34th World Punjabi Conference ends in Lahore amid pledge for promoting Pbi

The three-day 34th World Punjabi Conference concluded in Lahore, with participating writers, poets and artists pledging to raise the flag for Punjabi mother tongue and make sincere efforts for its promotion on both sides of the border.

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The chief organiser of the conference and former minister of Pakistan, Fakhar Zaman, said that efforts from both sides of the border had been going on for the last 40 years to preserve the essence of Punjabi, linguistically and culturally, while working to expand the scope of the conference in the coming time. “The conference is working as a bridge through which all Punjabis come together and raise the flag for Punjab, Punjabi and Punjabiyat,” he said.

Surinder Singh Sangha, while reading the evaluation report of the three-day conference at the concluding session, said that during the conference organised on the theme of Sufism, the message of mutual understanding and partnership between the two Punjabs was conveyed. It was said that efforts would be continued to take forward the pledge taken to promote and develop Punjabi through literary and cultural exchange.

During the closing ceremony, a play, ‘Gumsuda Aurat’, by acclaimed Indian playwright Anita Sabdeesh called for the empowerment of women. During the musical programme, singers from both India and Pakistan, including Akram Rahi, Pammi Bai, Dolly Guleria, Sukhi Brar, Arif Lohar, Imran Shaukat Ali and Satnam, performed to a packed house and thunderous applause.

In the concluding session of the conference, the Gurmukhi edition of the book “Main Puni Katti Raat Di” by poetess Bushra Ejaz from Pakistan was also released.