PESHAWAR: Speakers at an award giving ceremony urged poets and writers to contribute to the society through their inborn talent and strength of writing.

They said that literati were gifted with the art to influence and shape the outlook of people through their writings, therefore, it was obligatory upon them to educate the society on positive track.

The third excellence award giving event was arranged under the auspices of Karwan-i-Hawwa, a women’s literary forum, here on Sunday at Khana Farhang-i-Iran. Poets and writers attended the function in a large number.

Dr Najiba Arif, chairperson of Pakistan Academy of Letters, chaired the event while consul general of Iran Ali Banafshe Khah was chief guest on the occasion. The winning writers from Karachi, Islamabad, Taxlia, Sargodha, Nankana Sahib, Fateh Jang, Mansehra, Abbottabad, Bahawalpur and Peshawar attended the event.

Kawan-i-Hawa holds third excellence award event

Around 23 poets and writers were given excellence awards named after literary giants of Urdu, Pashto and Hindko including Ahmad Faraz, Khatir Ghaznavi, Mohsin Ehsan, Ghulam Mohammad Qasir, Masood Anwar Shafaqi, Prof Pareshan Khattak, Amir Hamza Khan Shinwari, Sain Ahmad Ali, Fatima Jinnah. Two special awards namely Hassan Bin Sabit for the best Naat and children’s literature were given to the deserving writers.

Bushra Farrukh, the head of Karwan-i-Hawwa, said that it was a great moment of pleasure for her and her colleagues to welcome the winning guests from all over the country. The gathering of the writers was reflective of a deep sense of unity and social cohesion in a city known for hospitality and cultural diversity, she added.

She said that main objective of the event was to motivate poets and writers to contribute to society through the power of their inborn talent as no other means could influence people.

Dr Najiba Arif said out that Karwan-i-Hawwa was doing great service to the nation and it should be encouraged to contribute to the national cause. “I am pleased to know that KP women are doing a great job. Such initiatives should be encouraged at all levels,” she added.

Writers including Zaibun Nisa Zaibi, Tabbasum Alvi, Dr Shahid Latif, Prof Zaigham Hasan, Dr Fasail Wadood, Abdul Wahid Bismil, Col Khalid Mustafa, Ishaq Wardag, Malik Arshad Hussain, Syed Shakeel Nayyab, Ismail Gohar, Noorul Amin Yousafzai, Prof Khalid Suhail Malik, Faqeer Hussain Masroor, Nishat Sarhadi, Shahida Sardar, Samina Qadir, Shamshad Nazli, Syed Mubarak Ali Shams, Zahid Iqbal Bhail, Dr Musharraf Anjum, Prof Sabeen Younas and Raji Mohammad Afridi also spoke on the occasion.

Published in Dawn, June 3rd, 2024