PESHAWAR: Poets gathered here on Saturday to share blend of thoughts and ideas clothed in measured couplets at an annual Pashto poetry recitation session and garnered appreciation from the audience.

The event was arranged under the banner of Peshawar Bar Association (PBA) in collaboration with ‘Be Social’ organisation. Noted Pashto poets turned up at the event to advocate its theme ‘Ranra Fikroona’ (enlightening thoughts).

The members of Peshawar Bar Association, literati, lawyers and rights activists attended the event.

Around 15 wordsmiths participated in the annual poetry recitation session and rendered poems laden with inspirational thoughts and feelings. They advocated peace, pluralism, humanism and social justice in their poems.

Chairing the event, noted poet Prof Abaseen Yousafzai read out his poem titled ‘Adalat’ (the court) in which he versified the proceeding of court while dispensing justice to the people casting far-reaching impact on their lives. He in his poem envisaged that justice was inevitable for a just society and rule of law.

Aziz Maneralwal, a senior poet, who was chief guest on the occasion, recited some of his popular numbers. He was of the view that dispensation of justice on time could transform the entire society and could bring about a substantive change in the attitude of the community towards living by law of the land.

Samina Qadir’s poem on the tragic APS incident, however, turned the event into a lament and moved a few in the audience to tears. Her poem was reflective of the sour memories attached with tragic incident, which had left many surviving victims and public at large devastated.

Advocate Ali Zaman, the president of PBA, and Advocate Yousaf Akbar Khalil, the general secretary of PBA, presented vote of thanks to the Pashto bards for their moving couplets. The poets were decorated with shields by the host on behalf of the legal fraternity.

Prof Izhar, Prof Iqbal Shakir, Nazia Durrani and Anwar Marwat were among the noted literati, who received thunderous applause from the audience for their motivational poetic pieces.

Published in Dawn, December 18th, 2022