ISLAMABAD: Federal Minister for National Heritage and Culture Aurangzeb Khan Khichi on Thursday appealed to a National Assembly committee to help repatriate about 122 architectural artifacts, recovered by the Italian Embassy, to Pakistan as they are still in Rome.

He was briefing the National Assembly Standing Committee on National Heritage and Culture which held its meeting at the ministry.

He also briefed them on the ministry’s functioning.

He recalled that the government had once planned to close down seven institutions of the ministry, but with the support of literary circles and Senator Irfan Siddiqui, the prime minister withdrew this decision.

Chairperson of the committee Syeda Nosheen Iftikhar presided over the meeting. She emphasized that there is a dire need to connect our children with their culture and heritage.

“It is imperative that our younger generation remains attached to their cultural roots and national identity,” she stated.

She further highlighted that children must be made aware of their national leaders, while cultural exchange programmes among provinces should be enhanced.

“Through culture, we can eliminate hatred and promote unity. Organising cultural programmes of one province in another will help citizens better understand each other’s traditions,” she added.

The chairperson also called for stronger initiatives to improve children’s Urdu language learning, stressing that the younger generation must not drift away from the national language.

The minister instructed the Pakistan National Council of the Arts (PNCA) to expand its cultural programmes across all provinces, noting that PNCA had successfully held a Balochi programme in Balochistan after 22 years.

He urged other attached institutions to follow this model.

The minister further suggested that the National Language Promotion Department (NLPD) should translate the Constitution of Pakistan into Urdu and stressed that CSS examinations must include the option of Urdu medium to facilitate students.

NLPD officials informed the committee that work on an e-book project is ongoing, with 50 books digitized just last week. The Chairperson advised expediting the project.

Mehtab Akbar Rashdi underlined the urgent need to promote Urdu among children, stating that “At home, many families prefer English, which distances children from their national language. This trend must be reversed.”

Another NLPD official added that “We had been working on a single book for three years, and e-book development will soon be completed.”

Heads from Pakistan Academy of Letters (PAL), Aiwan-i-Iqbal Lahore and Mazar-i-Quaid Karachi also briefed the meeting about their respective organisations.

Published in Dawn, August 29th, 2025