LAHORE: On the directions of Chief Minister Usman Buzdar, the chief secretary has been told to arrange the recitation of Darood Sharif (Darood-i-Ibrahimi) before the national anthem and after the recitation of the Holy Quran in schools’ assemblies.

In this regard, the chief minister said Darood Sharif had immense virtues. It is an honour for every Muslim to offer Darood Sharif in the honour of Rehmatul Alameen Hazrat Muhammad (PBUH), he added.

The Punjab Assembly has earlier passed a (non-binding) resolution in the last week of September, asking schools to recite Darood Sharif in the assemblies.

Meanwhile, the chief minister inaugurated a tea shop, Punjab’s first literary museum and adabi baithak at Majlis-i-Taraqqi-i-Adab (Board for Advancement of Literature) on Tuesday and laid the foundation stone of the e-library block. He took a keen interest in items belonging to Allama Iqbal, poets and intellectuals at Lahore literary museum while viewing a place for storytelling.

Culture Minister Khayal Ahmad Kastro, SACM Hasaan Khawar and director Mansoor Afaq were also present.

Talking to the literati, the chief minister said several steps were taken for the welfare of writers and poets, adding that membership cards were being issued to writers and poets by the Board for Advancement of Literature to provide financial assistance through the writers’ welfare fund.

They would be able to get books at subsidized rates besides accessing the antique books of the Board for Advancement of Literature, he maintained. They would also be able to benefit from any of the writers’ welfare schemes, he repeated.

He said Unesco has declared Lahore a city of literature and a Lahore literary park was being established in the city.

Also, awards would be given to selected poetry and prose books under the aegis of Board for Advancement of Literature every year, the chief minister said and stated that awards would also be given to best prose, poem and ghazal.

The government was going to launch the first Urdu e-reader comprising of ten thousand books, initially, to promote the Urdu language, he said. Similarly, a library of manuscripts would be established where five copies of each document would be preserved which can also be accessed online, he added.

Published in Dawn, December 1st, 2021