PESHAWAR: Speakers at a literary event have called upon students to take active part in co-curricular activities. They said that participation by students in co-curricular activities helped them to develop a taste for reading books and widen scope of their creative strength. The concluding ceremony of annual literary week was arranged here in a local college. Students, faculty members and senior alumni attended the ceremony up and shared their views. They said that such events provided a platform to youth to display their latent talent. The event was organised under the aegis of Peshawarians Literary Society (PLS) with Prof Farmanullah, chief organiser of the society, in the chair. Hasamuddin Khan, a student from Quetta, who won English declamation contest stole the event and received great applause from the audience. Addressing as chief guest on the occasion, Prof Iftikhar Ahmad Khan, head of the institution, said that active participation helped students to bring out their hidden talent, raise their level of confidence and sharpen their creative strength. “Co-curricular activities on campus motivate a spirit of socialising, confidence building and teamwork. Such events provide a platform to students to generate better interpersonal skills, leadership qualities and display of untapped talent,” he said. Prof Shamsuddin Khan, chief house tutor, in his annual report highlighted salient features of the weeklong event and advised students to take interest in such co-curricular activities as it would help them to improve their communication skills alongside critical thinking and sense of socialising. Urdu and English declamation contest, national songs, Qirat and Naat and painting competitions and book fair were the main features of the annual week. In the inter-house competitions, Tairmur House lifted champion trophy for its best performance. Later, the chief guest distributed awards and certificates among the winning students.