The Pakistan Academy of Letters (PAL) ( ur, ) is a
national academy
A national academy is an organizational body, usually operating with State (polity), state financial support and approval, that co-ordinates scholarly research activities and standards for academic disciplines, most frequently in the sciences but ...
with its main focus on
Pakistani literature
Pakistani literature ( ur, ) is a distinct literature that gradually came to be defined after Pakistan gained nationhood status in 1947, emerging out of literary traditions of the South Asia. The shared tradition of Urdu literature and English l ...
and related fields. It is the largest and the most prestigious
learned society
A learned society (; also learned academy, scholarly society, or academic association) is an organization that exists to promote an academic discipline, profession, or a group of related disciplines such as the arts and science. Membership m ...
of its kind in
Pakistan
Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 243 million people, and has the world's second-lar ...
, with activities throughout the nation. It was established in July 1976 by a group of renowned Pakistani writers, poets, essayists, playwrights, and translators, inspired by the Académie Française.
PAL as a government institution
After its founding in 1976, Pakistan Academy of Letters remains a government-sponsored institution. It works under the jurisdiction of
Ministry of Information, Broadcasting and National Heritage (Pakistan)
The Ministry of Information & Broadcasting (Urdu: ) ''Wazarat-e- it-tila-aat o nashriyat'' (abbreviated as MoIB) is a Cabinet-level ministry of Government of Pakistan, responsible to release government information, media galleries, public domain ...
.
The poet Ahmed Faraz was appointed its first Director. It is an autonomous non-profit organisation, supervised by its own Board of Governors, receiving support from the
Government of Pakistan
The Government of Pakistan ( ur, , translit=hakúmat-e pákistán) abbreviated as GoP, is a federal government established by the Constitution of Pakistan as a constituted governing authority of the four provinces, two autonomous territorie ...
as the apex national institution.
The Academy maintains several regional offices, and links with other national and international organizations of a similar status. Its agenda includes promotion of literary education, publication and documentation. with a view to promoting and fostering
Pakistani literature
Pakistani literature ( ur, ) is a distinct literature that gradually came to be defined after Pakistan gained nationhood status in 1947, emerging out of literary traditions of the South Asia. The shared tradition of Urdu literature and English l ...
, literary activities in Pakistan, and systematizing the support mechanism to writers and scholars of
English
English usually refers to:
* English language
* English people
English may also refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England
** English national ide ...
In 1978, Ishtiaq Hussain Qureshi became the first Chairman of its Founding Fellows, among whom were prominent 'men of letters' representing different languages of Pakistan:
* Ishtiaq Hussain Qureshi (history) (first chairman)
* A. K. Brohi (philosophy)
*
Hafeez Jalandhri
Abu Al-Asar Hafeez Jalandhari ( ur, ) (born 14 January 1900 – 21 December 1982) was a Pakistani Urdu-language poet who wrote the lyrics for the National Anthem of Pakistan
(Urdu language)
* Syed Abdullah (Urdu language)
*
Ahsan Danish
Ehsan Danish (, 2 February 1914 – 22 March 1982), born Ehsan-ul-Haq ), was an Urdu poet, prose writer, linguist, lexicographer and scholar from Pakistan. Ehsan Danish had penned down over 100 scholastic books on poetry, prose, linguistics, lex ...
Nabi Bakhsh Khan Baloch
Nabi Bakhsh Khan Baloch ( sd, نبي بخش خان بلوچ, Balochi: نبی بخش خان بلۏچ) (16 December 1917 – 6 April 2011) was a research scholar and writer. He was termed as a 'moving library' on the province of Sindh, Pakistan. ...
(Sindhi language)
* Syed Rasool Rasa (
Pashto
Pashto (,; , ) is an Eastern Iranian language in the Indo-European language family. It is known in historical Persian literature as Afghani ().
Spoken as a native language mostly by ethnic Pashtuns, it is one of the two official langua ...
language)
* Sardar Khan Gashkori ( Balochi language)
* Professor Ahmed Ali (writer) (English language)
Abul Khair Kashfi
Muhammad Abul Khair Kashfi (Urdu: سید محمد ابو الخیر کشفی) was a Pakistani author, researcher, critic, linguist and scholar of Urdu literature and linguistics.
Career
He remained associated with the University of Karachi as ...
* Pareshan Khattak
* Syed Mujtaba Hussain
* Two representatives from the Ministry of Education
* One representative from the Universities Grants Commission (now the
Higher Education Commission of Pakistan
The Higher Education Commission (colloquially known as HEC) is a statutory body formed by the Government of Pakistan which was established in 2002 under the Chairmanship of Atta-ur-Rahman. Its main functions are funding, overseeing, regulatin ...
)
Pakistan Academy of Letters was established in 1976 but its Board of Governors were not officially appointed by the
Government of Pakistan
The Government of Pakistan ( ur, , translit=hakúmat-e pákistán) abbreviated as GoP, is a federal government established by the Constitution of Pakistan as a constituted governing authority of the four provinces, two autonomous territorie ...
until 1978, when its objectives and functions were also determined.
Academy's support for the writers
The Pakistan Academy of Letters gives annual awards called National Literary Awards for the best original books (within the literary and critical categories) written in all the major languages of Pakistan. The award recipients were initially given a cash prize of Rupees 100,000 (increased to Rs200,000 by 2016).
In 1980, Shafiq-ur-Rehman was appointed the Academy's first Chairman. He has been followed in this fixed-tenure position by a number of writers.
From time to time, the Academy nominates Fellows, and more restrictively some Life Fellows, who earn the privilege of using the post-nominal letters FPAL. The Fellowship of the Academy is highly selective, indicating high distinction in the respective field, and is only awarded to those who are recognized to have contributed extraordinary work to enrich the creation and understanding of Pakistani literature.
Launch of lifetime achievement awards
The Kamal-e-Fun Award (Lifetime Achievement Award) was launched in 1997 by the academy in the field of literature for recognition of creative and research work done by individuals. It also initially carried a cash award of Rupees 500,000 (increased to Rupees 1 million by 2016). Starting in 1997, it was conferred on fourteen people by the end of 2010. A jury comprising Pakistan's eminent literary figures announces, after careful consideration, the name of the yearly award recipient. This award is considered to be Pakistan's highest literary award.
Commemorative postage stamp issued for the academy
On 24 September 2003, Pakistan Postal Services issued a commemorative postage stamp on the 25th anniversary of the academy's 'official founding' in 1978.
Recent developments
In 2020, Pakistan Academy of Letters inaugurated 'Faiz Ahmed Faiz Auditorium' on Faiz Ahmed Faiz's birthday with the poet's daughters Muneeza Hashmi, Salima Hashmi and noted scholar Iftikhar Arif in attendance. Federal Minister of Education
Shafqat Mahmood
Shafqat Mahmood (Punjabi, ; 19 February 1950) is a Pakistani bureaucrat-turned-politician who served as thFederal Minister for Federal Education and Professional Training and Federal Minister for National History and Literary Heritage, from 20 ...