ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan-Afghanistan Pakhtun Festival started at the Pakistan National Council of the Arts (PNCA) on Friday.

The festival is being hosted by Cultoor, an organisation working on cross-border cultural connections in central and south Asia.

The three-day festival aims to promote Pakhtun culture and people-to-people contact between the two countries and focus on their common culture, identity and to together strive for peace in the region.

The festival includs modern and traditional Pashto songs, dances, regional foods, crafts, arts and panel discussions on key challenges faced by Pakhtuns and the region.

The inaugural ceremony was held at the PNCA auditorium which included a traditional dance called Attan, lively songs and speeches.

Speaking at the event, Cultoor Director Sarmar Minallah Khan said her organisation thinks there are roads and avenues which can help connect cultures and bridge divides.

“I think linguistic, ethnic, religious and cultural diversity in this region gives it strength and colour. The main stream media shows the women of this region through a very narrow lens and very little is shown of their bravery, resilience and creativity,” she said.

Renowned singer Haroon Bacha sang some popular Pashto songs including Ay Zama Wattana, which earned him a standing ovation.

The second song, O Zaru Janey, was an attan song and a large number of young boys joined the singer on stage and performed the traditional dance.

Students from different universities also presented Attan on two songs. The traditional dance is a famous Pakhtun community dance performed to a heavy drum beat. Moving in circles to the drum beat, the dancers pick up speed, whirling at an ever-increasing pace till the end.

The Delegation of the European Union’s head of cooperation, Bernard Francois said people on both sides of the Pakhtun belt are facing more or less the same challenges such as the perception of being violent.

He said such festivals will help promote a soft image of the people and will also connect links between the two governments via people-to-people connections.

The deputy head of mission at the Afghan embassy, Zardasht Shams, said the timing of the festival is important and that the event is a good response to the radicalisation on both sides.

“The similarities in culture could play an important role in bringing together the governments of both countries which are fighting extremism. The ups and downs in the political scenario should not hamper cultural ties. I believe supporting such initiatives means countering terrorism,” he said.

The Cultoor chairperson said culture is the missing link which can lead both countries to dialogue and peace.

“No matter the [political] situation between the two countries, the bond between the people of the Pakhtun belt remains strong which can assist the governments on both sides in the peace process,” she said.

The inaugural ceremony also included an art exhibition titled Sulah which was a display of the works of ten contemporary artists from the Pakhtun belt in Pakistan and Afghanistan. Visitors were taken to a craft market set up in the PNCA lawns which offered products by artisans and retailers from Charsadda to Qandahar including hand-woven carpets, traditional jewellery, dresses from Balk, hand-beaten copperware, books and literature, Peshawari chapal, leather products and truck art.

Published in Dawn, March 31st, 2018