the official language of the country but that has not been done. He said the Constitution had also laid down a provision to make Urdu the official language within a specific period but that deadline has also passed.

The chief justice heard initial arguments from the petitioner and adjourned the hearing for the next week.

The petitioner requested that directions be issued to the government to immediately act upon the desire of the Quaid-i-Azam.