KPC grants life membership to Dr Pirzada Qasim

The Karachi Press Club (KPC) on Wednesday conferred its life membership on renowned academic, poet and former vice-chancellor of three universities Prof Dr Pirzada Qasim Raza Siddiqui.

A ceremony was held at the IH Burney Hall of the KPC to award the life membership to Dr Siddiqui in recognition of his academic and literary services.

Speaking on the occasion, KPC President Saeed Sarbazi said that granting life membership to Dr Siddiqui was an honour for the press club. He said Dr Siddiqui had played an important role in providing constructive guidance to the youth.

KPC Secretary Shoaib Ahmed said Dr Siddiqui was a well-known person in the country’s academic and literary circles. He recalled that the KPC had earlier awarded its life membership to renowned personalities including Sir Prince Karim Aga Khan, Abdul Sattar Edhi, Habib Jalib, Faiz Ahmed Faiz, Josh Malihabadi and others.

Dr Siddiqui also addressed the ceremony. He said it was an honour for him to receive the life membership of the KPC, which had been the voice for every oppressed section of society. He praised the proactive and constructive role played by the KPC during troubling phases of Pakistan’s history.

The former VC of the University of Karachi and Federal Urdu University said that he had tried his best to play a constructive role while serving in Pakistan’s higher education sector.

He lamented that there were 20 million out-of-school children in the country and Pakistan’s progress and development could not be achieved without making them properly educated.

Dr Siddiqui said he belonged to a family having an association with journalism and print media. He also recited his poetry to entertain the audience.

Journalist Mazhar Abbas said on the occasion that the KPC had a rich tradition of recognising the persons who contributed to the development of Pakistani society.