Chairman Senate Standing Committee on National Heritage and Culture Senator Afnanullah Khan on Thursday emphasized on taking steps to highlight the culture and history of Pakistan at the global level.
He expressed these views while chairing Senate Standing Committee on National Heritage and Culture, which was held today at parliament house. During the meeting “Iqbal Academy Pakistan Bill 2022” was considered. The proposed bill was tabled in the Senate after approval by the National Assembly. The purpose of the bill is to merge two departments “Iqbal Academy Pakistan and Aiwan e Iqbal” into one institution. The Secretary National Heritage and Culture was of the view that the work and mandate of both institutions are the same therefore, by integrating them, their work can be improved.
Senator Kesho Bai said that it is also important to listen to the position of Aiwan e Iqbal authorities regarding the bill, without which deliberations on the bill will be futile. According to the opinion of all the members, the Chairman Committee, Senator Afnanullah Khan, deferred the consideration of the bill until the next meeting of the Committee so that the relevant advisor can also be a part of the committee’s proceedings.
Secretary National Heritage and Culture gave a detailed briefing to the committee members regarding the work of the division and its attached departments which included Quaid-e-Azam Mazar Management Board, National Museum of Pakistan (Karachi), Quaid-e-Azam Academy (Karachi), Urdu Dictionary Board (Karachi) and National Academy of Performing Arts. The committee members gave various suggestions to improve the performance of the institutions. The chairman committee said that only people from relevant fields should be included in the boards of the institutions, it will help in improving the functioning of the institutions.
The committee members appreciated the work of National Academy of Performing Arts and suggested partnership with universities across the country for further improvement. Secretary National Heritage and Culture Division informed that vacancies in Lok Virsa and PNCA will be filled soon. The committee members also recommended measures regarding the exhibition of the remains of the ancient Mehergarh Balochistan and Gandhara civilizations in the National Museum.
Senators, Deputy Chairman Senate Mirza Muhammad Afridi, Irfan Siddiqui, Palwasha Muhammad Zai Khan, Mushahid Hussain Sayed, Fawzia Arshad, Falak Naz, Saeed Ahmed Hashmi, Keshoo bai, Rubina Khalid and officials of related departments participated in the committee meeting.
