Pakistan Academy of Letters


The Pakistan Academy of Letters is a national academy with its main focus on Pakistani literature and related fields. It is the largest and the most prestigious learned society of its kind in Pakistan, with activities throughout the nation. It was established in July 1976 by a group of renowned Pakistani writers, poets, essayists, playwrights, and translators, inspired by the Académie Française.

PAL as a government institution

After its founding in 1976, Pakistan Academy of Letters remains a government-sponsored institution. It works under the jurisdiction of Ministry of Information, Broadcasting and [National Heritage (Pakistan)].
The poet Ahmed Faraz was appointed its first director. It is an autonomous non-profit organisation, supervised by its own board of governors, receiving support from the Government of Pakistan as the apex national institution.
The academy maintains several regional offices, and links with other national and international organizations of a similar status. Its agenda includes promotion of literary education, publication and documentation. with a view to promoting and fostering Pakistani literature, literary activities in Pakistan, and systematizing the support mechanism to writers and scholars of Urdu, Punjabi, Saraiki, Sindhi, Pushto, Balochi, English and other Pakistani languages.

PAL's founding fellows

In 1978, Ishtiaq Hussain Qureshi became the first chairman of its Founding Fellows, among whom were prominent 'men of letters' representing different languages of Pakistan:

Board of Governors appointed in 1978

First Board of Governors

Pakistan Academy of Letters was established in 1976 but its board of governors were not officially appointed by the Government of Pakistan until 1978, when its objectives and functions were also determined.

Academy's support for the writers

The Pakistan Academy of Letters gives annual awards called National Literary Awards for the best original books written in all the major languages of Pakistan. The award recipients were initially given a cash prize of Rupees 100,000.
In 1980, Shafiq-ur-Rahman was appointed the academy's first chairman. He has been followed in this fixed-tenure position by a number of writers.
From time to time, the Academy nominates Fellows, and more restrictively some Life Fellows, who earn the privilege of using the post-nominal letters FPAL. The Fellowship of the academy is highly selective, indicating high distinction in the respective field, and is only awarded to those who are recognized to have contributed extraordinary work to enrich the creation and understanding of Pakistani literature.

Awards

The Kamal-e-Fun Award was launched in 1997 by the Academy in the field of literature for recognition of creative and research work done by individuals. It also initially carried a cash award of Rupees 500,000. Starting in 1997, it was conferred on fourteen people by the end of 2010. A jury comprising Pakistan's eminent literary figures announces, after careful consideration, the name of the yearly award recipient. This award is considered to be Pakistan's highest literary award.
The Academy also confers annual awards for books in Urdu, Punjabi, Sindhi, Pashto, Baluchi, Siraiki, Brahui, Hindko, English, and in translation. Known as the National Literary Awards, these were first launched in 1981 and expanded in 2017.

Commemorative postage stamp issued for the academy

On 24 September 2003, Pakistan Postal Services issued a commemorative postage stamp on the 25th anniversary of the academy's 'official founding' in 1978.

Recent developments

In 2020, Pakistan Academy of Letters inaugurated 'Faiz Ahmed Faiz Auditorium' on Faiz Ahmad Faiz's birthday with the poet's daughters Muneeza Hashmi, Salima Hashmi and noted litterateur Iftikhar Arif in attendance. Federal Minister of Education Shafqat Mahmood also spoke on the occasion.
In 2020, the academy recognized works like Waqar mustafa's short story collection Ek Tamasha for its contribution to contemporary Urdu fiction