KARACHI, Jan 5: As part of its strategic drive to promote tourism in Sindh, the provincial culture department has selected Gorakh Hill station in District Dadu as a unique site to hold an international Mushaira there.

Addressing a press conference on Friday, Sindh Culture and Tourism Minister Rauf Siddiqi said the mushaira would be held in the last week of March. He said the event would prove a milestone to introduce Gorakh as a promising hill station not only to the people of Pakistan but also to foreigners who are expected to attend the Mushaira.

Rauf Siddiqi said the participants of the Mushaira would be provided full security for which directives had already been issued whereby security checkposts would be set up on the route to Gorakh Hill. He said the participants from Dubai, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, the UAE, India, the USA and Canada were expected to participate.

He said the culture department had chalked out a programme of organising 12 Urdu-Sindhi Mushairas in Sindh and first of such Mushairas had already been held in Nawabshah and the next two would be held on February 8 and 9 in Sukkur and Larkana respectively.

Rauf Siddiqi said the objective of organising these Mushairas was to disseminate the message of peace, love and brotherhood through promotion of our culture and civilization.

“These Urdu-Sindhi Mushairas will, one day, establish such an environment of unity and cohesion which the people of Sindh have been longing for. Their positive results have already started appearing and an environment of mental harmony has started flourishing,” he added.

The minister said national and multinational companies had been offered to extend their cooperation in connection with the Gorakh Hill international Mushaira. He described writers and poets a power working for spread of love and affection.

A number of programmes had been chalked out during the year 2007 being the year of tourism, he said and referred to festivals like Hamara Karachi, Desert Safari in Thar and development of Jinnah International Safari in Shah Belo.—APP