PESHAWAR: Speakers at a ceremony here on Thursday asked students to learn Pashto language and literature for promoting peace and tolerance in the society.

The graduation ceremony was organised for the students who completed two-month summer Pashto classes. It was arranged by Culture Literature, Arts and Development Organisation (Clado) in collaboration with Institute of Management Sciences in Hayatabad.

Around 20 students were given certificates while about 30 others from different countries would get their certificates online. The Pashto classes were conducted online and in person modes. The second tenure of the course will be started in the coming months.

Prof Yar Mohammad Maghmoom Khattak, who chaired the event, said that learning Pashto language would help young people to serve multiple purposes. He said that students would also know values and their worth in a typical Pashtun society.

Speakers advise youth to learn Pashto for improving communication skills

Other speakers said that Pashto could be made a market language if young people came forward to master its basics. The participants of the event were swayed by interesting anecdotes related by Prof Khattak during his long Pashto teaching at Edwardes College Peshawar.

Prof Sikandar Tangi said that students from different disciplines were required to learn basics of Pashto language as it would help them in marketing, business and trade deals online and several other fields.

“Our institute since inception has been imparting language skills so that our students can better market products, introduce brands and enter into deals with speaking community of other languages because linguistically smart entrepreneurs could play a pivotal role in a trade transaction,” he said.

Noted scholar Saidul Amin Ahsan Kheshgi on the occasion said that mastering Pashto language including its script, variation in its dialects and folklore would greatly help students to prepare for competitive examinations.

Abdur Rahman Afridi, the organiser of the event, said that Pashto was their mother tongue and should be preserved for the cause of their cultural identity. He said that youth were required to learn Pashto for initiating dialogue to revive the code of Pakhtunwali.

Haris Shinwari, the course coordinator, said that the course contents were drawn from authentic sources to serve the purpose of students as most learners were interested in practical knowledge of the language and speaking community.

Khailda, a participant of the event, said that she had been speaking Pashto but never knew how to read and write. She said that the two-month Pashto language classes greatly improved her expression.

Hashir Taimur, another student, told this scribe that he wanted to seek online job for foreign tourists. He said that he knew Pashto but had difficulty in explaining values and traditions of Pashtuns to the tourists.

Prof Zubair Hasrat, Prof Anwar Ali Orakzai and Shahabuddin also spoke on the occasion.

Published in Dawn, September 1st, 2023