Youth Affairs and Sports Department Punjab in collaboration with Alhamra Arts Council observed Youm-e-Khudi on the eve of Iqbal Day and in this regard several excellent performances were presented at Lahore Arts Council (Alhamra) Mall Road on Friday night.
Secretary Youth Affairs and Sports Punjab Fuad Hashim Rabbani, Secretary Information and Culture Raja Jahangir Anwar and Director General Sports Punjab Javed Chohan also attended Youm-e-Khudi celebrations.
Executive Director Alhamra Zulfiqar Ali Zulfi, Director Youth Affairs Syed Omair Hassan and other officials were also present on this occasion.
Addressing the ceremony, Secretary Youth Affairs and Sports Punjab Fuad Hashim Rabbani said that the poetry and thoughts of Allama Iqbal have been a great source of inspiration for the entire Pakistan nation. “Iqbal Day is a sacred day for us. I’m quite happy that the Youth Affairs and Sports Department Punjab and Alhamra Arts Council are jointly observing Iqbal Day to promote the philosophy of Khudi”.
Secretary Youth Affairs and Sports Punjab Fuad Hashim Rabbani said that the great verse of Iqbal ‘Khudi ko ker buland itna ke her taqdeer se pehlay, Khuda banday se khud poochhay bta teri raza kia hai’ was for the youth of the nation. “It is quite heartening that Pakistan’s 63 percent population is consisted of youth. Youth Affairs and Sports Department Punjab is formulating a compact programme for the talented youth of the province. E-Rozgaar Programme is also part of this move and thousands of youths are benefiting from this great programme”.
In his address, Secretary Information and Culture Raja Jahangir congratulated Youth Affairs and Sports Department Punjab for organizing a wonderful programme on Iqbal Day. “Allama Iqbal is our true hero and Pakistan can achieve great success on all fronts by following the message of Iqbal. The year 2022 is being celebrated as the ‘Year of Iqbal’. We will hold more such programmes throughout the year at tehsil level also to spread the revolutionary message of Iqbal”.
He expressed his gratitude to Secretary Youth Affairs and Sports Punjab Fuad Hashim Rabbani and Director General Sports Punjab Javed Chohan for organising the grand programme at Alhamra Arts Council.
A seminar on "Iqbal and Khudi" was also organised on this occasion. A large number of people attended the event and appreciated the efforts of the administration. The event was moderated by Nasir Shirazi who continued to recite Iqbal’s verses from time to time.
In his address, Executive Director Alhamra Zulfiqar Ali Zulfi remarked that Secretary Information and Culture Raja Jahangir Anwar made special efforts to promote the culture of Punjab and Alhamra will continue to promote the thoughts and ideas of Iqbal.
Justice (retd) Nasira Javed Iqbal, Mujeeb-ur-Rehman Shami, Dr Waheed uz Zaman and Basira Ambreen also expressed their views on this occasion.
Justice (retd) Nasira Javed Iqbal asked the people to follow the path indicated by Iqbal and show that path to their children as well. Dr Waheed said Iqbal stressed on believing in ourselves. Iqbal wrote on Khudi for 40 years. Mujeeb-ur-Rehman Shami and Director Bazm-e-Iqbal Riaz Ahmad Chaudhry also spoke on this occasion.
Several talented painters participated in the painting competitions regarding Iqbal’s life and poetry on Youm-e-Khudi. Iram Rajput was the winner of Youm-e-Khudi painting competition. She was awarded a cash prize of Rs 30,000, runner-up Sidra Inam got Rs 20,000 while the third position holder Javeria Mubeen pocketed a cash prize of Rs 10,000. Secretary Youth Affairs and Sports Punjab Fuad Hashim Rabbani distributed prizes among the top position holders.
Leading singers Sara Raza Khan and Hina Nasrullah presented Kalam-e-Iqbal while artiste Adeel Hashmi threw light on Iqbal’s Shikwa and Jawab-e-Shikwa in an impressive way and received huge appreciation. Nadeem Jamal Group presented Qawwali besides some eye-catching Sufi performances from students of Punjab University and Alhamra Academy. A song ‘Hum youm-e-khudi ki awazain’ sung by Memoona Sajid and Answer Alsi was also presented on this occasion.a