Scholars, writers, and poets from all across the ECO region were brought together at a great literary event on Urdu, Persian, and Turkish expressions held at the International Study Group, Ankara, yesterday evening. Organized by the ECO Cultural Institute (ECI)—the specialized cultural agency of the ten-member Economic Cooperation Organization (ECO) based in Tehran—in collaboration with the Pakistan Mission Ankara, the event was attended by people from all walks of life.
Speaking on the occasion, Dr. Saad S. Khan, himself a historian and a leading Pakistani diplomat, opined that Turkish, Urdu, and Persian have a shared literary tradition with thousands of common words. He said it was the first time that literary luminaries from all three languages have been brought together on a single platform in Ankara, which will lay the basis for future cooperation between writers and poets of these ten great nations.
Aptly titled “From Hearts to Horizons: Urdu, Persian, and Turkish Expressions,” the event included poetry and literary recitations by Mr. Shaaiq Ahmed Bhutto, Mr. Mohammad Hussain Fayyaz, Dr. Davut Şahbaz, Mr. Mohib Altaf, Mr. Muhammad Huzaifa, Ms. Yeşim Işık Bağrıaçık, Mr. A. B. Ashraf, Mr. Ghalib Gillani, and Ms. Ilknur Zamir Khan. Their readings demonstrated how poetry transcends national boundaries, promoting mutual respect and cultural cooperation.
The Ambassador of Pakistan to Türkiye, Dr. Yousuf Junaid; the Ambassador of Iran to Türkiye, Dr. Mohammad Hassan Habibollah Zadeh; and Dr. Abdolkarim Sadeghdoost, Executive Director of the ECO Educational Institute, Ankara, appreciated the ECI for the great initiative.
The conference offered condolences and prayers for the tragic helicopter crash in Türkiye, where valuable lives of six senior military officers were lost the previous day.