Participants at a meeting of the Global Pashto jirga have expressed concern over what they described as the neglect of Pashto, Hindko, Saraiki, Khowar and other local languages, cultures and arts by the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government, and called for immediate measures to support and promote indigenous cultural heritage.
Global Pashto jirga calls for promotion of indigenous languages, cultures in KP
PESHAWAR, Jun 18 (APP):Participants at a meeting of the Global Pashto jirga have expressed concern over what they described as the neglect of Pashto, Hindko, Saraiki, Khowar and other local languages, cultures and arts by the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government, and called for immediate measures to support and promote indigenous cultural heritage.
The meeting was held at the organisation’s central office here under the chairmanship of Professor Aseer Mangal. Patron-in-Chief Muhammad Zubair Khan, Secretary General Faridun Khan and Deputy General Secretary, Dr. Muhammad Alam Yousafzai also attended.
Participants voiced concern over what they termed a continued lack of institutional support for poets, writers, actors, singers and intellectuals associated with Pashto and other regional languages.
They said that unlike previous periods, no significant initiatives had been launched in recent years for the promotion of local languages, culture and fine arts.
The meeting highlighted that many literary and cultural figures representing different languages and traditions of KP were facing economic hardships and difficulties in publishing books, poetry collections and other literary works despite investing years of effort and resources.
The forum demanded the establishment of a commission to support writers, artists and cultural figures financially and proposed that prominent scholars representing Pashto, Hindko, Gujri, Saraiki and Khowar languages be included in the body.
The Jirga reiterated its demand for the establishment of a central Writers’ House in Peshawar and district-level Writers’ Houses across Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
It also criticised the absence of a permanent honorarium mechanism for deserving poets, writers, singers and musicians.
In a resolution adopted during the meeting, the Global Pashto Jirga urged the provincial government to prioritise investment in local languages and cultural development instead of allocating major resources to foreign cultural initiatives.
The meeting decided that office-bearers and members would soon seek meetings with KP Chief Minister Sohail Khan Afridi, the provincial culture minister, Chief Secretary Shahab Ali Shah and other senior officials to pursue the implementation of their demands.
