July 17, 2006	Monday	Jumadi-ul-Sani 20, 1427

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ISLAMABAD, July 16: Writers, poets and politicians continue to shower tributes on epoch-making short-story writer, poet and columnist Ahmed Nadeem Qasmi.

Speaking at an obituary reference organized by the ruling Muslim League’s cultural wing for the distinguished poet, prose and column writer at the PML House here on Sunday, Information Minister Mohammed Ali Durrani said the mission of Ahmed Nadeem Qasmi was to advance the cause of the downtrodden masses.

“He believed in freedom of expression and free press. This is also the mission of the Muslim League and therefore he (Qasmi) belongs to the PML”, claimed Mr Durrani. The minister instructed Pakistan Television to organize an all Pakistan Mushaira in reverence to Qasmi sahib.

Then PML secretary-general Mushahid Husain Syed claimed that his party did not believe in “officially certified truths” and “upholds the cause of the weak and the downtrodden”.

Prof Khwaja Masud appreciated the PML for organizing the meeting to pay homage to Qasmi.

Pakistan Academy of Letters chief Iftikhar Arif said the history of Pakistan could be gleaned from the columns written by Qasmi Sahib in newspapers, which would provide an index whether freedom of expression was available in the country.

Tributes were paid to the eminent poet by more than a dozen writers, poets and intellectuals, including Dr Alya Imam, Bushra Anwar Sipra, Abida Taqi, Rubina Mahmud, short-story writer Rizwana Syed, Suraya Nasim, Farrukh Jamal, Sarfaraz Shahid, Shaukat Kazmi, Jamil Yousuf, Sajjad Shaikh, Asghar Abid, Anjum Khaleeq, Dr Ghazanfar Mehdi and Minority leader Akram Gill.

HALQA FUNCTION: Earlier writers and poets at a similar reference held at the Halqa-i-Arbab-i-Zauq here late Friday night also remembered the poet and short-story writer.

Critic and poet Yusuf Hasan presided over the function. Short-story writer Fareeda Hafeez said Qasmi Sahib was a great human being and poet.

Abida Taqi and Afshan Abbasi said Qasmi Sahib patronised writers, specially women writers.

Afshan Abbasi said Qasmi sahib would often ask her to send her manuscript for publication in his quarterly literary magazine Funoon.

Poet Akhtar Usman said Qasmi would encourage young writers, specially those from the villages and small towns. For his reason young writers use to call his house as “a mansion for the writers from the villages”.

A young writer from the NWFP, Afrasiab Kamal corroborated this and said that Qasmi Sahib took special pains in bringing 15 writers from his village in Hazara.