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Pakistan Academy of Letters

Literary organisation in Pakistan

The Pakistan Academy of Letters (PAL) (Urdu: اکادمیِ ادبیات پاکستان) 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.2 It is headquartered in Islamabad.1 Wikipedia text CC BY-SA 4.0

Last updated Oct 21, 2026.

Overview

1976Founded1

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Pakistan Academy of Letters
Photo: Khalid Mahmood, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons4

The Pakistan Academy of Letters (PAL) (Urdu: اکادمیِ ادبیات پاکستان) 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.2

The story

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:

Ishtiaq Hussain Qureshi (history) (first chairman)

A. K. Brohi (philosophy)

Hafeez Jalandhari (Urdu language)

Syed Abdullah (Urdu language)

Ehsan Danish (Urdu language)

Ahmad Nadeem Qasmi (Urdu language)

Sharif Kunjahi (Punjabi language)

Read the full text

Nabi Bakhsh Khan Baloch (Sindhi language)

Syed Rasool Rasa (Pashto language)

Sardar Khan Gashkori (Balochi language)

Professor Ahmed Ali (writer) (English language)

From Wikipedia’s article on Pakistan Academy of Letters, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.3

Timeline

  1. 1976Founded Founded1

Sources

The numbers on this page point here. Each one links to the record it came from.

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