To commemorate the International Mother Language Day, the Pakistan National Council of Arts (PNCA) arranged an event on the 20th of February, 2019, where Prof. Dr. Wiqar Ali Shah was one of the main speakers. The event brought together scholars, literary figures, poets, and cultural activists from across the country to celebrate and advocate for the preservation of Pakistan's rich diversity of mother languages.
Prof. Dr. Wiqar Ali Shah spoke passionately about the Pashto language — its rich literary tradition embodied by the great warrior-poet Khushal Khan Khattak, and its significance as one of Pakistan's most widely spoken native tongues. He insisted upon the adoption of Pashto as one of the national languages of Pakistan and stressed the urgent need for its learning and practice, especially amongst the Pashtoon communities.
He warned that the continued neglect of Pashto and other regional languages would put a deeply negative effect on the entire nation — eroding cultural identity, severing communities from their literary heritage, and diminishing the intellectual contribution of millions of Pakistanis to national life. He connected Pashto's cause to the broader struggle for recognition of all regional languages in Pakistan.
