PESHAWAR: Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Higher Education Department Secretary Daud Khan on Tuesday assured full support to Gandhara Hindko Academy in carrying out all research pursuits.
The senior officer made the commitment as he visited the academy along with Additional Secretary Nasir Khan, Additional Director Dr Qasim Khan and Chief Planning Officer Higher Education Commission Islam Afridi.
Gandhara Hindko Board General Secretary Muhammad Ziauddin briefed the delegation on the performance of the academy which is being run on a public-private partnership basis.
Academy Director Dr Muhammad Adil, board’s Executive Committee members Khalid Sultan Khwaja and Muhammad Faheem Siddiqui, research officers and other staff members of the academy were present on the occasion.
The delegation members were given a comprehensive presentation along with the screening of a documentary to enumerate the work done so far by the academy funded by the KP government and managed by the Gandhara Hindko Board.
Muhammad Ziauddin, who is chief of the executive committee of the academy, supervising its overall working, said the academy was working not only for the preservation and promotion of the Hindko but also for other languages spoken in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and other parts of the country.
He said the Gandhara Hindko Academy in a small span of seven years had published over 500 books and publications apart from arranging conferences, and seminars at international, national and regional levels along with arranging capacity building training.
Muhammad Ziauddin said the academy regularly brings out journals in the Hindko language besides funding the publication of literary and cultural magazines of other fellow languages spoken in KP such as Saraiki, Khowar, Torwali, etc.
“Gandhara Hindko Academy has won the honour of bringing into fine print books in multiple languages of Pakistan in a bid to bring the people of various parts of the country closer and strengthening the national unity,” said Muhammad Ziauddin who himself is a Hindko research scholar and has several books to his credit along with overseeing all the activities of the academy.
KP Higher Education Department Secretary Daud Khan appreciated the work the Hindko Academy has been carrying out since its launch in the year 2015.
“All languages spoken in Pakistan belong to us. These languages can be likened to a bouquet. Every language is like a flower with distinct beauty and fragrance that must be felt. The Gandhara Hindko Board and Gandhara Hindko Academy deserve appreciation for their work in the promotion of Hindko and other sister languages,” said Daud Khan while expressing his views after the presentation.
The Higher Education secretary commended the Gandhara Hindko Academy for establishing linkages with the overseas researchers and engaging them in the research work.
“Research is a highly technical pursuit that needs passion and toil. It is hearing to know that you are doing the required work in this field,” said Daud Khan while expressing appreciation for the academy’s performance.
The Higher Education Department senior officers later visited the Dr Elahi Bakhsh Awan Library and evinced a keen interest in the books and publications placed there. The library is named after a late Hindko language scholar who had done a doctorate in linguistics from the University of London.
Hailing from Peshawar city, the late lexicographer had compiled a comprehensive Hindko dictionary and several other books on the history and other aspects of Hindko which is the sixth main language of the country and the second most widely spoken language in KP.
