LAHORE: A three-day festival began on Friday in the provincial capital with the aim to highlight the culture and civilisation of Punjab.
The grand event, which saw the participation of more than 5,000 people from all walks of life on the first day, had been organised by Punjabi Parchar – a local organisation leading the fight for the status of the Punjabi language.
Adding to the colours of Punjab, the organisers had set up food and handicraft stalls at Punjab Institute of Languages and Culture (PILAC).
Actor Rashid Mahmood, while addressing the inaugural ceremony, stressed the need of organising such festivals to keep alive the rich culture and traditions of Punjab.
While calling upon the authorities to hold more public fairs and festivals in the province, the minister said that terrorism had ruined not only economy but the culture of Punjab as well.
Punjabi is spoken by over 44 per cent of the 200 million Pakistanis. It is the lingua franca of two-thirds of the population in Punjab but it does not have the status of official language even in the province. In Pakistan, Punjabi is written in the Shahmukhi script.
Rashid said that the Punjabi language symbolised the most populous province of Pakistan and deserved due respect.
Punjabi Parchar President Ahmed Raza told the gathering that the festival had been organised to support Punjab’s dying culture.
He hoped that it would help tackle the trend of intolerance in the Pakistani society besides promoting peace in the South Asian country.
A musical night featuring the legendary classical singer Ustad Hamid Ali Khan followed the opening ceremony.
The Punjab Festival would continue till Sunday.
