Saraiki literature

Written in the Arabic script, similar to Urdu and Punjabi, Saraiki is spoken by millions across districts such as Multan, Bahawalpur, and Dera Ghazi Khan.

The language, partly codified during the British Raj, derived its emotional attraction from the poetry of the Sufi saint, Khawaja Ghulam Farid, who has become an identity symbol.

The beloved's intense glances call for blood The dark hair wildly flows The Kohl of the eyes is fiercely black And slays the lovers with no excuse My appearance in ruins, I sit and wait While the beloved has settled in Malheer I feel the sting of the cruel dart My heart the, abode of pain and grief A life of tears, I have led Farid Shakir Shujabadi (Kalam-e-Shakir, Khuda Janey, Shakir Diyan Ghazlan, Peelay Patr, Munafqan Tu Khuda Bachaway, and Shakir De Dohray are his famous books) is a very well recognized modern poet.

Saraiki is taught as a subject in schools and colleges at higher secondary, intermediate and degree level.

[6] In the province of Punjab, Saraiki is written using the Arabic-derived Urdu alphabet with the addition of seven diacritically modified letters to represent the implosives and the extra nasals.