India bars Faiz’ daughter from attending conference

LAHORE: The daughter of famous Pakistani poet Faiz Ahmed Faiz returned home after she was denied permission to participate in a summit in India after being officially invited, her son, Ali Madeeh Hashmi, claimed on Twitter.

Moneeza Hashmi, 72, was barred from participating in 15th Asia Media Summit in Delhi, and was told that the hotel where she was to stay did not have a booking in her name, her son said.

She was informed by the director of AIBD (Asia Pacific Institute for Broadcasting Development) that she would not be allowed to speak. AIBD Director Chang Jin allegedly told her, “We were just informed that you cannot attend the conference”.

Hashmi was scheduled to speak on May 10 in the 4pm session on ‘Should all good stories be commercially successful?’ along with other speakers.

Ali Hashmi, in a tweet addressed to Indian Prime Minister Modi and Minister of External Affairs Sushma Swaraj, said: “This is your Shining India? My 72-year-old mother, daughter of Faiz, denied permission to participate in conference after being officially invited. Shame.”

According to Indian media reports, Muneeza Hashmi wrote a short note to a friend stating: “Thank you, for your and other friends support. I leave it to your judgment to deal with this matter. We, the Faiz Family and Faiz Foundation, will continue to work for peace between our two countries. As Faiz would say “lambi hai gham ki shaam magar shaam hi to hai,”