KARACHI, March 25: Sindh Governor Dr Ishratul Ibad has said the province is the land of peace and harmony and its inhabitants are ambassadors and protagonists of love.

He was speaking as chief guest at the launching of the Urdu translation of three popular books — Chach Nama, Taarikh-i-Masoomi and Tuhfatul Karam — on the history of Sindh here on Tuesday.

The books have been published by the Sindhi Kitab Ghar in collaboration with the Sindhi Adabi Board.

The governor said Sindh is the land of sufis and saints from where the fragrance of the message of love propagated by Shahbaz Qalandar, Sachal Sarmast and Shah Abdul Latif Bhittai has been spreading for centuries.

“Today there is a great importance for national cohesion and harmony and there is a great need for elimination of urban and rural divide in the province,” he observed.

“We have started this mission and have started taking practical steps for bridging this gap.”

Dr Ibad stressed the importance of perception in this regard and said writers and poets can play an important role in keeping this perception in the right direction. He hoped that they (writers and poets) would use the best of their abilities in this regard.

He praised the endeavours of the Sindhi Adabi Board for fulfilling a longstanding need with the Urdu translation of books on Sindh’s history. He said this would speed up the progress towards national unity. He announced a grant of Rs0.3 million for the Board.

The Minister for Culture, Shabbir Qaimkhani, said the government was taking steps for promoting inter-provincial harmony.

Board Chairman Ghulam Rabbani Agro presented historic copies of Persian translation of the holy Quran of the era of Makhdoom Nooh to the governor and the minister.

Secretary Information Mehtab Akber Rashidi praised the efforts of the Board for launching the books, saying that it had provided the inhabitants of Sindh with knowledge about their centuries-old civilization, traditions and culture.

Chairman Sindh Adabi Board Ghulam Rabbani Agro and Vice-Chancellor of the Federal Urdu University Dr Pirzada Qasim also spoke.—APP/PPI