LAHORE: The Urdu conference at the concluding session yesterday disapproved the idea of adopting the Roman script for Urdu as the script was intrinsically defective besides being unsuitable for Urdu phonetics. The conference favoured the adoption of the Naskh script which is the “repository of our cultural heritage”.

A resolution adopted at the session said that the Naskh script facilitated the reading of the Holy Quran. Furthermore, the regional languages of West Pakistan were written in this script. The movers of the resolution expressed the view that the Naskh script could also be adopted for the Bengali language. “This would bring us closer not only to our East Pakistani brethren, but also to the rest of the Islamic world,” they asserted.

The conference adopted about 20 resolutions at the concluding session, calling for concrete steps to develop the language. The session was presided over by Provincial Education Secretary Enver Adil. Over 150 scholars and educationists from all over the country attended the five-day conference and addressed the sessions.

The conference strongly stressed the necessity for the setting up of an ‘Urdu Teaching Research Centre’.

Mangla dam

LAHORE: The Mangla dam may be constructed a year ahead of schedule. This was disclosed by Chief Engineer A.R. Kazi here yesterday. He said that the lowest bidder, Guy F. Atkinson, to whom a letter of intent had been issued, had offered to complete the dam a year before the target date. — Agencies

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