Pakistani-American poet honoured with Lifetime Achievement Award in US

Pakistani-American Urdu poet and writer Raees Warsi was honoured with the Lifetime Achievement Award by US President Joe Biden in recognition of his lifelong commitment to building a strong nation through volunteer services.

The award was presented by New York State Assembly member Jessica Gonzalez on behalf of President Biden, recognising Warsi's tireless efforts in promoting the Urdu language and literature globally.

Warsi has dedicated the last 34 years to promoting Urdu worldwide, and his achievements include organising the first-ever Urdu conference at the United Nations. 

The conference was a groundbreaking event, with the heads of Pakistan and India, as well as the UN Secretary General, acknowledging the importance of Urdu as a global language.

A resolution was also adopted demanding to include Urdu in the official languages of the United Nations.

Warsi's contributions were recognised by the Pakistani government, which conferred upon him the Pride of Pakistan Award by the Federal Ministry of Overseas Pakistanis in 2017.

"Raees Shahr Sukhn's" ghazals were also sung by famous Pakistani and Indian singers, including Ghulam Ali, Ustad Zakir Ali Khan, Amanat Ali Khan, Hamid Ali Khan, Humira Channa, Parvez Mehdi, Rafaqaat Ali Khan, Udit Narayan and Sadhana Sargaram.

He has published the collection of his works as “Aina Hoon Mein”, which was endorsed by renowned writers Ahmad Nadeem Qasmi, Prof. Gopichand Narang, Dr. Jameel Jalbi, Dr. Farman Fatehpuri, Ahmad Faraz, Iftikhar Arif, Syed Zameer Jafari.