The session was organised by Swat Adabi Sanga and was attended by over 30 renowned poets and litterateurs of the region.
Elegies were recited in memory of those who died in the barbaric attack on APS. The attendees condemned the brutality and expressed solidarity with the people of the walled city.
“We should move ahead from verbal condemnations and must combat militancy head on,” said poet Usman Ulas Yar. He urged leaders to unite Pukhtuns against the common enemy. He added it is high time the federal government revisits its policies and shifts its focus towards areas plagued by militancy.
“Poets and writers belong to the most sensitive section of society and are impacted by every inhuman act in their surroundings,” said renowned scholar Fazal Mahmood Rokhan. “Writers from all over the valley have gathered in order to send out a message to our brethren in Peshawar.”
In his address, poet Haider Ali Shah Bacha said it is time Pukhtuns take a stand against those committing bloodshed on their lands. “No one can help us until we ourselves fight extremist elements.”
Published in The Express Tribune, December 22nd, 2014.
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