PESHAWAR, May 23: The Gandhara Hindko Board, a literary-cum-cultural organization, has urged Hindko-speaking people to work for promotion of their language which remains officially neglected. The board members said that a fresh membership drive should be started so that work for preservation and promotion of Hindko could be stepped up.

The process of enrolling new members in the board got under way at a function here on Monday where many people filled up forms, said a press release issued here on Monday.

Chairman of Gandhara Hindko Board Professor Dr Zahoor Ahmad Awan presided over the event.

He said that Hindko was spoken not only in Peshawar but also in Hazara, Kohat, Pothwar and parts of Kashmir. The fresh membership drive was aimed at including the ‘Hindkowans’ of other areas as well.

Efforts are being made for the preservation of the second largest spoken language of the NWFP, said Dr Awan, who had been decorated with Tamgha-i-Imtiaz and has authored 40 books.

The general-secretary of the board, Mohammad Ziauddin, said the credit for the work done by the board over the last 12 years went to its members who always gave time and resources for that.