IT, telecommunication: All events, ceremonies to be conducted in national language: ministry

ISLAMABAD: The Ministry of Information Technology and Telecommunication has notified that all the events and ceremonies will be conducted in the national language Urdu.

A notification issued by the ministry, on Monday, stated that the Prime Minister’s Office letter dated June 3, 2021, contains directions for conduct of events, ceremonies in the national language (Urdu).

It further stated that all events, ceremonies arranged for Minister for IT & Telecom shall be conducted in Urdu language.

Federal Minister for IT and Telecom Syed Aminul Haq has also directed to introduce Urdu as the national language of Pakistan in all functions and meetings of the ministry.

In this regard, a notification has also been issued in which federal minister Haq has directed that all proceedings in the ministry and its subordinate institutions shall be conducted in Urdu.

Haq said the implementation of Urdu by the prime minister in his ceremonies was the best example of compliance with the Constitution.

The ministry has also decided to implement Urdu.

He said it was hoped that as per the order of the Supreme Court, Urdu would be implemented in all federal and provincial departments soon.

Further, if court proceedings, notices and decisions were also issued in Urdu, it would be easier for the people, he added.

Haq said that Article 251 of the Constitution commands the introduction of Urdu in all government institutions of the country. “Urdu is our national language and an effective means of communication and there should be no shame in its use.”

He said that Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah had declared Urdu as the national language of Pakistan on February 25, 1948, which was unanimously approved by the Legislative Assembly.

Then in the Constitution of Pakistan 1973, under Article 251 declaring Urdu as the national language, it was ordered to transfer the entire system of government to Urdu in 15 years.

The Supreme Court of Pakistan had in September 2015 ordered to implement Urdu as the official and educational language in all departments of the state in accordance with Article 251 of the Constitution.

As well as examinations and interviews of all government jobs including CSS were also ordered to be taken in Urdu.

The Supreme Court recognised it as a basic human right and ordered its immediate implementation, but the order of the Quaid-e-Azam, the Constitution and the Supreme Court were not complied with.

Referring to the 2015 court order, Haq said the court had ruled that the use of a foreign language was unnecessary to run the government at the federal and provincial levels as it was not known to the general public. Even many government officials and employees who are educated in English, the language they use the most is not English. These gentlemen are compelled to present their decisions and suggestions in a language they are unfamiliar with. It wastes a lot of time, because all the energy is spent on understanding the mysteries and secrets of this foreign language.

Rather, it is to use the national language proudly to make official matters common sense, Haq added.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2021