Pakistani officials especially of higher education institutions, academics and thinkers, have always stressed the need to promote Persian language culture and literature in order to further deepen relations between the people of the Islamic Republic of Iran and Pakistan.
President and Prime Minister of Pakistan on various occasions have talked about the importance of Persian language in the subcontinent and the the colonial invasion of this official language.
They have stressed the need for Persian language learning in order to preserve the common heritage of the nations of the region.
"If the British had not come to India in the 19th century, we would not have needed a translator, we will be speaking Persian," said Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan on the importance of the Persian language in the subcontinent during his first official visit to Iran.
Persian has been the official language of the subcontinent for six hundred years.
On the sidelines of the Non-Aligned Movement summit in Baku in 2019, Pakistani President Arif Alvi met with his Iranian counterpart Dr. Hassan Rouhani and talked about the Persian language and his struggle to learn Persian.
While talking to Dr. Rouhani, the President of Pakistan said: I wish I had learnt Persian from my mother, who had a bachelor's degree in Persian literature and was of Kermani origin.
In fact, promoting Persian language education in Pakistan, a country that has many commonalities with the Islamic Republic of Iran, especially in the field of culture, history, religion and society, is an effective step in understanding the common culture and civilization of the two countries and efforts should be made in this regards.
Cultural Consulate of the Embassy of the Islamic Republic of Iran in Islamabad has been doing various activities for Persian language learning in Pakistan and has conducted different cultural programs on various occasions which play an important role in engaging Pakistani students and youth in learning the Persian language.
A new course of Persian language and literature in the city of Rawalpindi was launched this week by the Cultural Counselor of the Embassy of the Islamic Republic of Iran with the participation of Persian lovers in Pakistan.
The launching ceremony of the course was held at Khana-e-Farhang Rawalpindi and was attended by professors, teachers and Persian students.
Iran’s Cultural Counselor and representative of Saadi Foundation in Pakistan on the occasion said Persian language is the common cultural heritage of Iran and Pakistan and valuable concepts and words of Persian language are displayed in the poems of great Pakistani poets such as Allama Iqbal Lahori.
He said Persian language is the most important tool of the people of Pakistan to understand the words of the elders and is an integral part of the history of this land.
Congratulating the arrival of the month of Rajab, the month of blessing and mercy and the auspicious birthdays of Imam Baqir (AS) and Imam Javad (AS), he said it is a great honor for us to see the opening of this period at Khana-e-Farhang in Rawalpindi.
Ehsan Khazaei added Persian language has a brilliant history in the subcontinent as it has been the official language of this area for nearly a thousand years.
He said that it is encouraging to see that Persian language is being taught in different universities of Pakistan which shows the importance of this language in Pakistani society.
He noted that national anthem of Pakistan is in Persian and also many historical documents and manuscripts of Pakistan are in Persian. He announced the readiness of the Cultural Consulate to provide all the facilities to promote the Persian language in Pakistan.
Dr. Muzaffar Ali Kashmiri, Professor of Persian Language and Literature at the Islamic International University, while thanking the Iranian Cultural Consular for his efforts on promoting Persian language said Urdu and Persian are interlinked and the history of the Persian language dates back to the time when religious people came to the subcontinent from Iran to preach e Islam.
He added Persian language is a treasure of ethics and famous poets such as Rumi, Hafiz, Saadi and Allama Iqbal have written their works in Persian. At the end of his speech, Dr. Kashmiri recited verses from Iqbal Lahori describing the importance of Persian language for the national poet of Pakistan.
Ms. Shakilah Rafiq, a Persian language teacher at the Iranian Culture Center while pointing to the importance and position of the Persian language in Pakistan, explained the new ways of teaching virtual Persian language courses to Persian students.
It is worth mentioning that this is the first regular Persian language training course in Pakistan after the outbreak of Corona virus during the past year.
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