PESHAWAR: Speakers at a cultural event called upon students to play their due role in bringing about a substantive change in the society and set achievable targets to compete with the world.

Khattak Students Association (KSA) organised an annual cultural night at a local hotel on Warsak Road. A large number of students and young political activists attended the function.

Noted Pashto singer Bakhtiar Khattak hosted the show and also sang a few popular numbers of Ghani Khan, Khushal Khan Khattak and Hamza Baba.

According to the organisers, the aim of holding the event was to provide a platform to students to openly discuss and find solution to their issues.

The speakers said that education was panacea for all social issues while justice, merit and rule of law could ensure prosperity, national integration and strength of youth and the nation at large.

Being future builders, students should strive hard to bring laurels to the country through their sharp vision, they said.

Khattak Students Association demanded of the government to renovate and update Khushal Khan Khattak Complex and construct a road to his tomb in Nowshera district.

The students asked the tourism department to declare the shrine of Khushal Khan Khattak a heritage site.

A documentary was shown on life and contribution of Khushal Khan Khattak while a tribute was also paid to the late literary giants of Pashto language and literature including Ajmal Khattak, Prof Preshan Khattak, Prof Rajwali Shah Khattak and Prof Iqbal Nasim Khattak.

Seven talented students including Dalair Khattak, Zubair Shah, Wahib, Kamran, Afrasiab, Anwar Saeed and Irfan while four hard working teachers including Prof Mohammad Tufail, Prof Kifayat Khan and Prof Waqar Khan Khattak were given awards and commendation certificates on showing outstanding performance. Bakhtiar Khattak and Ali Baba Khan were conferred with special awards.

Dalair Khattak, patron-in-chief of the association, put forward some demands of the students hailing from Karak district. He said the students of the area, which generated oil and gas revenue, should get five per cent scholarships out of the royalty came to the respective district.

Saleem Khattak, a leader of the ruling Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf, said on the occasion that his party stood for a significant social change, rooting out corruption from the society and empowerment of young people.

KSA office-bearers Kamran Khattak, Zubair Shah and Wahib Khattak also addressed the gathering.

Later, a musical concert was conducted in which noted singers Ali Baba Khan, Ulfat, Shabnam, Hashir Khan and Anwar Khial performed live and received applause from the audience.

A group of students presented a beautiful Khattak dance, which garnered appreciation of the participants.

Published in Dawn, March 17th, 2019