World Peace Mushaira: A poetic homage to tranquility

Swat hosts grand Pashto recital focusing on peaceful times to come.

MINGORA: To reinforce the district’s perseverance in what has been a path of recovery from turbulent times over the last five years, Swat hosted a World Peace Mushaira on Friday.

The session welcomed renowned Pashto poets and litterateurs from Afghanistan, Indonesia, UAE and all over Pakistan.

Organised by the Provincial Reconstruction, Rehabilitation and Settlement Authority (PaRRSA), United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and district administration, the moot witnessed several recitals of poetry, along the theme of hope for peaceful times to come.

Guests at the session noted how literary circles have always led the line in preparing societies for narratives of development and tranquility.

Samina Qadir, a poet, said the turnout at the “grand session” speaks volumes about how Swat has hit back in volatile times. “It is now the youth’s responsibility to carry the tradition forward,” she added.

Renowned Pashto scholar Haseena Gul Tanha praised the efforts of the organisers and termed it as a major leap towards restoring normalcy. “After all that this land has seen in the previous few years, this indeed is a moment of pride,” she told The Express Tribune.

The chief guest, UNDP Pakistan peace-building advisor said UNDP will continue to support those segments of society that aim to promote peace and tolerance through literature. “I am delighted to see that Pashto poets, thinkers and scholars as well as the audience turned up such in large numbers,” he said.

Renowned poets Rahmat Shah Sayel, Abasin Yousafzai, Darwaish Durrani, Haseena Gul Tanha, Samina Qadir, Aziz Manerwal, Abdur Rahim Roghaney, Shams Buneri, Akmal Lewaney, Aimal Khattak, Hanif Qais, Ibrahim Shabnam, Amjad Shehzad, Fazal Mahmood Rokhan, Attaullah Jan, Usman Ulas Yar, Attaur Rehman Atta, Iqbal Shakir, Noor ul Amin Yousafzai, Nadeem Chiragh, Zafar Ali Naz, Khan Zaman Kakar, Nawaz  Yousafzai, Fazal Rabi Rahi, Hamdullah Arbab and Jamal Shah among others recited their pieces in front of the high-spirited audience.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 23^rd, 2014.