KARACHI: The Prime Minister of Pakistan, Mr Liaquat Ali Khan … has, it is learnt … issued orders for the use of the Urdu script for giving instructions to the personnel of armed forces and encouraging the study of Urdu, the national language of the people of Pakistan. It will be remembered that hitherto Urdu in Roman script was being used for teaching purposes in the army and other defence services. This is a very happy change because it will lead the armed personnel to permanent literacy and the knowledge of the script once acquired will help them in further self-study and will prove a source of encouragement for those who are trying to evolve Urdu as a common national language… .

[Meanwhile, according to news agencies from Istanbul,] The American expedition searching for Noah’s Ark fanned out on the western slopes of Mount Ararat in weather so cold … that a Turkish correspondent wired his newspaper, “We are freezing.” Dr Aaron Smith, leader of the expedition, offered cash prizes to Turkish guides who can find any trace of the ancient vessel which a herdsman had reported seeing during past years in a glacier on Ararat.

Published in Dawn, September 10th, 2024