Islamabad: (Parliament Times) Preston University has donated over 2,000 text and reference books to the Balochistan Peace forum, a non-governmental organization, for distribution among the colleges and universities of Balochistan under Forum’s “Kitab Dost Balochistan†project.
The books were formally handed over to Nawabzada Mir Lashkari Raisani, Chairman Balochistan Peace Forum at a simple but impressive ceremony held at Preston University, Islamabad. In his brief address on the occasion, chief guest Nawabzada Mir Lashkari Raisani, Chairman Balochistan Peace Forum expressed his profound gratitude to Dr. Abdul Basit, Chancellor Preston University and the faculty, staff and students of Preston University who generously donated books towards the “Kitab Dost Balochistan†project. He said the Balochistan Peace Forum has already donated over 30,000 books through this project, received from institutions and individuals across the country, to the colleges and universities of Balochistan. The books donated by Preston University will be a significant contribution towards the endeavors of the Forum to augment the book resources of the colleges and universities of Balochistan, he maintained. He said that the efforts made by Preston University to quickly build a large collection of books for the Kitab Dost Balochistan project is truly worthy of immense appreciation. The faculty, staff and students of the university truly deserve to be complimented for their generosity, he said. Nawabzada Lashkari Raisani expressed the hope that this donation will, in effect, form a basis for further donations of books to Kitab Dost Balochistan project by the faculty, staff and students of Preston University.
In his address Mr. Bilal Dar, an eminent journalist and expert on Balochistan Affairs shed light on the sense of deprivation that continues to prevail in the province due to callous attitude of those in the citadel of power in the country. He said the people of Balochistan, barring a few exceptions, are true Pakistani’s and love Pakistan as much as we do. They, therefore, deserve to be treated with respect and at par with the other provinces of the country. He expressed his profound appreciation for the efforts of Preston University to put together a collection of over 2,000 books for the colleges and universities of Balochistan. He particularly eulogized the contributions made by the faculty, staff and students of the university in this regard.
Earlier, in his welcome address Dr. Abdul Basit, Chancellor Preston University extended a warm welcome to Nawabzada Lashkari Raisani, Chairman Balochistan Peace Forum to the book donation ceremony and thanked him for his presence at the event. He said, books are a window to knowledge and every citizen of this country has the fundamental right to have access to this vital tool for acquisition of knowledge and education. He said Preston University considers it a privilege and honour to have been able to make a humble contribution of over 2,000 books towards Kitab Dost Pakistan, a project of Balochistan Peace Forum, for the libraries of universities and colleges of Balochistan. Dr. Basit said, this is the least we could do for our beloved students studying in Balochistan universities and colleges. He assured that Preston University, through the efforts of its faculty, students and staff, would continue to contribute towards the book needs of the institutions of Balochistan in a sustained manner.
