KARACHI: President Pasban e Pakistan Altaf Shakoor insisted that the importance of the mo
ther languages could never be underestimated, because as a Pakistani nation we have already braved a great national loss of the Dacca Fall, only because the then rulers neglected the importance of the mo
ther languages and failed to give the due status to the Bengali l
anguage.
According to sources, AltafShakoor asserted that Pakistan can be a vibrant and thriving society, it needs to actively promote and patronage the mo
ther languages. He mentioned that after suffering the loss of East Pakistan we should open our eyes and give due importance to all mo
ther languages of Pakistan including Sindhi, Punjabi, Pashto, Balochi, Saraeki, Hindko and other regional l
anguages, besides our national l
anguage Urdu. He focused on promotion of Urdu, as it is necessary that this great l
anguage should be localized and it should adopt the great treasure of words from the local mo
ther languages, which are very rich in culture and literature.
AltafShakoor added,” The l
anguage issue is very complex and sensitive political issue also and neglecting this issue has already cost us the East Pakistan. Therefore, we should now actively give due importance to all mo
ther languages of Pakistan.”
He informed the media, “From 1952 to 1956, we failed to give the status of the national l
anguage to the Bengali, which was mo
ther languages of millions of people living
in the East Pakistan and resultantly in 1971 we braved the national tragedy of the Dacca Fall.”
He remarked, “We are not against the English l
anguage as it is the l
anguage of science and technology, but it is not wise to teach the English l
anguage from primary classes, as it is an accepted principle worldwide to impart early education to children solely
in their mo
ther languages. “
Altaf further said that the introduction of the English and Chinese should be welcomed, as these two l
anguages are great international l
anguages. He lauded the verdicts of the Supreme Court of Pakistan to implement the Urdu as
official l
anguage of Pakistan. He also welcomed the order of holding the CSS papers in Urdu and said such brave decisions would augur well for Pakistan in future. However, he requested for tagging more funds for the promotion of all mo
ther languages of Pakistan and preserving their rich literature, culture and heritage for our coming generations.
“As Pakistanis, we need a ‘Pakistani l
anguage’ which should be a rich mix of all regional l
anguages of Pakistan so that in future it could serve as a main communication vehicle for this big country, having diversified linguistic and cultural fabric,” Shakoor stated.
“Pakistani l
anguage would be developed only when our writers, scholars and thinkers work, actively, on the localization of Urdu, to make it easily understandable for all people of Pakistan that speak different mo
ther languages
in their homes,” he commented.
Altaf insisted that on the international mo
ther language day, we as a Pakistani nation should realize that without introducing a common mass l
anguage in Pakistan in shape of a localized Urdu we would continue to face many problems in overcoming the linguistic and cultural barriers between the different units of the federation of Pakistan.