LAHORE: Columnist, poet and playwright Munnu Bhai has announced donating all his literary treasure to the Government College University (GCU) as a token of appreciation for its contribution to promotion of drama and literature.

Munnu Bhai, whose real name is Muneer Ahmed Qureshi, made this announcement during his lecture at GCU on “Responsibilities of Media in Democratic Society” on Monday.

“I will make my will and it shall be noted that my complete library, including personal books, scripts, collections and all literary material, shall go to the GCU library where students from diverse backgrounds will benefit from them,” said Munnu Bhai while appreciating the university’s system of preservation of books on scientific lines.

Addressing the students, he said, “I will give you all my books and personal literary collections so that my heart always beats in your hands and my eyes always remain with your eyes.”

Munnu Bhai said the Pakistani media was still in formative years and would grow mature with the passage of time, adding that it played a tremendous role in raising awareness among the people about the national issues.

He rejected the impression that the media was portraying a negative image of the country, saying it was a mirror to the society. However, he said, people just wanted to watch media reports in their favour, adding that everyone should bear criticism without wearing the glasses of favouritism or prejudice.

GCU Vice-Chancellor Khaleequr Rahman, who chaired the event, termed Munnu Bhai a national treasure, saying the GCU students and teachers had always learnt a lot from him.

“It is a matter of great pride for us that he posed his trust in the GCU for donating his personal library,” he added.

The VC told Munnu Bhai that the GCU Library stood tall among its peers on account of its strong section of personal collections as more than 145,464 books had been donated by eminent writers, poets and scientists, including Ashfaq Ahmed, Bano Qudsia, Sufi Ghulam Mustafa Tabassum, Prof Qayyum Nazar, Kamal Azfar, etc.

Chief Librarian Abdul Waheed and senior faculty members were also present.