Federal Minister for Education Balighur Rehman presents an award to a teacher. — Dawn
The Higher Education Commission (HEC) hosted a two-day national conference on ‘Persian Language: Challenges and Future Prospects’ which concluded on Thursday.
The conference was held in collaboration with the Embassy of Iran’s Cultural Consulate, the National University of Modern Languages, the Islamic Culture and Relations Organisation and Iran-Pakistan Institute of Persian Studies.
Speaking at the closing ceremony, Education Minister Balighur Rehman highlighted the significance of the Persian language in regards to the promotion of cultural harmony.
“Learning multiple languages has a positive impact on critical and analytical thinking and enriches the canvas of thought,” he said.
Persian has its own importance in the region as well as in regards to religion, he said, adding that this language preserves a treasure of knowledge and wisdom. The minister said Pakistan accords great importance to its relations with Iran.
“The bilateral relations demand emphasis on the promotion of Persian,” he stressed.
HEC Chairman Dr Mukhtar Ahmed said there is a need for studying history in order to know how Muslims spread knowledge across the world through their research and theoretical findings.
Iranian Ambassador Mehdi Honardoost, Cultural Consular Shahaboddin Daraei, Ambassador of Tajikistan Jononov Sherali, HEC consultant Dr Mahmoodul Hasan Butt, HEC ED Dr Arshad Ali, poet Iftikhar Arif, faculty members and students attended the conference.
Saadi-Iqbal Awards 2017 were distributed among teachers of Persian who had played a leading role in the promotion of the languages. These include Dr. Arif Noshahi, Dr. Mehr Noor Muhammad Khan, Ms Zakia, Dr. Rabia Kiyani, Ms Bint-ul-Huda, and Dr. Hakim Dastari.
Published in Dawn, November 24th, 2017