'Shah Abdul Latif preserved culture of Sindh in his poetry'

The Chief Minister Sindh, Syed Qaim Ali Shah, has said that the PPP government would fulfil all commitments made by Benazir Bhutto for the prosperity of the nation. He said this while addressing Award distribution ceremony held on the last day of three-day annual urs celebrations of Shah Abdul Latif Bhittai here on Monday night.
He said that before PPP government the people were deprived of their basic rights and they were helpless in every field of life. He said that people of Sindh, being followers of Shah Latif, were courageous and, instead of going into depression or isolation during the period of dictatorship, they continued their struggle for the restoration of their rights.
The Sindh Chief Minister said that first time in the history of Pakistan it was only PPP government that passed NFC Award unanimously on the basis of multiple factors and benefited the Sindh province with more than 70 billion rupees. He said that his government had earned more for the province and its people as such they (he and his management) must be admired.
He said that we would preserve language and cultural heritage of the province at any cost. He said that Shah Latif had composed and preserved culture of Sindh in his poetry in addition to preach for love and affection with each others without any discrimination.
He lauded the efforts of provincial culture department for establishing Research Cell for the Kalam of Hazrat Shah Abdul Latif Bhittai (RA) and announced an endowment fund of Rs 10 millions for conducting research on the message of Shah Sahib and Hazrat Lal Shahbaz Qalandar (RA). The Sindh Chief Minister also raised Mella Fund from one million to two million and one million rupees as financial assistance for the artists.
Earlier, the Sindh Minister for Culture Sassui Palijo in her welcome address said that Shah Abdul Latif Bhittai was a great visionary saint poet of Sindh, who spoke for the poor class of people and gave them guidelines through his message. She said that it was PPP government, which had launched different projects to spread the message of Latif Sahib in different parts of the world by translating his Kalam into different languages, such as Urdu, Arabic and French while the translation of Shah-Jo-Kalam into Gur Mukhi language is in progress.
She said that in order to understand the message of Shah Sahib with clarity, her department took a step ahead by launching Research Centre here at Bhitshah. She also listed the achievements, which were made by her department within two years, which included approval of Gorakh Hill Project from Planning Commission, taking over possession of Kinjhar Lake, constitution of Sindh Tourism Department (STD), taking archaeological sites of Sindh from the Centre.
On the eve of 266th annual urs celebrations, the Latif Award of Shah-Ja-Raagi was given away to 95 years old Khabar Khaskheli, while best Research Award to the renowned writer and researcher Mohammad Ibrahim Joyo. Similarly, the best Sughar Award went to the late Abdul Rehman Mahessar and best Instrumentalist Award was associated with Feroze Gul. Likewise, renowned vocalist/artist Rubina Qureshi was awarded with Life Achievement Award. The Sindh Minister for Culture Sassui Palijo presented six books to the Sindh Chief Minister during Latif Award distribution ceremony.