RIYADH – Halqa-e-Fikr-o-Funn bid farewell to its chief and prominent writer/poet Javid Akhter Javid recently. The farewell was attended by intellectuals, writers, poets and peoples from different walks of life, including heads of several organizations. The program was presided by Ambassador Manzoor ul Haq, while ambassador's wife Nighat Manzoor and ex federal minister / patron-in-chief Halqa-e-fikr-o-funn Ch. Shahbaz Hussain were the chief guests on the occasion, They were warmly received upon their arrival by Halqa-e-Fikr-o-Funn President Dr, Riaz Chauhdary, Arshad Sheikh, Tariq Aziz and Amin Tajir. Haq, in his speech, applauded Javid Akhter Javid for his literary contributions. "Poets and writers are the assets of any nation, Pakistan is blessed with so many wonderful poets and writers and Javid Akhter Javid is one of them," he said. "Javid is a creative writer and poet and besides that he is a fine critic. He wrote some beautiful poetry both in Urdu and Punjabi, and his affection for his motherland and culture is highly appreciated. Poetry lovers in Saudi Arabia will definitely missed him, My best wishes and regards for him, I truly appreciate the literary contributions of Halqa-e-Fikr-o-Funn," Haq added. Ch. Shahbaz Hussain too said, "Javid can be considered as one of the finest writers of Pakistan, and he spent most of his life in Saudi Arabia and contributed a lot for poetry and literature. I am hopeful he will continue his creativity and the Pakistani literary circle will benefit from his contributions." "Halqa-e-Fikr-o-Funn has a fine history and from Saudi Arabia they have produced many prolific writers for the mainstream Urdu world. I am glad to see the new team of HFF and I wish them good luck. My support and encouragement will remain with them." Shahbaz added. Javid thanked the audience and said, "Poetry is a God-gifted ability, it is associated with the heart, soul, thoughts, nature, culture and society etc. Overseas Pakistani writers are full of potential and I tried my best to encourage them from the platform of Halqa-e-Fikr-o-Funn, I am thankful to all my associates, friends, community members for all their love and support." Earlier, the program formally commenced with the recitation of verses from holy Quran by Dr. Mahmoud Ahmed Bajwa and a presentation of Naat by Abid Shamoon Chand. The program was ably conducted by Deputy General Secretary of Halqa-e-Fikr-o-Funn Dr. Hina Ambreen Tariq. Waqar Wamiq presented the vision of Halqa-e-Fikr-o-Funn, Sajida Chauhdary welcomed the distinguished guests and highly praised the contributions of Javid in her welcome note. Those who spoke on the occasion and paid their tribute to Javid includes Halqa-e-Fikr-o-Funn's Dr. Muhammad Riaz Chauhdary, Arshad Sheikh, Dr. Tariq Aziz, Akhtar Ul Islam Nadwi, Dr. Irum Qalbani, Amin Tajir, Khalid Mahmood Chauhdary, Prof. Tasneem Amjad and Hafiz Abdul Wahid. The poets of Halqa-e-Fikr-o-Funn Abdul Razzaq Tabassum, Muhammad Sabir Qashang, Shuaib Shahzad, Waqar Wamiq and Hina Ambreen paid rich tributes to Javid in their poetry presentations. Halqa-e-Fikr-o-Funn presented plaques of appreciation to its Nazim-e-Aala Javid Akhter Javid and the founder of Halqa-e-Fikr-o-Funn Anjum Dar for their exemplary contributions. Dar's plaque was received by Shuaib Shahzad in his absence.
