A grand Pashto 'mushaira' was held at a local community club here on Friday to mark the much-anticipated launch of the Directorate of Culture within the Fata Secretariat. Themed as 'Da Aman Aao Khushhalay Pa Lore Gamona' (on course towards peace and prosperity), the evening was adorned with an inspirational collection of words in the form of poetic masterpieces from poets representing the entire tribal region.
According to Fata Directorate of Information, the rare effort in the public sector was an exhibition of tribal rejection of extremism by signalling messages of love, peace and harmony. The event was worthwhile for two reasons: it gave a vibrant platform to the vocally active representatives of the people of Fata; and at the same time marked the launch of a government institution mandated to preserve and promote the cultural values of the tribal areas.
Celebrated Pashto poet Zeenat Shah alias Sahir Afridi presided over the poetry recital session that saw a diverse yet meaningful blend of experience and youth. While seasoned poetic writers such as Turkistan Afridi, Professor Aseer Mangal, Ghulam Hussain Mohib, Dilawar Shinwari, Kohat Khan Zakir, Ghafoor Afridi and Sadiq Sargardaan Orakzai graced the event with their social consciousness, several young poets including Haroon Shinwari, Ulfat Orakzai, Rehman Sher Durrani, Nafees Afridi, Ameerzada Wisal and Kaleem Shinwari also participated in order to make a difference with their passion for Pashto poetry.
Another highlight of the event was the melancholic 'Pa Pekhawar Key Parhar Ma Jorawa, Da Kabul Parhar Jor Shawe Na De' (don't hurt Peshawar because the wound of Kabul still bleeds), sung by the increasingly popular Hashmat Sahar, capturing the attention and imagination of the audiences for its relevance and lament.
Fata Additional Chief Secretary Habib Ullah Khan in his address lauded the participants and organisers for staging the event that proved to be a strong rebuke to the cultural deviants who have misrepresented and misinterpreted the goodness of the tribal society. "These are testing times for all of us, but they won't prevail for long as they are not in accordance with the nature. It is, therefore vital to remain positive and look towards the future with a lot of hope". For their meritorious services to Pashto land and language, ACS Fata presented cash incentives to Sahir Afridi and Murad Shinwari as an acknowledgement of their dedication and devotion.
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