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Sunday, April 8, 2012

Engr Z A Nizami pays tribute to Lutfullah Khan


By Abdul Qadir Qureshi

Various scholars highlighted the invaluable services of the great archivist and oral historian Lutfullah Khan at a Literary Reference organized by Pakistan Academy of Letter at Sir Syed University of Engineering and Technology (SSUET), Karachi.

The Reference, held to pay homage to great archivist and oral historian, Lutfullah Khan, was chaired by Engr Z A Nizami, Chancellor, SSUET.

Speaking on the occasion, Engr Nizami declared that Lutfullah Khan was a committed and devoted person who spent most of his life in the collection of voices of people from different walks of life. 

He had a wide variety of voices like the speeches of Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah, Gandhi, Maulana Azad to the poetry of Faiz Ahmed Faiz, Noon Meem Rashid, Jigar Moradabad and further to the sermons of Maulana Ashraf Ali Thanvi.

He said that Lutfullah had some unique and extinct record of voices which no national institution could claim to have. 

Engr Nizami offered full support on behalf of the SSUET in preserving the valuable and important record of voices with latest technology. “Preserved record of voices by Lutfullah Khan is in fact our preserved history,” he added.

In his speech Dr Muhammad Ali Siddiqui, an eminent critic said “we are a nation that tends to either distort history or give it a shape as we want to see it but the late Khan recorded the voices in its original form with complete honesty and sincerity.”

Khan was more senior broadcaster than Z.A. Bukhari and Pitras Bukhari, yet he was never been remembered as such. He claimed if any one is to listen to the material that Khan had recorded, one would require at least three and half years for that. He was able to save contemporary history to a great deal, he added.

Poet Fatima Hassan informed the audience that Lutfullah Khan had recorded more than 5000 voices in a very organized form with well maintained catalogues. He was a multifaceted man who entered the world of archives through his passion for classical music. However, it was being an archivist that overshadowed the rest of his talents.

Poet Sarshar Siddiqui, Chairman of the Academy Abdul Hameed and Resident Director of the Academy Agha Noor Muhammad Pathan also spoke on the occasion.


PML-N not to enter into alliance with PPP, PMLQ: Nawaz Sharif


By Abdul Qadir Qureshi

The Pakistan Muslim League, headed by former Prime Minister Mian Mohammad Nawaz Sharif, (PML-N) has decided not to enter into an alliance with PPP and PML-Q, nor will it make any seat adjustment with these two parties in the coming elections.

This was stated by the PML-N chief, Nawaz Sharif, in a recent interview in Lahore with Zahid Hameedi of MHz TV Network US. He, however, clarified that his party will consider seat adjustment with JUI-F and Jamaat-i-Islami in Khyber Pakhtoonkhwa.

Answering a question Nawaz Sharif said that the PPP government has not taken any step to solve the problem of the common man. Instead, it has indulged in large scale corruption and destroyed the national economy.

He said that after coming to power the PML-N government will give special attention to solve the energy crisis which has brought life to a stand still in the country. 

For this purpose PML-N government will build small dams and set up gas fired power plants to provide electricity at reasonable rates to the people, Nawaz Sharif added.

He said that the PML-N has formulated plans to promote Information Technology and Technical and Vocational education at all levels which will help fight unemployment in the country. 

“By promoting education we will be able to export trained manpower to the Middle East and other countries,” he said.

To another question the PML-N chief said that his party will also introduce reforms in the transport sector like mass transit system in order to provide cheap transportation to the public. 

He said that the PPP government is openly defying the Supreme Court orders which show how serious it is about establishing the rule of law and constitution and democratic norms in the country.

“People are hankering for change and Inshallah the PML-N government will strive sincerely to improve the lot of the common people as in the past,” the former Prime Minister concluded.