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two-day conference on Literature of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa; a Contemporary Perspective was organised by the Peshawar chapter of the Pakistan Academy of Letters at Khatir Ghaznavi Auditorium, on April 29. Delegates from across Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, including tribal districts, represented their languages at the event.
Governor Faisal Karim Kundi inaugurated the event and formally launched the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Writers’ House. Eminent scholars, including Bushra Farrukh, Prof Dr NazeerTabassum, Abasin Yousafzai and Dr Sher Zaman Seemab, spoke at length on various topics.
During his opening address, the governor said, “I place my faith in the ability of our writers and literature. The Pakistan Academy of Letters, since its inception in 1976, has been making efforts to encourage poets and writers to build a national narrative to boost a soft image of Pakistan.”
Lauding the PAL, the governor said that the conference was a key step in engaging young poets and writers. He said there was a need to promote linguistic diversity and local literature. “We need to collectively reflect on contemporary challenges that arise in the process of preservation, promotion and protection of our linguistic heritage,” he said.
Dr Najeeba Arif, the PAL chairperson, spoke at length about the linguistic diversity in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, stating that many languages are spoken in the region. She said that the main objective of the conference was to bring poets, writers, research scholars and intellectuals together and reflect on diversity and inclusion that characterises the literary tradition of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
Gulzar Jalal Yousafzai, regional head of the PAL, said KP literati and scholars had always promoted a positive image of the country in their languages, especially in Pashto, Hindko, Seraiki, Domali, Khowar, Kohistani and Urdu. “Various literary organisations and associations are working to promote a soft image of Pakistan through writing, despite local issues and financial constraints.
Professor Dr Salman Ali Shah, chairman of the Urdu Department at University of Peshawar, Noor-ul Amin Yousafzai and Syed Majid Shah read out their papers. They pointed out contemporary trends and challenges.
The scholars spoke about the protection of intangible heritage and also debated over several key issues, including the role of discourse and literature in promotion of national narrative.
On the second day, the literati joined several interactive sessions, with engaging discussions on the significance of regional languages and possibility of promoting fiction, theater, children’s literature, film and prose.
The scholars also spoke about the need for discovering ways to safeguard linguistic heritage of the province through translation, workshops and joint projects. The participants shared their insights, based on research. The talks were followed by question and answer sessions.
Most interactive sessions were characterised by active participation of participating women, the youth and prominent rights activists.
The two-day literary conference came to end with a grand multilingual poetry recitation session. This was followed by a beautiful Khattak dance performance by Asfandyar Khattak that garnered great appreciation.
The writer is a Peshawar-based journalist. He mostly writes on art, culture, education, youth and minorities. His X handle: Shinwar-9