Govt should have declared holiday on Nov 9: Sanjrani

ISLAMABAD: Senate Chairman Sadiq Sanjrani observed that the government should declare public holiday on November 9 and the day should be observed officially. Legislators in the Senate called for concerted measures to create an awareness among the new generation about the poetry and philosophy of the national poet Allama Iqbal.

Before the Question-hour of the first sitting of the new session, senators from the treasury and opposition benches marked the birthday of the great poet and philosopher with glowing tributes to his services for the creation of Pakistan and giving vision to the down-trodden to rise with dignity.

Leader of the House Syed Shibli Faraz and Leader of Opposition Raja Muhammad Zafarul Haq emphasised that there was a need to include more of Iqbal’s poetry in syllabi and make the young generation aware of his thoughts.

They noted that the great poet reflected the Holy Quran in his poetry and never went out of the message of the divine book. It was mentioned that many nations continued to benefit from his poetry by translating it into their national languages.

Raja Zafarul Haq pointed out that a society on Iqbal in Egypt had translated his poetry into Arabic and there were great admirers of his works there. Moreover, he added Iranians took guidance from the Iqbal’s poetry, 70 percent of which was in Persian. “The Iranians say they learnt from his poetry how to rise and how to fight for freedom,” he maintained.

Shibli pointed out that Iqbal’s poetry was quite relevant to the present day situation and a lot could be learnt from his work, which was rich and unique in appeal. He was hopeful that the government would make use of his poetry and it was a matter of pride that Pakistan was known to many because of the great Iqbal.

“Iqbal’s poetry’s outreach not only to the Muslims but to the entire humanity,” he said. Senators Rana Maqbool, Mushtaq Ahmad, Mian Ateeq Shiekh and Mushahid Ullah Khan regretted that the nation had forgotten the poet.