ISLAMABAD, April 18: Four books on Urdu literary criticism were launched at an event, ‘100 Kitabain, 100 Mehmaan,’ organised by the National Language Authority (NLA) on Wednesday.

The books Iqbal ka Tassawar-i-Kashf by Shahida Rasool, Ghalib aur Ghamgeen key Farsi Maktubaat by Partu Roheela, Naser Rasheed Jahaan compiled by Humaira Ishfaq and Fikr-i-Iqbal ka Almia by Dr Sallahudin Darwesh were introduced at the ceremony where speakers highlighted different aspects of the work done by renowned authors.

Speaking on the occasion, NLA Chairman Dr Anwar Ahmad said ‘100 Kitabain, 100 Mehmaan’ was initiated to promote book-reading culture in the society and to enrich Urdu literature.

Presiding over the first session, Dr Najeeb Jamal, Dean Faculty of Urdu, Islamic International University Islamabad (IIUI) said Partu Roheela had done a remarkable work by compiling and translating 10 letters written in Persian by Urdu poets Ghalib and Ghamgeen.

Commenting on Shahida Rasool’s book Iqbal ka Tassawar-i-Kashf, Dr Jamal said though the topic was very complicated, she showed her skill and grip over the subject and produced something valuable as it was rarely touched despite abundance of work on Allama Mohammad Iqbal.

Shahida Rasool despite being visually impaired did a splendid job and set a precedent for others to follow, Dr Anwar said.

Second session of the event was chaired by Ashfaq Saleem Mirza, a prominent scholar and writer. In his comments, he said Dr Sallahudin Darwesh’s book Fikr-i-Iqbal ka Almia provided an analytical insight into the thoughts of Allama Iqbal.

While commenting on Humaira Ishfaq’s book Naser Rasheed Jahaan, Mr Ashfaq said Rasheed Jahaan was the first progressive female writer of the subcontinent as she had touched political, cultural and social issues in her literary work.

Dr Raveh Nadeem, Agha Nasir, Ahmad Saleem, Sarfraz Tariq, Fareedullah Khan, Dr Asad Faiz and Murtaza Noor were among the prominent participants of the books launching ceremony.