PESHAWAR: Speakers on the concluding day of a literary festival here on Sunday asked writers to stand up against all kinds of terrorism and extremism and work for lasting peace in the region.

Literati, scholars and intellectuals from Quetta, Karachi, Lahore and parts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa attended the two-day event. They asked the participants to break the militants’ narrative through peace narrative of art, culture and literature. Knowledge was not ethnocentric, literary heritage should be preserved for building a pluralistic society, they added.

The speakers urged writers to work for lasting peace and stability in the region and stand up against all kinds of terrorism and extremism.

The first session was started with a workshop on learning theatrics and its social impact. A group of artists from Lahore shared several tips with participants.

Delegates from Quetta, Karachi and Lahore also attend literary festival

Imran Iftikhar, an expert on theatre, said that young people hailing from different parts of KP had great talent for staging live theatre. About 30 students both male and female took part in the session. It was followed by two events each one on Urdu journalistic and Pashto creative writing.

Noted journalist Wusatullah Khan urged cub reporters to focus on reading, research and rethinking before filing a report. He said that young people should believe in their strength and should not copy others.

Prof Iqbal Shakir conducted workshop on Pashto script. He said that poets and writers should come forward to make an easy-to- write script so that all people could be enabled to read and write Pashto. He regretted that most Pakhtuns never tried to understand reading and writing Pashto.

The third session was dedicated to linkage between environment and literature. Warda Shehzadi, who conducted the round, said that environmental literature advocated for inclusive approach towards life while literature in particular preached exclusive approach. “It means it limited itself towards different aspects of human life including social, political and psychological aspects,” she added.

Prof Aurangzeb Niaz said that people had to change their attitude towards environment. He said that they should take steps to improve the condition for human survival.

Prof Amar Taj on the occasion said that literature created by humans should be used as a means to get the object of clean and green environment.

Prof Gulzar Jalal Yousafzai on the topic of “Identity Question” remarked that people should come out of the colonial landscape. He said that roots of Pakhtun cultural identity traced backed to over five thousand years and had a rich literary heritage encompassing their social, cultural and political life.

He said that people should understand global view to cope with the current situation being developed around.

Scholars and literati in their concluding session summed up that young generation should be educated on ways and means to promote peace and stability in the region through peaceful fine arts.

Final session was devoted to Pashto parody, comedy and satire in which veteran writer Saadullah Jan Barq shed light on the topic.

Dr Hafeez Jamali said that inclusive approach towards society would help people to resolve many issues. Linguistic and cultural diversity should be promoted for national integration, he added.

A Pashto mushaira was arranged at the end of the two-day event.

Published in Dawn, February 6th, 2023