PESHAWAR: Speakers at a festival here on Thursday stressed the need for promoting local culture and languages for sustainable peace and development in the country.

The festival titled “Peace for development of tolerance in society and social cohesion” was organised by Umar Asghar Khan Foundation at Peshawar Press Club.

Besides representatives of various civil society organisations, executive director of the foundation, Rashida Dohad, and people including women and children from Charsadda, Mardan, Swabi, Peshawar and Hazara attended the festival.

The speakers said that culture of tolerance continued to elude in the society that ultimately created chaos and disagreement among people speaking different languages. They said that some forces were bent upon to divide people on ethnic and linguistic bases in the country.

Peace festival at Peshawar Press Club pulls crowd

The poets, singers and musicians of Urdu, Hindko, and Pashto languages enthralled the participants of the peace festival. Different stalls were set up on the lawns of press club wherein handicrafts of women entrepreneurs were displayed along with other traditional stuffs. Scores of the participants of the festival, mostly youth, appreciated the effort and stressed the need for arranging such events frequently to create harmony among the people and counter the menace of extremism and sectarianism in the country.

Highlighting the objective of the peace festival, Ms Dohad said that uncertainty was deep-rooted in the country like a cancer. It should be eliminated by forging unity and promoting the diverse culture effectively, he added.

She appreciated the government for restoration of peace in the country by launching “Zarb-i-Azb” operation in tribal regions and devising National Action Plan. She, however, said that it was not enough and government should take more concrete steps to bring durable and sustainable peace in the country.

Ms Dohad said that changes in behaviour and mindset were vital for promotion of tolerance and peace in the society. She said that some elements wanted to create hatred among people speaking different languages. “They are trying to divide people on ethnic and linguistic bases,” she added.

Ms Dohad said that culture, art and music were their rich legacy, which should be promoted for restoration of peace in the country.

Published in Dawn, September 30th, 2016