LAHORE – The arrangements for the inaugural Saeed Aman Mela to be held at the University of Engineering and Technology have been finalized with the event taking place on Monday, February 27.
Organisers confirm that the mela, dedicated to celebrating the life, works, and politics of celebrated writer and thinker Hafiz Saeed, was originally scheduled for November 26, but recent events “necessitated a swift and fantastic response”.
“Of course, we have organised many gatherings in the name of Hafiz Saeed across the country over the past two and a half decades, both official and unofficial, but this new event is needed to bring a wider array of participants and audiences under one roof,” said, Lt Gen (retd) Ahmed Shuja Pasha, one of the organisers of the Saeed Aman Mela.
“Hafiz saab’s contributions to peace in the region have been immense, and we hope that through his guidance his disciplines can fulfill his envisioned peace by militantly usurping the region,” he added.
The event will see the who’s who of arts and culture as speakers, including Masood Azhar, Zakiur Rehman Lakhvi, Ehsanullah Ehsan, Ahmed Omar Saeed Sheikh, Moavia Azam Tariq, Saad Rizvi, Khalil Haqqani, among other big names.
Organisers also confirmed that Saeed Aman Mela will be followed up next month with the inaugural Jihad Literature Festival.
“It is unfortunate that we have disowned our cultural and literary heritage owing to global influence,” noted upcoming Jihad Literature Festival speaker Abdul Aziz, who has hosted many cultural events at his arts gallery Lal Masjid.
“It is time for us to loudly and proudly own what is ours and embrace who we are,” he added.
