‘Persian carries rich heritage of region’

Asia history conference

Dean says QAU will not turn out court historians

Islamabad: Persian carries a considerable amount to history of this region and no one can deny it, said Prof Waqar Ali Shah, Dean of the Faculty of Social Sciences, Quaid-e-Azam University (QAU). 

He said Arabic is not the only sources of their history. He said QAU will never play the role of court historians. He said Pakistan has fought very hard against terrorism. 

He was speaking at the inaugural ceremony of an international conference titled Asian History, Culture and Environment: Vernacular and Oriental Paradigms, organised by the National Institute of Historical and Cultural Research (NIHCR), Centre of Excellence at QAU in collaboration with International Association of Historians of Asia besides others.

Siddiqul Farooq, Chairman Pakistan Evacuee Trust Board, who was the chief guest at the event, said history is living memory of society.  Farooq underlined contribution of the   NIHCR in preserving the history and culture of the nation.

In his keynote address, Dr Khurram Qadir, former Director of the NIHCR, underlined vernacular contributions to the oriental aspects of Asian history, culture and environment. “We need to revisit vernacular tools for greater learning,” he said.

Professor Mahendra Lawoti of Westerm Michigan University spoke on challenges of democracy in diverse societies of India, Nepal and Sri Lanka with special reference to Pakistan and Bangladesh.

Prof Dr Razia Sultana, Vice Chancellor of Shaheed Benazir Bhutto University, Peshawar, opined that history is the most significant aspect of human life because “our present depends on our past and our future will depend on both our past and present. Without knowledge and analysis of history, neither any society nor any country can move forward”.

Dr Arshad Ali, Executive Director of the Higher Education Commission (HEC), said that the NIHCR got distinction of organising about 50 such international and national events for intellectual development and services to the luminaries. 

Dr Sajid Mehmood Awan, the president of the International Association of Historians and the senior research fellow at NIHCR, delivered presidential address. He said the world is in perpetual transition, and the discipline of history remains in persistent progression. As long as the world is in transition, this discipline will certainly not cease to evolve, he observed. 

QAU Vice Chancellor Dr Javed Ashraf remarked that participation of learned scholars from many parts of the world will enrich further fruitful academic activities. He thanked all the participants and guest on the behalf of the university.