KARACHI, Dec 2: Fond memories of friendship spread over 52 years between Pakistan and the People’s Republic of China were revived and warm expressions of brotherly emotions exchanged at a reception held to receive a delegation of Chinese writers by the Academy Adabiat Pakistan.

Attended by noted writers and poets in a large number, it was a pleasure to listen to the speeches which came from both sides — humorist Musthaq Ahmed Yusufi, Mazharul Haq Siddiqui, VC Jamshoro University and Sindh minister Rauf Siddiqui from one side and Zhang Xian Liang, leader of the delegation, from the other side.

Iftekhar Arif, in his welcome speech, said: “It is a pleasure to be amongst the friends representing a civilization, culture and history which is known to carry along the wisdom of 5,000 years. Being writers and intellectuals, you are the people who feel the pulse of socio-political patterns of our time and give an expression to it”, he added.

Leader of the five-member writers delegation Mr Zhang Xian Liang in his brief discourse said that language was no bar between friends to express their warm feelings. He said he had visited Karachi eight times and some years ago, a Chinese going abroad had to pass through Karachi, another friendly gesture. He said China had made tremendous progress in the field of economy and industry.

Referring to a remark in Mr Yusufi’s address, he observed that it looked as if friendship between the two countries was “confined to only brothers and sisters were kept aloof, so next time we shall send a delegation of pretty ladies from our side and shall welcome their Pakistani counterparts on our soil.”

Earlier, Iftekhar Arif had said that nine delegations of writers from Pakistan to China and their equal number from China to Pakistan had spread goodwill messages in the two countries.

Mr Mazharul Haq Siddiqui recalled his visit to China in 1980 and narrated his memorable experience as a guest in that friendly country. The relation between the governments were not always strong and stable but friendly relations between the peoples — as in our case between Pakistan and China were deep-rooted and above the vagaries of time.

He informed that Pakistan’s five students were presently engaged in doing their PHDs in China and that the government of Pakistan had also selected Chinese institutions for higher studies by our students.

Mr Rauf Siddiqui, while welcoming the guests, stressed the need for more exchange of books and their translated versions in Pakistan and China.

Earlier, the Chinese leader, Mr Zhang Xian Liang, a noted story-writer and the author of three prize winning novels, also spoke. Liag is also the president of a Provincial Writer’s Association and his works have been translated into 30 languages.

Ms Gu Xia, author of many poetry collections, who has to her credit a long and most beautiful poem in Chinese, Mr Ou Zhi-de, a novelist, Mr Wang Bing-gen, a noted literary critic, and Mr Tang Meng-Sheng, a professor of Urdu at Beijing University, also spoke. Sheng translated Shaukat Siddiqui’s Khuda Ki Basti in Chinese and evaluated the famous Urdu novel Umrao Jan Ada of Mirza Ruswa and some stories of Ahmed Nadeem Qasmi in Chinese.

One minute silence was observed and Fateha offered for the departed intellectuals

A.K. Brohi and Hamza Alavi.

—Hasan Abidi