KURRAM: When Zeeshan Haider came to his native Parachinar town recently after the Covid-10-induced lockdown ended, he wanted a place where he could sit quietly and study.

The lockdown had disrupted his education when his school in Peshawar was closed down indefinitely.

The only place for him to go to for studying in silence and solitude was the public library in his hometown.

There was silence and solitude aplenty in the library, making it resemble like a haunted house, says Haider, adding there were old locks rusting on the bookshelves and reading rooms.

The only public library in Parachinar was built in 1982. Late Lt-Gen Fazle Haq, who was governor of then North West Frontier Province, took special interest in building the library near the deputy commissioner’s office because he felt that Parachinar, a quaint scenic town at 5,000 metres above sea level, was a perfect setting for a library.

Parachinar, the headquarters of Kurram district, falls in Upper Kurram. Here, the literacy rate is one of the highest among the merged tribal districts, formerly Fata. According to the figures of directorate of education for merged districts, there are 572 educational institutions in Kurram – 354 for boys and 218 for girls.

Having a library in a small municipality was a blessing for the town folk that is generally inclined towards education. From 1986 – when the library opened – to 2006, it was a popular haunt for students and academicians who visited its reading rooms for literary and academic pursuits.

Then came the militancy, and the town remained cut off from world from 2007 to 2011. Parachinar was turned into a ghost town, and like other sites of public interest, the library, having 4,000 books, too became a deserted place.

Long years of neglect have reduced the building to ruins where junkies gather to abuse drugs. It is not rare to find a local claiming to be a poet or a writer sitting in the reading rooms, with clouds of hash smoke swirling above his head.

The then political administration did not provide professional staff to run the library, only deputing a soldier of Kurram Levies to work as a librarian and guard.

Prof Jamil Kazmi said since the administration repatriated the librarian-cum-soldier to the Levies force the library had been lying in ruins.

He said the pathetic condition of library was in the notice of the officials.

Zahirullah, an official at the directorate of achieves and libraries in Peshawar, told Dawn that the directorate was aware about the deplorable condition of the public library in Parachinar. He said a team would soon visit Parachinar to assess the situation.

He said after former Fata’s merger with KP, the provincial government had allocated funds for setting up new libraries in all the district headquarters of the merged districts and renovation of exiting libraries in Parachinar and Wana, the headquarters of South Waziristan.

He said permanent staff, including a librarian, would be provided to the public library in Parachinar.

Published in Dawn, July 21st, 2020