QUETTA, Feb 23: Nationalist political parties and students organizations have held meetings and seminars separately on the eve of International Language Day , in support of their demand that the government declare Pashto and Balochi languages as the medium of instruction in schools of the province.

Pakhtunkhwa Millia Awami Party and Pakhtunkhwa Students Organization held public meeting at Bacha Khan Chowk, Awami National Party and Pakthun Students Federation seminar was held at Idara-i-Saqafat, and the National Party and Baloch Students Organization conference was held at the party's office on Sunday.

Speakers and intellectuals at these venues lauded the scholars, researches, writers, and intellectuals of Pashto, and Balochi languages who have through their own resources, kept alive the mother languages.

Representatives of the political groups and students organizations strongly condemned the rulers for ignoring the importance of these regional languages despite the fact that Pakistan was a signatory to the UNESCO charter to promote these languages.

Speakers claimed that when Pakistan was composed of the eastern and western wings, the Bengali language was accepted as the official language in East Pakistan, but in the west of the country the use and practice of regional languages were discouraged in Punjab, Sindh, NWFP, and Balochistan.

They said that in the 1970s the Sindhi language was finally recognized as the official language in that province. They claimed that the basic reason for ignoring the importance of Balochi and Pashto languages was that the national education policy was framed and controlled directly from Islamabad which was least interested in these languages.

They alleged that the rulers in Pakistan has wasted billions of rupees in the unproductive expenditures and allocated minimum funds in the education sector and within that minimum allocations there is no amount to be spent for the promotion of regional languages.

The PMAP, ANP, NP, BSO, PkSF, and PSO representatives have asked the government to make Pashto and Balochi languages as the medium of instruction in schools to impart education to children in their mother tongues.