RIYADH — Ambassador of Pakistan Manzoor Ul Haq was feted at a dinner reception hosted by the Indus Cultural and Social Forum (ICSF). ICSF is a social forum of Pakistani Sindhi community in Saudi Arabia that provides a congenial platform for pursuing social gathering by Sindhi men and their families. This reception was attended by a large number of Sindhi professionals, officials from the Embassy of Pakistan and some noted Pakistanis here. Asadullah Jhatial, the incumbent President of ICSF, extended a very warm welcome to Haq and introduced all attendees to him. Haq was decorated with traditional Ajrak (unique blockprint Sindhi shawl) and a Sindhi cap, presented to him by Zeezhan Qazi, general secretary of ICSF. Ashiq Samo, joint secretary of ICSF, presented a bouquet to Haq. Dilip Rohra, vice president of ICSF, presented Urdu translation of "Shah Jo Risalo," a poetic compendium of famous and legendary Sindhi Sufi poet Shah Abdul Latif Bhittai. Founding president Ghulam Qadir Mallah Mallah gave a brief introduction of ICSF, stating how the ICSF was founded in 2012 with a view to bring the Sindhi community together. "I feel pleasure and pride to mention that ICSF has grown from a sprout to a full blossom flower and that too in a very short period of time," Mallah said. Mallah said during the launch of the society, Pakistan was witnessing devastating flood and the ICSF had joined other Pakistanis here to collect relief goods for the affected people. "Then afterwards in 2013, ICSF teamed up with the Pakistan Embassy and arranged for a musical evening with famous Pakistani lady singer Sanam Marvi for the purpose of fund raising for flood victims," Mallah said, adding, that the event was a great success. Mallah told the audience about block printing and that the block was actually an insignia borrowed from Mohenjo-Daro. Mohenjo-Daro in Sindhi means "Mound of the Dead." Mallah with mastery on this subject enlightened the attendees that Mohenjo-Daro was an archeological site in the province of Sindh, which was built around 2600 BCE. At that time it was one of the largest settlements of the ancient Indus Valley, and one of the world's earliest major urban settlements, contemporaneous with the civilizations of ancient Egypt, Mesopotamia, and Crete. "Mohenjo-Daro was abandoned in the 19th century BCE, and was rediscovered in 1922. Significant excavation has since been conducted at the site of the city, which was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1980," he said. Mallah also proudly mentioned that all sorts of articles were discovered at the site except weapons. "This means that the ancestors of Sindhis were peace loving people." After listening to Mallah, Haq interjected and enlightened the audience with his own knowledge of history on civilizations. Haq was Pakistani ambassador to Egypt before taking charge as ambassador of Pakistan in Saudi Arabia. Haq educated that although both the Egyptian and Indus Valley Civilizations were contemporaneous, there was a wide difference between the two. "While Indus Valley Civilization was egalitarian – meaning a fraternal relation existed between the ruler and the subject, the Egyptian Civilization had a character in sharp contrast. There was a wide gulf between the Pharaohs and the ruled," Haq said. Haq further said that peace would not exist where there is a gap between the rulers and the ruled and also where there is no justice. "That is the reason history has witnessed peace and tranquility during the Indus Valley Civilization while wars during the other." Some members from the audience also participated in this ongoing discussions. The noted amongst them were Dr. Mansour Memon, Qazi Ishaq Memon, and Dr. Aurangzeb Lagahri. — SG
