Pakistan Supreme Court slams Imran Khan govt for failing to make Urdu official language

`Without mother tongue and national language we will lose our identity,` said Justice Bandial

Islamabad: Pakistan`s Supreme Court on Monday slammed the federal government for failing to implement Urdu as the official language, local media reported.

A three-member bench headed by acting Chief Justice of Pakistan Umar Ata Bandial presided over a contempt of court petition seeking the use of Urdu as the official language, The Express Tribune reported."Without mother tongue and national language we will lose our identity," The Express Tribune quoted Justice Bandial as saying. He added that "in my opinion, we should also learn Persian and Arabic, just like our ancestors.

"The acting Chief Justice of Pakistan said that the apex court had ordered making Urdu the official language in 2015 that the federal government failed to do."Article 251 of the Constitution mentions the mother language along with the regional languages," said the acting chief justice as he sought a reply from the Punjab government for failing to introduce Punjabi (as an official language) in the province.

Earlier, in December 2015, Lawyer Kokab Iqbal has filed a contempt of court petition for not using Urdu language, whereas a contempt of court petition has also been filed by a citizen Dr Sami against the Punjab government for not introducing Punjabi (as an official language) in the province, The Express Tribune reported.

The apex court while issuing notice to federal and Punjab governments adjourned the hearing of the case for one month.