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Zubeida Mustafa
ONE aspect of I.A. Rehman’s priceless legacy was his restless spirit that drove him to champion the cause of freedom and human rights in Pakistan. The huge community of human rights activists in the country drew inspiration from his rational and encouraging leadership.
Many of us his juniors were constantly turning to him to draw from his limitless pool of knowledge and saw him as a pillar of strength. In the gloom that followed his death I felt comforted when I received a book of poetry that resonated with me. It touched the same causes Rehman Sahib had inspired us to espouse. Titled Eik Subh Aur Aaygi and containing 103 poems by Anis Haroon, the book is a powerful statement on the sad state of human rights in Pakistan that has brought the country to the brink of a catastrophe.
Speakers, both in person and via web links, in discussion at the 13th International Urdu Conference at the Arts Council of Pakistan, Karachi | Fahim Siddiqi/White Star
One could sense a note of dejection in the voice of Ahmed Shah, president of the Arts Council of Pakistan, Karachi, when, at the press conference to talk about the programme for the 13th International Urdu Conference, he told the media that this time round the event would be organised largely online because of the Covid-19 situation in the country. It was understandable.
The conference in the last 12 years had attracted large crowds for multiple reasons and not necessarily for the love of the Urdu language especially on its opening and closing days. To be honest, when Indian scholar Professor Shamim Hanfi and Pakistani poet Yasmeen Hameed (whom one had seen in the flesh at some of the earlier editions of the very conference) delivered their keynote addresses on the inaugural day via video link from Delhi and Laho