Daily Times

LAHORE: Punjab Minister for Higher Education Syed Raza Ali Gillani refused to speak in Urdu despite the fact that the whole ceremony at the Punjab University was organised in Urdu language. When he came to the rostrum at the end of the convocation, the minister refused to read out the speech in Urdu. The speech was provided by the PU administration. However, he – in English – asked the vice chancellor to allow him to speak in his own way, as this would be easy for him. He confessed that his Urdu language reading skills were not as fine as they should be. He explained that he had spend most of his time abroad, which was the basic reason his Urdu reading was not good. It is pertinent to mention here that the Supreme Court of Pakistan in 2015 had ordered the government of Pakistan to implement Urdu as official language across the country. According to the orders, all official proceedings, meetings and communication should be held in Urdu. The Punjab University has been organising convocation in Urdu language for the past two years. This was the first ceremony for the minister wherein Urdu language was adopted officially. Teachers and students criticised the minister for his failure to speak the national language.