(PESHAWAR, February 12, 2012): People from all walks of life particularly children and youths belonging to Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa have shown their keen interest in ‘Youth Cultural Festival and took part in cultural programmes of their native areas.
The “FATA and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Youth Cultural Festival” was organized by Community Appraisal and Motivation Programme (CAMP), a non government organization (NGO) in a local hotel of the provincial metropolis.
FATA students of different departments of Peshawar University belonging to Kurram, Orakzai, Bajaur, Khyber, North and South Waziristan, Mohmand agencies, Chitral and Afghanistan set different stalls highlighting the culture and traditions of their native areas while traditional items like musical instruments ‘Rabab’, old weapons, handicrafts made by females. Besides these stalls portraying the specific culture there were more interesting segments in the festival like poetry, traditional music and dance the most interesting was ‘Attan’ (collective dance)
Provincial Information Minister, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Mian Iftikhar Hussein was the chief guest who opened the festival and visited stalls took deep interest in the traditional goods placed in the stalls.
Mian Iftikhar in his speech said that people of tribal and settled areas are one nation having same culture and traditions and there is no difference. Enemies of the brave ‘Pathans’ wanted to divide them to reduce their power; they separated tribal people from settled areas administratively, he maintained.
“Culture of ‘Pakhtoons’ is more than 500 years old .they have a tremendous past and a rich culture but our enemies are trying to destroye our past and abolish our culture”, Iftikhar opined, adding that conspiracies against Pakhtoon culture continued but today youth of tribal and settled areas by organizing this joint cultural festival gave message to the enemies that they are one nation and will fight to protect their rich culture and traditions.
Culture is symbol of nations when culture is lost nations cannot survive, the Minister said, adding that ‘hujra’, ‘jarga’ are the features of Pakhtoon culture but anti Pakhtoon culture elements are trying and target it and malign it.
Music and dance is not a culture, culture is the sum of traditions, customs, way of living, education, agriculture and other activities, the Minister said. He said that national and international media presenting tribal people as well as Pathans of settled areas as terrorists and illiterate which is not true and logical because Pathans either from FATA or settled areas are brave, devoted and more educated. They are fighting and will continue fighting against any invader who wants to affect their culture and traditions, he added.
Youth of FATA are more talented and educated than others but they are being ignored and made deprived, Iftikhar maintained, adding that they are not as they are being dubbed by media.
Participants of the festival were of the view in the cultural festival that they are not ignorant. “We have a tremendous culture and traditions but are not treated as human beings and had kept deprived from our basic human rights in a planned way”, a student from FATA said while talking to FRC Correspondent..
They demanded the Government, NGO’s and other organizations to come forward and take steps for the promotion of the rich culture world-wide.
Sajid Mohmand of Mohmand Agency, Saeedullah Orakzai of Kurram Agency, Aneela a student of journalism department of Peshawar University, told FRC that they have displayed respective culture and traditions in their stalls to show the world that they are not terrorists. “We are peace lovers and want peace in tribal areas as well as in entire Pakistan. We have showed the world that FATA youth want to show real face of tribal people and their culture to the whole world”, they said.
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