The Dawn. May8, 2010

ISLAMABAD, May 7: Pakistan Academy of Letters (PAL) Chairman Fakhar Zaman announced on Friday the names of the national literary award winners for best books published and translated in Pakistani languages during 2008.

Allama Mohammad Iqbal Award for best Urdu poetry was given to Faisal Ajmi for his collection Samandar.

Baba-i-Urdu Maulvi Abdul Haq Award for the best Urdu prose was given to Dr Mumtaz Ahmad Khan for Urdu Novel Ke Hamageer Sarokar.

Syed Waris Shah Award was given to Nazir Ahmad Kahut for his Punjabi book Wahga.

Shah Abdul Latif Bhittai Award was given to Murad Ali Mirza for his book Saami Sijja Warau in Sindhi language.

Khush’hal Khan Khattak Award was given to Farooq Sarwar for his Pushto book Sagwan.

Mast Tawakli Award was given to Muneer Ahmed Badeni for his book Shal-e-Gulain Bazaar in Balochi language

Khwaja Ghulam Farid Award was given to Qasim Sayyal for his Seraiki book Pandh Pandheero Dey.

Taj Mohammad Tajal Award was given to Maulana Abdul Khaliq Ababaki for his Brahvi book Sher Banz.

Saeen Ahmad Ali Award was given to Sultan Sakoon for his book Dilsothey in Hindko language.

Pitras Bukhari Award was given to Maniza Naqvi for her English book A Matter of Detail.

Mohammad Hassan Askari Award was given to Parto Roheela for his momentous translation of the great Urdu and Persian poet Asadullah Khan Ghalib’s correspondence in Persian – Kuliyat-i-Maktoobat-i-Farsi Ghalib.

Each award winner will get a cash prize of Rs100,000. The award ceremony will be held within a month or two, the PAL chief said.

Mr Zaman also announced Pas-i-Zindan Awards, which would be bestowed at a ceremony at the Prime Minister’s Secretariat on public figures who wrote literature during their incarceration.

The award winners in this category are Zulfikar Ali Bhutto for his book If I am assassinated.

Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani will also get this award for his book Chah-i-Yousuf Se Sada. Javed Hashmi for Takht-i-Dar Kay Sai Talay, Tariq Khursheed for Soey Dar –Kia Main Dehshatgard Tha, Hameed Akhtar for Kal Kothri, Zafarullah Poshni for Zindagi Zindan Dili Ka Naam Hai and Habib Jalib for Kuliyat-i-Habib Jalib. Each of the six writers will receive a cash prize of Rs100,000.