PESHAWAR: The rowdy celebrations of the 69th Independence Day in the provincial capital have given an impression that inhabitants of the city have no taste for celebrating national days.

It seems that reckless driving, blowing bugles and removing silencers from vehicles to produce more noise are the only sources of entertainment for the people of Peshawar to celebrate the national day. And, it happens on the occasion of every Independence Day.

Unruly youngsters come out on the roads and streets after sunset and continue generating noise till late night.

Youngsters came out on roads after sunset and disturbed public peace till late night

The reason behind disorderly activities on August 14 is that our youths have no alternate channel or platform to express their sentiments on such occasions. They have been left with the option to drive cars, motorbikes, cycles and rickshaws to express their feelings.

Indeed the level of enthusiasm and national spirit among Peshawarites was extremely high compared to the previous years’ celebrations of Independence Day.

People from all walks of life, particularly youngsters, converged on roads and streets to celebrate the day with zeal and spirit. Small and big retailers made record business by selling material related to the Independence Day.

The people had hoisted national flags on shops, houses and vehicles. Youngsters wore green-white masks and painted national flag on their faces signaling resurgence of patriotism. Many enthusiasts decorated their cars and rickshaws with green and white artificial flowers to express their love and feelings for the country.

Private buildings, restaurants, gas stations were properly illuminated.

This time around, Independence Day looked different from that of previous years.

The apparent reason for showing patriotism is that atmosphere in Peshawar has changed due to decrease in threat perception. This is another thing that the number of checkpoints has increased in cantonment areas despite marked decline in militant activities.

Presently, there is visible improvement in security situation in and around Peshawar since the army launched the Zarb-i-Azb operation in North Waziristan Agency. The militants’ activities have been contained and they have been flushed out from Khyber Agency, adjacent to Peshawar, so improvement in security situation has emboldened Peshawarites to come to the streets to celebrate the day with pomp and show.

Unfortunately, the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf-led coalition government did not organise mega events like sports, exhibitions, concerts or cultural shows on this important occasion to engage the general public, particularly youths, in positive activities.

In the absence of positive activities, thousands of youths opted for engaging themselves in noisy celebrations.

The relevant departments and directorates despite the fact that Khyber Pakhtunkhwa has diverse culture, customs and traditions could not arrange major activities or functions to mark the day.

Only cultural directorate had organised a small function at Nishtar Hall in the capital city. The prime responsibility of the department for culture, tourism, sports and youth affairs is to attract youth towards healthy activities and promote the national and local culture on such occasion remained completely silent. The department and its directorates receive huge funds from the government for organising events on such special occasions.

In addition, the corps headquarters, Frontier Corps, Frontier Constabulary and the police department have their own music bands but they too did not organise any event to attract the general public. Their activities remained restricted to illuminating buildings and hoisting national flag at ceremonies attended by a select audience.

Published in Dawn, August 16th, 2015

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