ISLAMABAD ( WNAM REPORT) : A one-day international conference on “Turkiye-Pakistan relations in the context of literature, history and culture in the 21st century” was organized at Allama Iqbal Open University (AIOU). This conference was organized in collaboration with Yunus Emre Institute Pakistan, Department of Urdu, Allama Iqbal Open University and Institute for Promotion of National Language, Islamabad. Director General, National Language Promotion Department, Prof. Dr. Saleem Mazhar, presided over the first session while fiction writer and novelist Hameed Shahid was the chief guest.
Other speakers included Director, Yunus Emre Institute, Dr. Khalil Toqar, Dr. Sofia Khushk, Dr. Farooq Adil, Dr. Sher Ali, Erin Measoglu and Head, Department of Urdu, Dr. Arshad Mahmood Nashad. The speakers shed light on the historical background and relations between Turkey and Pakistan. They said that both countries supported each other not only at the government level but also at the public level in difficult times.
The speakers further said that the two great poets of Pakistan and Turkey, Allama Iqbal and Muhammad Akif, were poets of the same era and both have similarities in their poetry and philosophy. The speakers also appreciated the efforts of Yunus Emre Institute for the promotion of Turkish language and culture in Pakistan.
The second session of the conference was held online which was presided over by Prof. Dr. Yousaf Khushk while Dean, Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities, Prof. Dr. Abdul Aziz Sahir was the chief guest. Prof. Dr. Muhammad Kamran, Dr. Ziaul Hasan, Dr. Ashraf Kamal, Dr. Sadaf Naqvi, Dr. Khadija Gorgon from Turkey, Dr. Mohsen Ash Sevier and Dr. Mehmeet Kamal were the speakers of the second session and discussed about the valuable services of writers of Pakistan and Turkiye.
