PESHAWAR, Feb 20: Literary figures at a ceremony paid tributes to noted poet, critic, satirist and playwright Saadullah Jan Barq and termed him as leading light and beacon of hope for the promotion of literature.

Baacha Khan Research Centre (BRC) arranged a literary session at Baacha Khan Markaz here on Sunday where Prof Fazal Rahim Marwat, chairman Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Text Book Board, was the chief guest.

While speaking on the occasion, Prof Marwat said that Saadullah Jan Barq was an extensively read man of letters who had immensely contributed to both Urdu and Pashto languages through his sheer hard work and original thoughts.

He added that Mr Barq introduced new terms and diction in Pashto literature and it made him distinguished from his contemporary poets and writers. “Barq brought about a qualitative change in Pashto verse and prose and has always played the role of a social reformer,” Prof Marwat maintained.

Prof Rajwali Shah Khattak, director Centre of Pashto Language and Literature, University of Peshawar, while speaking at the gathering said that Saadullah Jan Barq despite being a voluminous writer maintained high standards and refinement in his writings whether it was poetry, prose, fiction, humour or satire.

“He has lived a hard life, been a daily wager, homoeopath and a village farmer, even then he contributed to Pashto literature and garnered a unique place for himself in the literary circles,” Rajwali said. He observed that for the first time Saadullah Jan Barq presented original research on the origin of Pashtun race, their history and social fabric in a convincing manner.

Prominent satirist and former PBC producer, Hamdullah Jan Bismil, while paying tributes to his lifelong companion said that Barq used to write script for the most popular Pashto comedy radio play ‘Ghunchey’ based on social issues that remained ‘on air’ for many years. “It used to be so fresh and lively that he never repeated any idea in any form, as most our senior writers do,” Mr Bismil recalled.

He maintained that many writers stole Barq’s ideas and sometimes dialogues and storyline and presented them as their own, but Barq never wrote or spoke against those plagiarists.

Zalan Momand, joint director Baacha Khan Research Centre, Mohibullah Shauq, Murad Ali, Prof Nasir Ali Syed, Mushtaq Majrooh and Feroz Afridi also spoke on the occasion.

Author of 14 books, Saadullah Jan Barq is well versed in Hindi, Persian Arabic and Urdu languages. Born at village Dag Besood of Nowshera district, he launched his literary career at a tender age.

His works include Brakhna, Baraan, Gulziarray, Zaghoonah, Dukhtar-i-Kainaat, and Da Kashmir Ghazi. A large number of poets, writes, intellectuals and fans of Saadullah Jan Barq attended the lively gathering. Young writer Nimroz Qais conducted the function.