PESHAWAR: Speakers at ceremony here on Wednesday said that Amir Hamza Khan Shinwari inspired several generations of poets and writers as he was a Pakhtun Sufi in letter and spirit.

The event was arranged by Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Union of Journalists (KPUJ) in Gulbahar to mark the 28th death anniversary of Hamza Baba fondly called Baba-i-Pashto ghazal.

Noted writer Prof Abaseen Yousafzai, who chaired the event, said that Hamza Shinwari was multi-faceted personality, who believed in the strength of Pakhtun and Pakhtunwali. He was also a practical Sufi with a far-sighted vision and creative thinking, he added.

He said that Hamza Baba wanted a forward-looking Pashtun society where social justice, universal love and everlasting peace reigned with a spiritual piety and where unbiased cultural diversity satiated thirst of all and sundry.

Speakers term him multifaceted personality with far-sighted vision

“During my doctorate thesis, I found that he always advocated messages of peace, love and mutual harmony in his writings where it was a piece of poetry, fiction, column, radio play or film. He was medley of Khushal Khan Khattak and Raman Baba’s personas,” said Prof Abaseen.

Senior journalist Ibrahim Shinwari said that more than 10 doctorate theses were conducted on the life and works of Hamza Baba. He said that researchers were busy in exploring different aspects of the Sufi poet. He was not only Baba of Pashto ghazal but also was expert on Pashto nazm, fiction and drama, he added.

Young poet Afsar Afghan highlighted various aspects of Hamza Baba’s literary and social services spread over seven decades. He said that he authored more than 40 books covering poetry, novel, criticism, history, mysticism, drama, travelogue and several other genres.

Prof Iqbal Shakir shed light on ghazal of Hamza Baba and said that the title of ‘father of Pashto ghazal’ was given to him by his contemporary literati which showed his genuine talent and command on the genre.

Zahoor Khan Shinwari said he was a Pakhtun Sufi in letter and spirit because he believed in what he preached and that’s why he inspired several generations of poets and writers.

Shams Momand, another senior journalist, said that articles, features and columns contributed by Hamza Shinwari to the dailies, monthlies and weeklies of Urdu and Pashto during early 60s and 70s were of immense worth.

Noted folk artists Aslam Salik, Shaukat Swati and Habib Abid rendered popular numbers of the Sufi poet and received applause from the audience.

Kalsoomzeb and Samina Qadir presented poetic tributes to Hamza Baba.

Published in Dawn, February 16th, 2023