The Culture Journalists Forum (CJF), Peshawar has appreciated the much-awaited first ever cultural policy of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government. A forum of the meeting held here Sunday expressed satisfaction over the draft and termed it a well-prepared document which they said would safeguard both art and artists in addition to preservation and protection towards building a peaceful society.
Chaired by Ihtisham Toru, the participants said they had been urging the KP successive governments since long to formulate a comprehensive cultural policy draft that could ensure building and promoting a soft image of our culture and art.
They said it was a great moment for the artists and people of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa to enjoy a comprehensive cultural policy after the 18th constitutional amendment. Participants of the meeting also admired Mohammad Azam Khan, chief secretary of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa who had initiated the work on drafting a well-thought cultural policy for the people who had suffered great losses to militancy and philistinism.
The meeting pledged CJF would continue to raise voice for rights of artists and writers and would always support genuine policies of the KP government that could provide relief to poor masses including artist's community and literati. Speaking on the occasion, Ihtisham Toru, the belated cultural policy draft should be implemented in its true letter and spirit. He said though the KP government wasted too much time on formulation of the cultural policy but further delay in its implementation would not be fruitful.
He claimed CJF took pains to raise the voice of artists and literati across the province for their genuine rights. "RICH project and stipend schemes for deserving artists and writers had already won hearts of many. We hope KP culture department would provide assistance to promote art and artists in the militancy hit province," Toru said. He offered help to the KP government for promoting the cause of promoting local and indigenous art and culture.
The cultural policy the participants said guaranteed the rights of all stakeholders without any discrimination. "With it our more than two dozen native languages would get a new life and their speakers would be able to take pride in their own indigenous culture. Now we should not listen to the sad news of a small language spoken in Chitral, Kohistan and parts of Swat being wiped out from our soil," the meeting said.