PESHAWAR, July 11: The government of Pakistan has been urged to promote the Persian language keeping in view its literary, cultural, historical and religious significance.

Speaking at a ceremony here on Wednesday, Director-General Cultural Centre of Islami Jamhoori Iran Aqai Masood Islami said the Persian language had a rich past. “It is an important literary and cultural language of the Muslim world with a history span of over 1000 years. Tafseer, fiqah, mysticism and several social sciences reached the subcontinent through this language,” he said.

The holy Quran was first translated into Persian by Shah Waliullah.

He described the language as a bond of friendship between Pakistan and Iran, adding: “The Persian language is the medium for access to ancient literary heritage that binds the Iranians and Pakistanis in brotherly ties”.

Chairman Department for Persian Studies at the Peshawar University Professor Dr Ghulam Nasir Marwat claimed that the development of a nation was linked to promotion of its languages. Culture and civilization are identities of dwellers of certain areas, he said.

He said that after the holy Quran, the sayings of the holy Prophet (PBUH) were the second major source of Islamic jurisprudence. “Five of the total six authenticated sayings were compiled by the people of Persia which alone is a sufficient proof to establish the importance of the Persian language from a religious point of view,” he said.

Syed Ghayyur Hussain, a varsity teacher, said the language had close links with most of the languages spoken in the country. Research showed that Pashto and Persian had almost 50 per cent words in common with each other.