SAHIWAL The Faiz Ahmad Faiz Academic Block was inaugurated by Muneeza Hashmi, daughter of the poet, at the Government Postgraduate College on Saturday.

A seminar was also held on the occasion where scholars threw light on the Faiz’ struggle especially his three-year imprisonment at the Montgomery (Sahiwal) Jail.

Sharing her memories, Muneeza Hashmi said she was just six or seven years old when she was allowed by the jail superintendent to run around in the barracks and cell where her father was imprisoned. She said her mother, Alys Faiz, and elder sister, Salima Hashmi, used to sit with Faiz in the meeting room while she used to roam around.

“Every two months, I used to visit the Montgomery Jail along with my mother and sister.”

Ms Hashmi said Faiz Sahib always stood for human values, democracy, freedom movements against oppression and martial law, rule of law, constitutional supremacy and respect for others.

“These are values our new generations must learn and I hope this institution will spread and advocate peace and tolerance in society,” she concluded.

During the seminar, Professor Muhammad Iftikhar Shafi of the Department of Urdu highlighted romantic and classical aspects of Faiz’ poetry while Hina Jamshed threw light on the political struggle of Faiz and his time in Sahiwal prison.

The seminar was also addressed by retired Prof Akbar Shah, Ikhlaq Hussain and Dr Nadeem Abbas Ashraf. Maria Gulraiz, a UNESCO cultural consultant, also participated in seminar. The double-storey new academic block having 12 classrooms has been constructed with Rs250m and new classrooms are in the final phase of completion.

Prof Ikhlaq Hussain, principal of the college, had presented a proposal to the college’s academic council to name the new academic block after Faiz Ahmad Faiz.

The reason for the initiative was to honour the poet who spent three years (1951-54) of his imprisonment in Central Prison of the city. The academic council approved the proposal and it was decided the name of the new building would be Faiz Ahmad Faiz Academic block.

Prof Ikhlaq told Dawn the block would remind new generations about Faiz’s ‘struggle of resistance’ and his love for democracy, peace and tolerance.

Published in Dawn, May 6th, 2018