First PLF Shaping Narratives

The people in the North West received and welcomed its first Literature Festival in Peshawar, the provincial capital of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

Delegates from Karachi, Lahore, Islamabad, and parts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa including newly merged tribal districts attended this event

The festival aims to bring all of them together in the vibrant dialogue; on issues of ishaping its past, present and future at the University of Peshawar.

Shaheen Wazir, 29, is a student of English Literature hailing from North Waziristan. He came to the festival to attend a session on the English Poetry, which is also relevant to his field.

The tribal participant expresses his excitement and says, “I am really impressed, and thoroughly enjoyed the tittle collection of “Dragonfly” of Sahibzada Riaz Noor, which has been inspired from the drone warfare in the region during the war on terror. He further elaborates that, “we have grown up in war and military operations. The collection used to equate drones with dragonflies due to their whizzing sound, from which his collection drew its name”, Wazir added.

The tribal student is really appreciative of the efforts, he expresses, that the region we live is more often associated with terrorism; for many decades and arranging such kind of Literature Festival portrays a softer face of the city, which is also famous for being ‘the city of flowers’.

He concluded with a comment that the government should arrange such kinds of events, not only in Peshawar, but also in the tribal belt of Pakistan, so that locals can get an opportunity to explore the other side of the world,   Even with surge in terrorism and peace talk with Tahreek Taliban, the Peshawar Literature Festival went ahead, and recorded its first edition.

Due to the border with Afghanistan, Peshawar has faced prolonged war and terror, and plays a major role to influence extremist narratives across the globe.

In many ways, the Peshawar Literature Festivals can reverse the tide of hardline and Islamist extremism in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.  Shafeq Gigyani, is an activist in Peshawar. He is one of the guest speakers of the panel, discussion on Racism.. He is happy stating that this initiative breathes life into Peshawar. He further elaborated, that at the moment, the general environment of the city is full of fear due to recent incidents in the crowded market of Peshawar, which has resulted in casualties, Gigyani added.

The activist further talks about towards the ongoing peace talks in Afghanistan. He  expresses that behind-the-scenes, negotiations with the leadership of the Tehreek Taliban Pakistan (TTP) are also underway.

He opines that hosting such festivals is not easy in a city better known for its wide-range of political problems, terrorism and military operations but these are challenges to be overcome, Gigyani added.

The panelist recalls the old days; saying that after 9/11, the city was considered the hub for terrorism. The world thought that this city will never rise, but the oldest living city of Asia become a symbol of peace and resistance.  He further lamented that such kind of festivals on the art & literature in place like Peshawar add a much needed aesthetic beauty in life, which curbs the violence and promote peace and harmony in the region,

The activist responding to the question of Bol News said that the literature festivals in Pakistan have evolved to raise, dissect and discuss issues that are missing from the media and state narratives across Pakistan.

For portrayal of Pashtuns in the media, the panelist expressed, that the government should come forward to arrange such kind of festivals in Peshawar, which will help to counter violent narratives across Pakistan.

He hopes that from Peshawar Literature Festival, will create an intellectual space, in which the diversity and pluralism in Pakistan’s society would be appreciated. This was expressed by the authors from literature and cultural traditions beyond Pakistan’s borders, Gigyani concluded.

In Pakistan, prominent festivals already have been held in some of the country’s largest cities and many more are chalked into the calendar.  This time, the three days event in Peshawar also marked in the list by connecting people to explore the literature, arts and culture of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

The event featured panel discussions, book launches, author talks by renowned academics, writers and literary personalities across Pakistan.

Dr Syed Waqar Ali Shah,is a prominent historian and the keynote speaker of the first Literature Festival in Peshawar. He said that in the recent years, literature festivals have become the talk of the town and gained much popularity.

The speaker for the panel in the first literature festival on the origins, and role of the monthly ‘Pakhtun’ magazine said that this is the ‘first’ time that the people will experience a literature festival in Peshawar.

He shared the details of the first literary event in Peshawar and said that there were 44 sessions, in which more than 20 speakers talked about the wide range of topics; which will shape the future of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Shah added.

The speaker shared, that such kind of event are helping to revive critical thinking and studying habits among the students and general public across Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. He sounded positive about the event, and said that the event would go a long way towards the revival of literary activities and literary circles in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in general, and Peshawar in particular, Shah added.

The historian further responded to the question said that the country like Pakistan, where people mostly discuss about talk shows or programmes on the media, introduction of these literary festivals have played a fundamental role.

He further expresses that there is a broad range of the events at the Literature Festival, that  are not only academic but are also related to book launches, healthy productive discussions, music, dance performances, poetry recitals.

The speaker further elaborated the significance of the Literature Festival said that these festivals bring together a huge chunk of traditional, cultural and literature into one big package.

The occasion was also an opportunity for young aspiring artists to highlight challenges and room for improvement.

The theme of first literature festival has been celebrated as a tolerant, diverse, and beautiful Peshawar.

The city has illustrated the power of literature that transcends the insights of history, philosophy, sociology, and psychology.

Participants, looked excited about the sessions on different topics. This event was touted as a ‘ray of hope’ by some participants.   Faiq Ali Shah, is the student of Journalism and Mass Communication. He attained a session on history of journalism in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. He said that Literature Festival can range from radical reinterpretations of history to raising questions about the country being a security state.

Maria Khan, 26 is a student of Disaster Management, she has attended all the three days of the festival; and said that the literature event, should become an integral part of the social and intellectual calendar of this city.. Irfan Safi is student of International Relation and other participants from Mohamand district, newly merged tribal area of Pakistan. He was seeking to know more about the Pashto literature suggested that the government must arrange such kind of events in tribal belt of Pakistan.

Momna Ashoor, 27 is the student of International Relation. She was of the view that such an event is not about the books, and discussion on literature, but a good place to connect with like minded people.

Many others, who came to attend the sessions were showed an interest in topics like storytelling in Pashto literature, Promoting Gandhara for Pluralism in Pakistan, Pashto folklore, Women and Social change, current situation of Afghanistan many more…

The author is freelance Multimedia Journalist, based in Peshawar. He tweets @JawadYousufxai