ISLAMABAD: President Asif Ali Zardari has said that the defence of dignity and equality of mankind invariably invites the wrath of conservative forces and dictators and both Faiz Ahmed Faiz and Shaheed Zulfikar Ali Bhutto suffered due to this commonality between them.
This he said while addressing a gathering at a special ceremony to celebrate the 100th birthday of great poet Faiz Ahmad Faiz at Aiwan-e-Sadr here on Friday.
He said one faced the miseries of jail and the other had to embrace gallows but as a matter of fact mission and objectives of Faiz and Bhutto still remain valuable.
He said that both would always be remembered wherever the ideals of freedom, equality and human dignity are valued.
Both have remained and will always remain relevant not only to the oppressed and exploited but also to every conscientious individual as both championed the cause of the oppressed and marginalized strata of society, he said.
The President said that Faiz was not an ordinary poet of his times who only knew appropriate use of the words.
Faiz was a figure greater than life. He infused a spirit through his words among the oppressed and exploited peoples to stand for their rights, he added.
He said that Faiz's few words animated and invigorated courage among the oppressed to question perpetual inequalities and overlong discriminations.
The President said that Faiz lived and wrote for a purpose. He was not just a poet. He was a first rate journalist, an accomplished editor, a fearless trade unionist, an original thinker and above all a kind teacher.
Lauding his achievements, the President mentioned that he won the Lenin Award and rose to international fame.
He added that Shaheed Benazir had the highest love and respect for the poet. Her government honoured him with the highest national award of Nishan-e-Imtiaz.
And today, he said, when only the memory of these three immortal persons remained he was so happy that the Pakistan People's Party government had declared the year 2011 as the year of Faiz.
The President said Pakistan was facing various challenges and in the past it lost one of its wings and then Benazir Bhutto warned against the dangers lurking in Swat and against the Frankenstein of terrorism and extremism.
The brave soldiers of Pakistan with the political will of the government took hold of Swat, he said adding Pakistan had a geostrategic location and could become a commercial and trade hub.
Zardari said the PPP government was fulfilling its obligation to safeguard Pakistan for the sake of future generations.
He said everybody had to work together to overcome the menace that was afflicting Pakistan.
Highlighting deep friendship between Shaheed Zulfikar Ali Bhutto and Faiz Ahmed Faiz and their commonalities, the President said that it was obvious for them to attract ruthless criticism and ferocious vilification campaigns during their times as the conservative forces were joined by the dictatorial forces.
But, the President continued, it was a matter of great satisfaction that both have been vindicated by time and history. Their opponents have been consigned to the dustbin of history, he noted.
The President also mentioned a number of important national institutions, including Academy of Letters, National Book Foundation, Pakistan National Council of Arts, and National Film Development Corporation (NAFDEC) that were created during the days of Shaheed Zulfikar Ali Bhutto as a result of the interaction between Faiz and Shaheed Bhutto.
These national institutions, he said, have done a great deal for the promotion of culture, arts and intellectual pursuits and stand as a monument to both Shaheed Zulfikar Ali Bhutto and Faiz Ahmad Faiz.
Unfortunately, the President said, the NAFDEC was later wound up by a dictator.
"Our film industry would not have fallen on such bad times as it is passing through these days if NAFDEC had not been wound up," he remarked.
The President said, "today let us not forget that Faiz himself wrote against injustice, oppression and exploitation and to commemorate his 100th birth anniversary let us dedicate ourselves to the ideal of fighting injustice and oppression."
The President announced to establish Faiz Chair in Allama Iqbal Open University, set up a Faiz library in Sialkot and publish a book on the life and work of the poet.
On the occasion, prominent literary personalities Zia Mohyuddin, Iftikhar Arif, Saleema Hashmi and Mushtaq Yousafi gave their impressions about Faiz. Tina Sani sang poetry of Faiz.-APP
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