www.punjabics.com

Home

‘Writers honoured by dictators should return awards’

LAHORE

GREAT literature can only be produced with great struggle and no writer has ever become a great writer if he compromised his ideology and bowed to any kind of dictatorship and all those who received honours from the dictators should return them back.

This was said by the Chairman Pakistan Academy of Letters and World Punjabi Congress, Fakhar Zaman, at a special ceremony held at the Punjab Institute of Art, Languages & Culture, Qaddafi Stadium on Monday in his honour on his receiving the ‘Hilal-e-Imtiaz’.

Fakhar Zaman commented that everywhere we look in history, we find that those who laid down their lives for principles and never compromised received the highest honours in the world of literature. 

He said that all those Pakistani writers who have received honours from the dictatorial regimes should return those medals back .He said that he has been a clean man and never took advantage of his high place in politics and the government.

He commented that the men and women of literature in Pakistan had never received the deserving honours except in the times of Zulifkar Ali Bhutto. He said that soon a literary channel would be established to provide a platform to the true writers and scholars. He also announced two highest awards in literature worth Rs 2 million each by the Academy of Letter for which they have already nominated Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto Shaheed for her contributions to democracy and in literature they have selected a Norwegian writer. He said that they were in negotiations with Bilawal Bhuttoo so that he could come over and receive Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto’s award.

He revealed that the efforts for the Pakistan Academy of Letters under his control have introduced Pakistani literature, specially the Punjabi literature all around the world. He also announced that World Punjabi Congress would soon be held in Pakistan in which delegates from 80 countries would be participating.

Earlier, Fakhar Zaman was ‘crowned’ with the traditional Turban by his admirers and the members of the World Punjabi Congress in recognition of his efforts in the world of literature and for peace between Pakistan and India and for his untiring valuable efforts for the promotion of Punjabi language and literature through World Punjabi Congress platform.

A large number of intellectuals, men and women of letters attended this ceremony and many paid rich tribute to Fakhar Zaman for his efforts for peace, Punjabi, writers and the mankind in general.