Literary Reference

A literary reference, which was the first of its kind, in the memory of former prime minister of Pakistan and a popular political leader Benazir Bhutto was held on January 8, 2008 in Islamabad. The reference was jointly organized by Strengthening Participatory Organization (SPO) and Sustainable Development Policy Institute (SDPI). Mr. Iftikhar Arif presided over the function.

Prominent poets Iftikhar Arif, Harris Khalique, Alia Mirza, Ali Akbar Sial, Abrar Mohammad and Tauqir Chughtai paid tribute to Benazir Bhutto in Urdu and Pushto verse.

While inaugurating the session, Dr. Abid Suleri from SDPI and Harris Khalique stated that the assassination of Benazir Bhutto is an attack on the already weak democratic polity of Pakistan. To condemn this gruesome act of violence you do not have to be a PPP supporter. A vast majority of citizens have expressed their grief and shock on this incident. There is a need to demilitarize Pakistan, curb extremism and ensure the realization of civil, political, economic and social rights of Pakistanis.

The participants expressed their emotions in different ways including poetry, narrations of personal encounters with Benazir Bhutto and statements issued by Women’s Action Forum (WAF) and Insani Haqooq Ittehad.

Ahmad Saleem, Bilal Naqeeb, Arshad Bhatti, Amjad Nazeer, Naeem Mirza and Gauhar Jamal read from the works of Faiz Ahmad Faiz, Habib Jalib, Munir Niazi, Akhtar Hussain Jaferi and Anton Chekov.

Ambassador B. A. Malik, Mr. Khadim Somroo and Nageen Hyat demanded deeper analysis of the problems faced by Pakistan by the intelligentsia, writers, artists and opinion makers.

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