A book written in four languages to pay tributes to the courageous police officer Safwat Ghayur shaheed has been posted online by Gandhara Hindko Academy (GHA) to make the publication accessible to maximum number of readers.
A literary, cultural and social welfare organisation, Gandhara Hindko Board, has brought the book in fine print to highlight the sacrifice offered by the officer of Khyber Pukhtunkhwa police force and Commandant of the Frontier Constabulary.
Safwat Ghayur was known for his fearlessness and professional integrity. He embraced martyrdom in a suicide bombing outside his office in Peshawar on August 4, 2010, leaving behind a widow, two children and a myriad of fans to mourn his death.
The book can be accessed and downloaded from the Gandhara Hindko Academy website www.gandharahindko.com. It has been penned by a noted writer, poet and a former senior bureaucrat, Ejaz Rahim. Titled 'Bayaad-e-Safwat Ghayur - A poetic tribute', the publication is in four languages - English, Urdu, Pashto and Hindko.
The 200-page book is based on 31 English poems written by Ejaz Rahim, a former chief secretary of the Khyber Pukhtunkhwa and a close relative of the martyred cop. Vice-Chancellor of the Khyber Medical University, Professor Dr Hafizullah, has written the prologue.
Paying tributes to the slain police officer, Rahim writes: "Safwat Ghayur was a pearl. The shining of the pearl spread further after his martyrdom that created thoughts and feelings in me which I described in the form of poetry. I have tried to make readers aware of the supreme sacrifice of a bold cop who hailed from a noted Sardar Abdur Rab Nishtar family of Peshawar, which had a great contribution to the Pakistan Movement".
The civil servant-turned poet says after putting his feelings in English poetry, he felt the message of bravery, honesty and patriotism needed to be conveyed to a wider audience and this led to the translation of the poems into Hindko, Pashto and Urdu languages.
Muhammad Ziauddin, an eminent writer, poet and researcher of Hindko language from Peshawar, has translated the English poems into Hindko.
Sultan Faridi, an educationalist and Pashto-Urdu poet from Zarobi village in the Swabi district, has rendered the poems into Urdu and Pashto, respectively.
Muhammad Ziauddin says translating English poems into Hindko was an honour for him as Safwat Ghayur laid down his life for a noble cause of the protection of one's motherland and its people.
Sultan Faridi says putting the English poems into Pashto and Urdu was a task that gave him immense satisfaction because it was about a brave son of the soil. The poems inspire all those who love their country, says Faridi.