Thaindian News

Hyderabad, Dec 26 (IANS) Editors of Urdu newspapers from India, Pakistan and other countries will participate in the World Urdu Editors Conference to be held here Dec 30-31.

The two-day event, being organised by Urdu daily Siasat, will discuss the problems faced by Urdu newspapers and Urdu journalists.

“It is the first conference of its kind aimed at bringing Urdu newspapers to a common platform,” Siasat editor Zahid Ali Khan told a news conference here Monday.

To be inaugurated by Vice President Hamid Ansari, the conference will be attended by editors and other journalists of 40 newspapers.

Editors from Pakistan, Middle East, Britain and Canada would also participate in the conference, which will discuss the challenges faced by Urdu newspapers.

It will discuss the idea of bringing Urdu newspapers under one umbrella, efforts to promote the readership and to take up various problems with the authorities.

Siasat, which is working to promote Urdu and is also engaged in social activities like helping poor students, providing relief to cancer patients and guiding students and youth in obtaining jobs, is also working on a project to link Urdu newspapers across the country.

“Under the project launched on experimental basis, 12 Urdu newspapers have joined hands with us. We are providing them content in Urdu from here,” said Khan, who plans to rope in many others.

According to conference convenor Aijaz Farrukh, four editors from Pakistan have confirmed their participation. Mehmood Sham, group editor, ARY, Sohail Waraich of daily Jung, Tanveer Qaiser of Express group and Ayaz Badshah of Mashriq would be among the delegates.

Khan said the editors conference was part of the efforts initiated by Siasat with World Urdu Conference in 2006 to unite people who speak, read or write Urdu.

As part of the conference, an exhibition would also be organized. The organisers said 160-year-old Urdu newspapers would also be displayed.