Club launched in Peshawar to support young, senior writers

PESHAWAR: The Peshawar Writers Club was launched on Tuesday to provide support to writers and create a platform for young aspirants to learn from the expertise of the writers to polish skills.

Senior playwright and poet Saadullah Jan Barq inaugurated the club launched by the Directorate of Culture Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

Director Culture Ajmal Khan, Deputy Director Culture Shahbaz Khan, senior writers Nasir Ali Syed, Mushtaq Shabab, Dr Abaseen Yousafzai, Qari Javed Iqbal and others were present.

Akbar Hoti of the Directorate of Culture explained the objectives and functioning of the club.

He said the purpose was to promote the writings field/genre and provide a platform to leading writers to sit together and hold debates and literary discussions, particularly on writings and benefit from each other expertise.

The club would arrange sessions and invite the members to deliver lectures and hold discussions where the young writers can ask questions from them to improve their writing skills.

The writers can get the membership of the club by submitting the online application through the webpage of the directorate www.culture.pk.govt.pk.

The Culture Directorate would upload the names of writers with a brief introduction and contact numbers on the website.

The club would provide an opportunity and platform to writers to polish their professional skills and achieve a high place in the writing industry.

Dr Abaseen Yousafzai welcomed the club and said it was a longstanding demand of the writers.

Gulalai Anum Khan hoped the platform would provide an opportunity to young writers to interact with the seniors and benefit from their expertise.

Mushtaq Shabab said there was a need for promoting reading habits among the people as well because a mere club would not serve the purpose.

“A writer authors a book but lacks the resources to have it published. Copies of the publication are distributed free of cost among the people but no one reads them,” he elaborated.

Saadullah Jan Barq criticised the Directorate of Culture in a light mood saying “I came to know a few days ago that such a directorate existed in the province. You are lucky that such a club is going to start today which would provide a recognition and platform to the writers. It is indeed a good development,” he added.

Later, the participants demanded the Directorate of Culture to name an auditorium at the Nishtar Hall after the revered mystic poet Abdur Rahman Baba.