PESHAWAR: Ustad Khan Jan, a senior rabab player from Swabi district, captivated young leaders at a sufi musical night at Pakistan Services Rural Academy (PSRA) at University Town here on Saturday.

The sufi night was arranged by Gandhara Centre for Peace and Cultural Education to entertain the participants of the four-day youth leaders conference.

Speaking on the occasion, chairperson of the organisation, Sana Ejaz, said that they were working for promotion of peace, indigenous culture and girl’s education. She said that the basic aim of the event was to create awareness among young people about the importance of sufi spirit and its universal message of peace and tolerance across the globe.

Ms Ejaz said that Bayazid Ansari from South Waziristan was the first-ever Pakhtun sufi saint, who launched the tradition of sufi music in the early 16th century. She added that Pashto folk poetry too had origin in sufi thought.

The Roshanite movement launched by Mirza Khan Ansari, grandson of Bayazid Ansari popularly known as Pir Rokhan, was revitalised by Rahman Baba in the early 17th century, Ms Ejaz said.

She said that her organisation would arrange a summer cultural programme in collaboration with Hunerkada of Jamal Shah to train young aspiring artists.

“We are currently supporting about 16 girls financially to get education and at the same time we also want to give boost to our indigenous talent so that the way for permanent peace in this restive region can be paved,” Ms Ejaz said. She added that the youth had the potential to revive, safeguard and preserve those norms and values.

“My parents were reluctant to allow me to attend the youth conference in Peshawar but I found it more secure than Karachi,” said Arshad Umar from Karachi University.

He said that they needed to interact with each other. “I found this sufi night very motivating and inspirational,” he added.

Earlier, Ustad Khan Jan in accompaniment of tabla player Siyad Ali performed folk and sufi tunes, which moved some young leaders to step in dance.

Waqas Ali, a young participant from Punjab University, told this scribe that he enjoyed Pashto sufi music. Sufi numbers of Baba Bulle Shah were no different from Rahman Baba, he said.

Khanwali Kakar from Balochistan University, Mastan from Chitral and Gul Afzal Wazir from North Waziristan shared similar sentiments about the activities of the four-day youth conference and musical concert. The digital paintings of Turkish sufi dance by a Malaysia-based Pakhtun artist Imran Daud were also put on display along with portraits of Rahman Baba, Hamza Baba, Ajmal Khattak and Ghani Khan.