PESHAWAR, Nov 9: Speakers at a seminar on Iqbal Day on Friday urged the government to include books of Allama Mohammad Iqbal in the syllabus to help materialise his dream of ‘khudi’ as it was solution to all ills.

The seminar titled ‘message of Iqbal and present Pakistan’ was arranged by Islami Jamiat Talba (IJT) at Peshawar Press Club on Friday. Prominent among the speakers included IJT central Nazim-i-Ala Zubair Safdar, Jamaat-i-Islami, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa general secretary Shabir Ahmed Khan, and other student leaders.

Mr Zubair said the philosophy of Allama Iqbal was very clear as he always tried to awaken the nation through his lively poetry, but lamented that the successive governments never paid attention towards his thoughts.

The rulers, he said had failed to follow what the national poet had stressed upon, adding it was duty of the government to include his poetry into the syllabus so that the new generation could get sufficient knowledge about him.

Owing to the indifferent policies of the government, he said the students even did not know about the birth and death of Allama Iqbal, which was very unfortunate.

Similarly, Mr Zubair said the Allama Iqbal Academy was also of no use for the common people due to lack of publicity about it.

Former MNA Shabir Ahmed said poetry of Allama Iqbal reflected the Islamic teachings but it needed knowledge to be understood. He said his poetry had clear messages for the people of all segments, including students. He urged the students to study the national poet and apply his philosophy in their daily lives.

Other speakers recalled that Allama Iqbal had urged the Muslims to stick to the tenets of Islam. The poet, they said had very clearly opined about Islam and politics keeping in mind the Islamic culture.