A tribute: Where is Jinnah’s secular Pakistan, ask Pashto poets

Demand Pashto, regional languages be given status of official languages to promote cultural diversity.

CHARSADDA: Pashto poet Ghani Khan’s Ghani Dehri was brimming with history, poetry and talks about Jinnah, as poets and intellectuals from the province gathered to pay tribute to Pukhtun intellectual, poet and journalist Saleem Raz on his 75th birthday.

At the seminar and mushaira organised by the Ulasi Adabi Sangar Sardehri in Charsadda on Sunday, Raz said it was clear from Muhammad Ali Jinnah’s August 11 speech that he wanted a progressive and secular Pakistan where every sect had equal rights.

He added that Pashto and other regional languages should be given the official status encourage cultural diversity.

The central secretary of the Communist Party, Imdad Qazi along with Bacha Khan and Wali Khan special assistant, Dr Khursheed Alam, were also present at the event.

Alam said there should be dialogue in the country to see how durable peace can be achieved, as without peace, there can be no progress. While talking about languages and their official status, Alam said Swat was the only region where Pashto was the official language before it decided to join Pakistan and the official language was replaced by Urdu.

Sadullah Jan Barq, a renowned columnist, Abseen Yousafzai and Dr Muhammad Yaseen Khan along with many others paid rich tributes to Raz, saying he not only wrote a great deal in Pashto but also founded many literary organisations such as the International Pashto Adabi Conference, a global platform for the Pashto literati.

Published in The Express Tribune, April 8^th, 2014.