HYDERABAD, Aug 29: Major languages spoken in the country, including the Sindhi, Balochi, Pashto, Punjabi and Seraiki, should be given the status of national language, demanded speakers at the National Language Conference organised by the Sindhi Adabi Sangat at the Sindhi Language Authority here on Thursday.

The speakers at the conference appreciated the orders of the Sindh education minister to the private schools to teach the Sindhi language as a compulsory subject up to class IV, and demanded that representatives of the Sindhi Adabi Sangat and the members of civil society should be included in the monitoring teams to ensure the teaching of Sindhi language at schools.

The conference expressed concern that MF-101 of Radio Pakistan of Karachi and Hyderabad radio stations were not giving adequate airtime to Sindhi language programmes and demanded that 75 per cent programmes should be broadcast in the Sindhi language.

It criticised the allotment of four-hour airtime to Sindhi language programmes at Radio Pakistan Karachi centre.

The conference demanded that more time should be allotted to Sindhi language programmes on the Pakistan Television and new programmes in the Sindhi language should be recorded for the PTV National Channel as used to happen in the past.

It demanded that ad hoc lecturers of the Sindhi language should be regularised. It also called for releasing nationalist and political workers, Asif Baladi, G.M. Bhagat, Shahnawaz Talpur and withdrawal of false cases against them.

Speaking on the occasion, Mr Mohammad Ibrahim Joyo said that language of any nation was the identity of its culture and history and it guarantees preservation and permanence of the nation.

He said the existence of the Sindhi nation and culture was dependent on the existence of the Sindhi language.

He called upon all sections of society to perform their role in the promotion of Sindhi language.

Awami Tehrik chief Rasool Bux Palijo said that what could not be achieved otherwise, could be achieved through literature and poetry. He said in past many successful movements had been launched to prevail upon the government to grant the status of national language to the Sindhi language. He called upon writers of Sindh and the civil society to launch a struggle for the promotion of the Sindhi language.

Professor Aijaz Qureshi said writers and poets of Sindh had never lagged behind in their efforts to promote the Sindhi language.

He demanded that a foundation should be laid for the promotion of Sindh language and it should be given the status of the national language and used in all official correspondence.

Sindhi Language Authority chairman Dr Fehmida Hussain said that on the political front it was the duty of politicians to work for the promotion of the Sindhi language and added that on the literary front writers would continue to struggle to create awareness among people about the importance of the language.

Sindhi Adabi Sangat secretary Yousuf Sindhi said that the Sangat had initiated a struggle to pressurise the government to raise the status of Sindhi language to national language.

Hameed Sindhi, Qalandar Shah Lakhyari, Ghulam Nabi Mughal, Jami Chandio and others also spoke on the occasion.