Pakistani Persian language expert Arif Naushahi honored in Tehran

TEHRAN,July 14(MNA) – Iranian and foreign experts on Persian literature gathered in Tehran on Wednesday to pay tribute to the Pakistani Persian language expert, Arif Naushahi. The ceremony was organized by the Miras Maktoob Research Center on the sidelines of a conference on Persian manuscripts and printed texts from the subcontinent of India. Naushahi, 57, is a Pakistani scholar who specializes in Persian literature. He completed his Ph.D. in Persian language and literature at the University of Tehran in 1993. He is currently the head of the Persian Language Department of Gordon College, Rawalpindi. The Minister of Culture and Islamic Guidance Mohammad Hosseini made the opening speech followed by unveiling a book about Naushahi’s great efforts in Persian language education in South Asia. Scholar Sharif Hussain Qasemi of the University of New Delhi made the next speech, in which he referred to Naushahi’s literary works and said that his books have many readers in the subcontinent of India. Moinuddin Aqeel, author, critic and outstanding scholar of Urdu literature and Linguistics from Pakistan also among the invited guests, expressed his happiness over publishing the book and hoped Iran and Pakistan would continue their close cultural relationship. Necdet Tosun of Marmara University in Turkey said that Naushahi’s recent book is a comprehensive bibliography for those who want to conduct research on the subcontinent. Hasan Anusheh, Mohammad-Hossein Tasbihi and Akbar Sabut were also among the Iranian scholars who delivered speeches at the ceremony. Naushahi was the last to speak and paid tribute to Iranian historian scholar and manuscript expert Iraj Afshar (1925- 2011) in a short speech. The ceremony was brought to an end with the presentation of a plaque of honor and several gifts to Naushahi. Naushahi’s major published works includes “Catalogue of the Persian Manuscripts in the National Museum of Pakistan” “Catalogue of the Persian Manuscripts in Anjuman Taraqqi Urdu in Karachi” and “Catalogue of the Urdu Manuscripts in Ganj Bakhsh Library of Islamabad”.