Abdul Qadir Qureshi
(Pakistan News & Features
Services)
The Sindhi Association of North America (SANA), the cultural and
social platform of Sindhi origin residing in America and Canada, has deplored
the act of Pakistan National Assembly’s Standing Committee on Law & Justice to reject the Bill under
consideration to award status of national languages to Punjabi, Sindhi, Pashto,
Baluchi and other languages.
The SANA Executive Committee
members held a meeting, presided over by Jamil Daudi, to finalize the
arrangements of the annual function scheduled to be held from August 29 to 31 in Chicago, USA.
The EC members took serious
notice of the recently taken decision of Pakistan’s NA Standing Committee on the grounds that the awarding status of
national languages to regional languages will disintegrate sovereignty of Pakistan.
SANA viewed that the people of
Sindh do not have any objection over the status of national language to Urdu
because it is a language of communication understandable to all people although
it is the mother tongue of five to seven percent population of country.
The EC said that the decision to
award status to languages including Punjabi which is spoken by around 44%
population, Sindhi spoken by 15% people, Pashto spoken by 13%, Baluchi spoken
by 7% people, will surely integrate and strengthen the federation because the
people speaking these languages will pose more trust in their state.
SANA called upon all the members
of the National Assembly specially the Sindhi-speaking MNAs to resist this
unethical and unreasonable decision of Law & Justice Standing Committee.
It appealed to literary and
educated people of Pakistan to record their protest on this decision and force
the government of PML (N) to review this decision and fulfill its commitment
made in election manifesto to award due status to the languages of all four
provinces of Pakistan.
SANA members lauded the act of
MNA Amjad Farooq Khosa who supported the bill and considered his stand as a
bold and courageous.
The SANA President, Jamil Daudi,
General Secretary, Noor ul Nissa Ghanghro and Chairman Annual function
organizing committee, Dr Khalil Memon, presented their report about the
on-going arrangements of up-coming annual convention & cultural gathering
to be held in August.
The EC members were told that
noted singer Sanam Marvi, sufi vocalist Jamal Din Faqeer and young singer Saif
Samejo have confirmed their presence in the event whereas a large number of
Sindhi diasporas are expected from all over the USA and Canada.
Dr Khalil Memon further briefed
that 100 hotel rooms were spared for reservation at the venue of Hotel Westin O’Hare and all the rooms were
booked and still the demand was coming for more rooms. The committee decided to
arrange more 100 rooms at the same hotel or any other nearby lodge.
The meeting further discussed the
schedule for the election of next central body of SANA and took important
decisions which will be announced later on.
Jamil Daudi and Ghanghro called
upon Sindhi community to renew their membership enabling them to cast vote in
the coming election.
Among others Vice President,
Aijaz Kolachi, Joint Secretary Dr. Khalil Memon, Treasurer, Irshad Kazi,
regional secretaries Awais Leghari and Safdar Panhwar were among those having
participated in the decision making process.
