ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan Mother Languages Literature Festival 2026 highlighted big worries about fading languages and music on its second day at the Pakistan National Council of the Arts on Saturday. Experts spoke on how many local tongues and traditional instruments are endangered. The first session honoured writers from languages like Brahui, Seraiki, Punjabi, Urdu, Balochi, Sindhi, and Potohari. But panelists voiced fears about the future of these languages. Brahui poet Tahira Ehsaas Jattak said, "I was the only girl in my school at that time," adding concern that children may not learn or use their mother tongues today. Balochi scholar Abdul Saboor Baloch shared his hope that more study material and students exist now but warned, "Preservation cannot depend on passion alone; it needs policy." The second session focused on fading arts and rare instruments like the boreendo and soroz. Filmmaker Jawad Sharif noted how younger generations shift to modern instruments. Salman Tahir emphasized that archiving must capture not just objects but the culture, skills, and lives behind them. "If an artist sleeps hungry, what kind of preservation is that?" he asked. Author Gulzar Gichki explained the soroz’s role in storytelling and healing in Balochi tradition. Youth activist Raaziq Faheem described efforts to teach folk instruments to new generations. Overall, speakers agreed that heritage must adapt to modern life and not just be preserved as museum relics. The festival was a strong call for communities to keep their languages and music alive as they change. As one speaker said, heritage "survives when communities choose to sustain it."