ISLAMABAD: Caretaker Minister for Education and Professional Training, Madad Ali Sindhi said that Iqbal’s poetry, philosophy and thought were, undoubtedly, universal and his message was for people of whole world.

Iqbal’s message is as fresh as ever and we still need it today, he said while addressing opening session of two-day international conference on ‘Iqbal’s Thought in Perspective of 21st Century and Two Great Poets of Islam: Iqbal and Akif’ at Allama Iqbal Open University (AIOU). Conference was organised by Department of Iqbal Studies AIOU in collaboration with Yunus Emre Institute.

Madad Ali Sindhi mentioned that Iqbal’s thought provided solution to problems of today and served as guiding light for all human beings. Iqbal’s political philosophy is source of strength for democracy in Pakistan, he said.

He expressed his delight over presence of eminent intellectuals and Iqbal enthusiasts from all over Pakistan, Egypt, Iran and Turkey at conference.

Interim minister congratulated Prof. Dr. Nasir Mahmood, Vice Chancellor AIOU and his entire team for organizing this international conference on Iqbal. Vice Chancellor AIOU, Prof. Dr. Nasir Mahmood mentioned that University was one of few universities which had established Department of Iqbal Studies to promote Iqbal’s thoughts and poetry. He stated that through this department, we aimed to convey message of Allama Iqbal to youth. Dr. Nasir emphasised need to elaborate and explain Iqbal’s thoughts to train new generation.

Turkish Ambassador Mehmet Pacici and Dr. Halil Tokar commented that Iqbal’s poetry had profoundly impacted Turkish nation. In Turkey, there have been many translations of Iqbal’s poetry and research work on Iqbal is being conducted in Turkish universities, he said and added, however, in Pakistan, Muhammad Akif is not recognised and in collaboration with AIOU, Yunus Emre Institute will promote poetry and thoughts of Turkish poet Muhammad Akif in Pakistan.

Director General, NLPD, Prof. Dr. Saleem Mazhar, Dr. Baseera Ambreen from Punjab University and Dr. Fatima Hasan from Karachi expressed their concern about challenges that today’s young generation is facing including academic, intellectual, cultural and moral crises. They emphasised that Allama Muhammad Iqbal’s thoughts, philosophy and poetry can inspire and guide youth to overcome these problems.

Dean, Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities Prof. Dr. Abdul Aziz Sahir expressed his gratitude to all guests and participants. Dr. Shiraz Zaidi explained aims and objectives of conference, while Dr. Arshad Mehmood Nashad hosted inaugural ceremony.

Published in The Daily National Courier, December, 28 2023

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