Rich tributes paid to Faiz Ahmed Faiz at the House of Commons

High Commissioner calls for bringing ‘Faiz Festival’ to London

Rich tributes paid to Faiz Ahmed Faiz at the House of Commons

H.E. Syed Ibne Abbas, Pakistan High Commissioner to the UK called for bringing Faiz Festival to London on the same pattern as that of Lahore. He assured all possible support from the High Commission in this regard. The High Commissioner was speaking as the Guest of Honour at Memorial Lecture organized by The Literary Circle London at the House of Commons, London on 4 July 2017.

Appreciating Faiz’s personal and literary attributes, the High Commissioner said: Faiz Ahmed Faiz was a legendary literary figure and on top of it, he was humanist. His message was very simple: peace, tolerance, human rights and creative expression. Faiz Sahib’s contribution in promotion of art, literature and culture are unrivalled. We still cherish his contribution of setting up Pakistan Council of Arts and Lok Virsa, to preserve the folk heritage of Pakistan. We certainly need these institutions more than ever before.”

Faiz Ahmed Faiz’s daughter Moneeza Hashmi, in her lecture shed light on various aspects of Faiz’s poetry and development of thought, quoting some of his beautiful verses. Interspersed with personal anecdotes, illustrating life and work of Faiz, as well as the socio-cultural conditions of that age, the lecture enlightened the audience and was listened to with keen interest. Moneeza Hashmi also answered the questions asked by the audience about Faiz Ahmed Faiz’s life and work.

The High Commissioner appreciated Moneeza Hashmi’s contribution towards promotion of Pakistani art and culture as well as the work of Faiz Ahmed Faiz.

Mr Khalid Mehmood MP, Dr Pushpinder Chowdhry MBE and Ms Pernia Price also spoke briefly on the occasion. All this made the evening memorable.