Prime Minister Muhammad Nawaz Sharif on Thursday announced a Rs500 miliion endowment fund for the National History and Literary Heritage Division.
The premier, while addressing a literary conference in Islamabad, expressed hope that the four-day moot would take into account challenges currently facing Pakistan, especially terrorism and propose solutions to tackle the menace.
"In a society where flowers of poetry and literature bloom, the diseases of extremism, intolerance, disunity and sectarianism are not born," Nawaz said. "When literary works dry up, then society becomes embroiled in various differences."
"This conference will deliberate on how, through educational and literary activities, extremism and intolerance can be addressed."
"Thousands of people and innocent children have been lost to such ills. The current government has stared this disease down, and its political will was enforced by the armed forces. We want to cleanse this country of terrorism and make it a place of peace, love and calm."
"The present government has faced this situation, and our army assisted in making Pakistan a safer place to live," he said, adding that while Operation Zarb-e-Azb is ongoing, there is also a need for Operation 'Zarb-e-Qalm' to confront these challenges.
Touting renowned poet Allama Iqbal as an example. "His poetry enlightened Muslims across the subcontinent and galvanised them to fight for their rights."
Literary institutions have a pivotal role to play in tackling these challenges, he said, and the government is trying to revive such institutions.
