Gandhara Hindko Board, a literary, cultural and social welfare organisation will hold a condolence reference on noted writer, academician, research scholar and columnist late Professor Dr Zahoor Ahmad Awan on Sunday, April 17.
Farhat Jabeen, widow of the late scholar, will preside over the function, which would be held at the Archives Library Hall, adjacent to Peshawar Museum at 3:00PM. Farhatullah Babar, spokesman of President Asif Ali Zardari and a childhood friend of the late scholar, will be the chief guest on the occasion.
The speakers would include intellectuals and former chief secretary and erstwhile chairman of Provincial Public Service Commission, Abdullah, writer and former federal health secretary, Ejaz Raheem, former chief secretary of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Ejaz Ahmad Qureshi, Professor Dr Hafizullah, Associate Professor Dr Adnan Gul, Associate Professor Dr Zahid Aslam Awan, and Dr Fasihuddin.
Professor Dr Zahoor Ahmad Awan died on April 03, 2011 at Lady Reading Hospital due to multiple health complications. He was 69. Besides authoring 61 Hindko, Urdu and English books, he also used to write columns on daily basis. After retirement, he served as a member of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Public Service Commission and won respect for his integrity. He was the recipient of various awards including the prestigious civil award Tamgha-e-Imtiaz in recognition of his literary services.
The scholar was also the founding chairman of Gandhara Hindko Board, a vibrant literary, cultural and social welfare organisation working for the preservation and promotion of Hindko language and culture since 1993. The board has published 35 Hindko books including the versified translation of the Holy Qur'an by Abdul Ghafoor Malik and two voluminous Hindko dictionaries by Professor Dr Elahi Bakhsh Awan and Sultan Sakoon, respectively.
Late Professor Dr Zahoor Awan translated into Urdu the work of Hindko mystic poet Sain Ahmad Ali Peshawari (1842-1937) and penned another book 'Pishor Pishorey' which describes the cultural life of Peshawar - the oldest living city in South Asia. He also motivated one of his students, Sultan Fareedi of Zarobi in Swabi district to get Sain Ahmad Ali's work translated and published in Pashto.