Zubair Qureshi
Poets from all parts of the country, rather the globe participated in an online Eid Millan Mushaira (poetry recital) organized by the Pakistan Academy of Letters (PAL) on Saturday.
Eminent names in Urdu literature, particularly, poetry participated in the poetry recital and presented their kalam.
Those who were invited and participated in the event as chief guests on the occasion included Sabir Raza (Manchester), Ghazanfar Hashmi (USA), Suraj Narain (Kohat) and Mansoor Afaq (Lahore).
Noted literary figure Dr. Waheed Ahmed presided over the event.
Dr Shaista Nuzhat (Lahore), Ejaz Kanwar Raja (Lahore), Saadullah Shah (Lahore), Kabir Athar (Rahim Yar Khan), Altaf Bukhari (USA), Mohsin Shakeel (Quetta), Ali Arman (UK), Shafqatullah Mushtaq (Bahawalnagar) and Arif Afzal Osmani were the guests of honor on the occasion.
Earlier, Dr Yousuf Khushk, Chairman, PAL, gave the introductory speech. Poets from all over the country and abroad presented their poetry.
Shehzad Baig was the moderator. Dr. Yousuf Khushk in his brief speech thanked all the national and foreign poets on behalf of the PAL for accepting the invitation and for participating in the poetry recital.
PAL, he said, had been organizing poetry recital and literary events during the Ramazan.
“In the month of Ramazan-ul-Mubarak, two international Hamdiya and Naatiya Mushairas were organized in which poets presented their poetry in Urdu language,” said the PAL chief.
Those events were followed by Hamdiya and Naatiya poetry recitals in other languages like Punjabi, Sindhi, Pashto, Pothohari, Seraiki, Balochi, Brahui, Hindko, Kashmiri, Khwar, Gojri Pahari, Wakhi, Sheena, Broshki and Balti, he further said.
Dr. Waheed Ahmed termed Mushaira a successful and memorable event and said the present Chairman had made the PAL very dynamic.
Despite the Covid-19, holding publications and programmes was a sign of love for their field.
After the Pakistan-China Economic Corridor, the efforts of Dr. Yousuf Khushk have made the Pak-China Literary Corridor a great success.
Participants of the Mushaira included Ashraf Yousufi (Faisalabad), Maqsood Wafa (Faisalabad), Azhar Farag (Bahawalpur), Faisal Hashmi (Khanewal), Rafiq Ahmad Khan (Hyderabad), Anjum Salimi (Faisalabad), Khalid Sajjad (Kuwait), Qamar Riaz ( Muscat), Dr. Shafiq Asif (Sargodha),
Saima Aftab (Lahore), Azra Naz (London), Astuti Agrawal (India), Shahid Zaman (Kohat), Saima Noorin Bukhari (Multan), Rabab Tabassum (Islamabad), Dr. Arif Farhad (Islamabad), Manan Qadeer Manan ( London), Neil Ahmed (Karachi), Neelam Malik (Lahore), Dr. Shama Afroz (Karachi), Taslim Ikram (Islamabad), Ehsan Shah (Gilgit), Mian Aftab Ahmed (Faisalabad), Ramzi Atham (Karachi), Ejaz Ahmed (Doha), Haroon Adeel (Peshawar), Mubashir Saeed (Sahiwal), Shiraz Ghafoor (Dera Ghazi Khan), Hassan Masood (Mianwali), Mujaddid Al-Arz (Khairpur), Aqeel Shah (Islamabad), Sanaullah Zaheer (Faisalabad), Dr. Shahid Ashraf (Faisalabad), Danish Aziz (Lahore), Mahmood Raza Syed (Faisalabad), Kashif Irfan (Islamabad), Irfan Arif (Jammu and Kashmir), Abhishek Shukla (India), Muhammad Afzal (Lahore), Kashif Rehman (Dera Ismail Khan), Tahir Shirazi (Dera Ismail Khan), Dr. Zaigham Khan (Dera Ismail Khan), Ghazali (Gojra), Owais Sajjad Owais (Bahawalpur), Fauzia Sheikh (Faisalabad), Athar Zia (Islamabad), Saghir Aslam (Mansehra) and others presented their poetry.
