Call to promote culture

ISLAMABAD: Hazeem Hussain Abu Shanab, Palestinian ambassador to Pakistan, strongly supports cultural exchange between the 2 countries.

He was speaking at the International Cultural Exhibition organised at the Women’s Campus of the International Islamic University on Monday. “Culture serves a range of purposes and roles in today’s society and is significant in a variety of ways,” he said. “It is nourishment that allows people to live a decent life, forms the basis of a society in which we live together, creates high-quality economic activity, contributes to the development of truth and is the foundation for world peace,” he added.

He believed that the younger citizens of the two Muslim countries should continue to support art. “Do not let it die; keep supporting culture and not merely commercial [art] forms,” he said.

Talking to The Express Tribune, the Palestinian envoy said the Agency for Cultural Affairs of Pakistan has assured him that it will support policies to promote culture amongst Muslim countries, based on the Fundamental Law for the Promotion of Culture and Arts.

“The objective of the Fundamental Law for the Promotion of Culture and Arts is to comprehensively promote policies related to the advancement of culture and arts by specifying basic principles to encourage art in the Muslim community,” he explained. Pakistani and overseas students, clad in their respective traditional dresses, participated in the inaugural ceremony.

The ten-day cultural activities will include Qirat (Quran recitation), Hifz and Naat competitions, Urdu, English and Arabic debate and quiz competitions, a Literary Arabic Festival, cultural exhibitions and a Grand Mushaira.

Finally, a prize distribution ceremony will be held on April 22 at the IIU campus in Sector H-10.