Multan: Federal Minister for National Heritage and Culture Aurangzeb Khan Kachhi on Tuesday visited the Academy of Letters office in Multan and reviewed its literary and cultural activities. He also met poets and local writers. Addressing the gathering, he said Multan is “my own home” and that he had come to the city after visiting Peshawar, Quetta and Karachi. He said Multan deserved the same status as other provincial capitals and award ceremonies should also be held there.
The minister announced that a “grand “mushaira would be held in Multan in November, with prominent poets and writers from the region invited to attend. He said plans for a new Academy of Letters office had been finalised and the prime minister would be requested to lay its foundation stone.
The minister said the region was highly fertile and its people were rich in talent. He stressed that awards had been given to deserving individuals strictly on merit. He assured the gathering that basic facilities would be provided to the institution soon, adding that the government valued writers and poets.
At the end of the event, writers affiliated with various institutions presented books to the minister as gifts, while the Academy presented him with a commemorative shield.