PESHAWAR: The conflict in the Pak-Afghan border regions since the 9/11 terrorist attacks has not only distorted the inherent structure of Pakhtun society but it has also created opportunities for reforms, speakers said at a seminar here on Saturday.

“Not just literature but also the life and culture of Pakhtuns have undergone serious changes in the wake of the 9/11 developments. It needs to be traced and evaluated by critics and researchers,” Pashtun scholar Rokhan Yousafzai told participants of the seminar on ‘effects of 9/11 on Pashto Literature’ here at the Research Library, Peshawar.

The seminar was chaired by scholar Saleem Raz and attended by media representatives.

Yousafzai said research on Pakhtuns and Pakhtunwali (Pakhtun code of conduct) had become a subject of great intellectual interest and scutiny throughout the world.

“The public mind and sentiment on Sept 11 can be easily gauged in Pakhto literature through Tapa and Charbyta,” he said.

Scholar says research on Pakhtuns is now a subject of great intellectual interest and scrutiny in the world

The scholar said the folklore in Pakhto, especially Tapa, had been seriously influenced by the post 9/11 developments.

“Folklore is generally a reflection of true public sentiments and is without any adulteration and impurities,” he said.

Other speakers said the resistance movements against wars like those of Vietnam and Afghanistan-Soviet Union were fully reflected in Pakhto poetry.

They said Pakhtun poets and writers had freely expressed their views about the post Sept 11 scenario and its devastating affects on the Pakhtun society in their creative work.

The speakers gave examples from Pakhto literature showing how poetry and lyrics of songs have taken up concepts of conflict and societal drifts the post 9/11.

“Just as the Jihadi literature was copious during the Afghan-Soviet war, the literature on peace, conflict-resolution, humanity and enlightenment is abundant in the post Sept.11 creative literature”, said Rokhan Yousafzai, while comparing the two climactic wars in the last 30 years that deeply affected the Pakhtun society.

“In the past, the Huns attack on Pakhtun belt damaged the Pakhto language vocabulary so much that we were only left with eight or nine words to name colours, whereas there are 70 to 80 words for colours and its shades in other languages,” said Dr. Faizullah Khan, another speaker at the seminar.

He said the 9/11 had not only created new challenges for the Muslim world but also new knowledge was being created on Islam.

“There is a great productivity in all spheres of Pakhto literature like poem, essay, novel, story, fiction, satire, drama, literary associations etc,” he said.

Published in Dawn, September 28th , 2014