By Mian Ijazul Hassan

The Nation   3 Jan 2015

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LAHORE - First ever National Punjabi Conference has been organised to raise the questions regarding the importance of Punjabi language.
The conference was presented by Ahmad Raza who is the head of a newly-initiated organization, Punjabi Parchar, and was held at the main Hall of Punjab Institute of Language, Art and Culture Lahore. It was chaired by well known Punjabi writer Mushtaq Sufi, while Chairman Standing Committee on Education Engr Qamarul Islam Raja was the chief guest of the occasion.

The active members of Punjabi Language Movement including Prof Saeed Bhutta, Prof Jamil Paul, Prof Tariq Gujjar, Prof Saeed Ahmad, Prof Tariq Jatala, Dr Azhar Mahmood, Rashid Bhatti (ex-MPA), Afzal Sahir, Mumtaz Baloch, Dr Riaz Shahid, Dr Sughra Sadaf, Farhad Iqbal talked for the rights of the Punjabi language, a language of 65 per cent people of Pakistan which has been badly ignored since 1947.

The main issue was raised unanimously by the participants of the conference that the language of majority of Pakistan’s Sufi saints should be given its due right immediately so that we could counter aggressive values from the hardliners within as well as the invasion of Indian culture from abroad.

In Pakistan, Pushtoon speaks Pushto with their kids, Urdu-speaking Muhajir speaks Urdu, Balochs speak Balochi and Sindhi speak Sindhi but only the Punjabis don’t speak Punjabi with their kids. Instead of that, they prefer Urdu or English in their communication. This horrible trend is a great threat to the life of the Punjabi language as well as the culture of the Punjab.

Qamarul Islam Raja assured the participants that he was ready to take any step for the promotion and teaching of this language, conditional to the public support