Promoting art: CJF asks govt to announce cultural policy

"We need to promote and preserve the rich pushtun culture," says CJF President.

PESHAWAR: The Cultural Journalists Forum (CJF) criticised the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) government for a meager budget allocation for culture. It asked for the previous government’s draft on culture policy be passed. “Extremism can only be eradicated through a rich and diverse culture,” said CJF President Ihtisham Toru at the Peshawar Press Club on Monday. “It is disappointing that the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf’s government did not allocate money for the promotion of cultural activities in the militancy-hit province in its annual budget.”  The government should also set up a transparent censorship board. The artists’ community and literati has suffered innumerable hardships in the wake of the ongoing unrest in (K-P). “We need to promote and preserve the rich pushtun culture.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 25^th, 2013.