‘Literature must highlight, help resolve issues’

LAHORE : Punjab Higher Education Commission (PHEC) Chairman Prof Dr Nizamuddin has said that literature is the name of creativity and our literature must highlight and help resolve problems being faced by society.

He said this while addressing the first national conference on “Counter balancing politics and aesthetics in Pakistani literature” organized by PU Department of English Language and Literature, PHEC and Punjab Information and Culture Department here on Saturday. PU Vice Chancellor Prof Dr Nasira Jabeen, Punjab Information and Culture Department Additional Secretary and Executive Director Punjab Council of Arts Saman Rai, Department of English Language and Literature Chairperson Dr Amra Raza, renowned artists, faculty members and a large number of students were present.

Dr Nizam said, "Our research must be connected with our society and not for the sake of publication in research journals to earn academic credits. Our researchers must contribute to development of policies and they must come forward to resolve issues of our society." The PHEC chief advised researchers to relate the ground realities to their research work and find solutions. "Unfortunately, we are poor in Urdu language and worse in English language. Language labs must be established to resolve language-related issues. In Iran, latest books in all fields are being translated into the Persian language and we must also have high standard books in Urdu language. We are facing problems in teaching, research, language and literature and there is need to encourage creative activities and PHEC would support such events and conferences," he added.

Dr Nasira Jabeen said the topic of the conference was an emerging issue not only locally but globally. She said academic debates must be initiated to discuss issues as it was very important to balance both. Ms Saman Rai said counterbalancing was a force in everyday life. "We must give priority to our culture and must study literature," she added.

Meanwhile, the Punjab University’s Institute of Applied Psychology (IAP) organized a condolence reference to acknowledge the contributions of Dr Bilal Aslam Sufi to the field of psychology.

According to a press release Director IAP Prof Dr Farah Malik, Prof Dr Rafia Hassan, Prof Dr Naseem Shaukat, Prof Dr Najma Najam, Prof Dr Ruhi Khalid, Riaz Fatyana, Prof Dr Rukhsana Kausar, Prof Dr Gulzar Ahmed, Max Babri, Ms Rehana Nazir, Mian Aftab Ahmed, Dr Sara Shahid, Dr Rafia Rafique, Dr Shazia Khalid, Hamza Bilal and Ms Wajiha Bilal shared their views and acknowledged the outstanding services of Dr Sufi.

A documentary was also shown for commending the services of Dr Sufi and reliving his memories. The reference was followed by Arfana kalam, Fateha Khwani and Dua.