participants of a seminar on Tuesday National status for regional languages sought Gandhara Hindko Board and Mother Tongue for Education and Research at the Khyber Pakhunkhwa Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KPCCI)

PESHAWAR: The participants of a seminar on Tuesday asked the government to introduce an amendment to the Constitution and give national status to the regional languages for their preservation and promotion.

The function was arranged jointly by the Gandhara Hindko Board and Mother Tongue for Education and Research at the Khyber Pakhunkhwa Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KPCCI) to mark the International Mother Language Day which falls on February 21.

The KPCCI President Afan Aziz was the chief guest while vice-president of the chamber Ziaul Haq Sarhadi was the guest of honour. The Jamaat-e-Islami leader and former member of the National Assembly from Chitral Maulana Abdul Akbar Chitrali presided over the function.

The speakers including Afan Aziz, Maulana Abdul Akbar Chitrali, Dr Salahuddin, Mohammad Ziauddin, Inamullah Torwali, Mohammad Imran, Dilawar Khan, Abdus Salam Nawabi, Sahibul Haq, Abid Salam, Sharafat Ali Mubarak, Phalbal Khan and others spoke about the importance of the mother language and sought attention of the government towards languages spoken in the province in a bid to preserve and promote them.

Afan Aziz said Khyber Pakhtunkhwa was home to several sweet languages and cultures, which could be likened to a bouquet of beautiful flowers. He said the world should not overlook the multilingual and multicultural aspect of the province. He said all languages should be developed without any bias.

Maulana Abdul Akbar said languages were a divine gift and should be preserved and promoted. The participants passed several resolutions that called for proper attention to their languages. They hailed the KP government for setting up Regional Languages Authority and called for giving due representation to writers of all the languages.

Another resolution said the proposed regional languages plan drawn by the KP government should be amended as it should be introduced on the basis of mother tongue instead of district as bilingualism and multilingualism was a common factor in the province. The participants supported the demand that Hindko language teaching should be ensured in Peshawar, Kohat, Nowshera, Swabi, Haripur, Abbottabad and Mansehra districts where the language was spoken with varying percentages. A walk was also arranged at the end of the function.