RAWALPINDI:A condolence ceremony was organized in the memory of Hazrat Shah, founder of Bazm-Urdu Bradford and creator of several poetry collections in collaboration with literary and cultural organization Harf Wa Awaz at Punjab Arts Council (PAC) here on Wednesday.
Prominent writers paid tribute to his long Urdu literary services in Britain in the ceremony.
The event started with the recitation of the Holy Quran by Dr Farhat Abbas while well-known poet Haleem Qureshi mentioned his memories with the deceased and said that he was a Sufi, who kept his language and culture alive even though he was away from his homeland.
Dr. Nisar Tarabi while reminiscing about him said that he devoted himself to the service of Urdu literature and lit the candle of his part in the promotion of the national language from the platform of Bazm Urdu. Director PAC Waqar Ahmed, Dr Agha Shuja, Salim Akhtar and Jamal Zaidi also appreciated his literary services in England.
The ceremony was moderated by Junaid Azhar who said that Hazrat Shah continued to serve Urdu literature by continuously broadcasting programs in Urdu through Radio Ramadan from the UK.
Fiction writer Hameed Qaiser presented a resolution that the government of Pakistan should pay tribute to literary services after his death. At the end of the ceremony, a collective prayer was offered for the forgiveness of the deceased.