KARACHI, Jan 18: The Anjuman-i-Tarique Urdu Pakistan launched a translation of a book by the governor of the State Bank of Pakistan, Dr Ishrat Hussain, here on Friday.

Poet and columnist Jamiluddin Aali said that English was the language of the powerful. He added it was a pity that successive governments had failed to accord due status to the Urdu language.

He noted that while the translators had rendered the book into Urdu in a faithful manner, they had chosen to be innovative. Besides, he added, they had tried to coin a few terms. He said it was now up to the Muqtadra Qaumi Zaban to certify these terms. He explained that the Muqtadra was authorized to approve or reject terms.

Dr Shakil Farooqui, who supervised the job of translation which was done by Anwer Ahsan Siddiqui, said a large number of books had been written on the economy of Pakistan but they were mostly in English. “When this book came out in early 1999, we decided to translate it into Urdu in view of the information it contained,” he said.

He admitted that it was difficult to translate technical books into Urdu. The proofs of the book had been revised four times.

Dr Ishrat Hussain said economics was considered to be a dry subject. People found it boring and soul-destroying. Which was why, he added, serious discussion on economic issues was avoided. People preferred newspapers columns, which painted a picture of gloom and doom, to academic discussion.

“I have drawn on serious empirical analysis and facts and figures to write my book.”

The president of the Anjuman Tarique Urdu, Aftab Ahmed Khan, said at the time of the partition of the subcontinent, the Congress had thought that Pakistan would not be able to survive economically. “It is heartening to note that our annual average growth for the past 54 years had been five per cent.”

He said that Dr Ishrat Hussain had stressed the importance of good governance and continuity of policies.

The governor of the State Bank of Pakistan said the book dealt with the economy of the country from 1947. He said he had focussed on governance and human capital.