LAHORE: Chief Minister Punjab Sardar Usman Buzdar inaugurated a tea shop, Punjab’s first literary museum and adabi baithak at Majlis-e-Taraqqi-e-Adab (Board for Advancement of Literature) on Tuesday and also laid the foundation stone of the e-library block.

The CM took a keen interest in items belonging to Allama Iqbal, poets and intellectuals at Lahore literary museum while viewing a place for storytelling. Punjab Culture Minister Khayal Ahmad Kastro, SACM Hasaan Khawar, director Mansoor Afaq, DC and literati were also present.

While talking to the literati, the CM said several steps have been taken for the welfare of writers and poets while membership cards were being issued to writers and poets by the Board for Advancement of Literature to provide financial assistance through the writers’ welfare fund. He said UNESCO has declared Lahore a city of literature and a Lahore literary park was being established in the city.

Meanwhile, awards would be given to selected poetry and prose books under the aegis of Board for Advancement of Literature every year; he said and added that awards would also be given to best prose, poem and ghazal.

The government was going to launch the first Urdu e-reader comprising of ten thousand books, initially, to promote the Urdu language, he said. Similarly, a library of manuscripts would be established where five copies of each document would be preserved which can also be accessed online, he added.

On the other hand, pursuant to the direction of Chief Minister, a letter has been sent to Chief Secretary Punjab for reciting Darood Sharif (Darood-e-Ibrahimi) before the national anthem and after the recitation of the Holy Quran in schools’ assemblies.

In this regard, the CM said Durood Sharif has immense virtues. It is an honour for every Muslim to offer Darood Sharif in the honour of Hazrat Muhammad (PBUH), he added.

Further, the CM has congratulated the national cricket team on its success against Bangladesh in the Chittagong test match and hoped that the team would continue achieving success in future, as well.

In a statement, the CM appreciated that Abid Ali and Abdullah Shafiq batted well while Shaheen Afridi and Hasan Ali bowled well. This success is a result of teamwork and dedication, he added.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2021