KP to setup 12 libraries in the province

A budget of Rs.100 million for the completion of the libraries’ project has been allocated

The Directorate of Archive and Libraries, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) has decided to setup 12 libraries in the province out of which seven would be established in the newly merged tribal districts.

The libraries will be setup in the Bajaur, Mohmand, Orakzai, Kurram, South and North Waziristan districts of the KP.

Dr. Mohammad Ashfaq, Deputy Director Archives and Libraries, Peshawar told Bol News that under the ‘umbrella’ scheme, land for the libraries’ project have been earmarked in Landi Kotal and Parachinar . He apprised that free of cost land have been provided by the provincial government.

Furthermore, he informed that the government has planned to setup three libraries in Peshawar, for which a piece of land has been earmarked in the Hayatabad area.

Ashfaq apprised that the department has allocated a budget of Rs. 100 million for the completion of the libraries’ project.

Sharing details about the existing libraries in KP he said, currently some 18 districts have the facility of public libraries including the Rehman Baba Library in Peshawar and the Ghazi Tehsil Library in Haripur.

The government official also shared that the public libraries in Swat and Akora Khattak areas were established in the first phase whereas the Rehman Baba Library was setup in Peshawar in the second phase.

He said the public libraries have also been setup in Upper Chitral, Battagram, Hangu, Karak, Kolai-Palas, Lower and Upper Kohistan, Malakand, Shangla, Tank, Torghar and Upper Dir districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

He also said that most of the libraries would be converted into information resource and research centers and will be linked with online library of Higher Education Commission and other sources of information.

Talking about the provincial capital, the government official said that the largest library in the province is the Shuhada-i-Army Public School Library which was established in 1946 as the Central Record Office.

Ashfaq said the largest public library, having a collection of more than 140,000 books on different subjects which was renamed as Shuhada-i-Army Public School Library, was previously was known as The Peshawar Public Library.

Furthermore, he said that in 1994, district libraries were setup in Dera Ismail Khan, Kohat, Lakki Marwat, Chitral and Haripur, whereas public libraries in Charsadda, Swabi, Buner, Mansehra and Ghazi Tehsil of Haripur were also established with a view to quench knowledge seekers’ thirst.

He disclosed that the aim of the project is to setup a library at all the district headquarters of KP initially, and then to establish libraries at the Tehsil level as well. Commenting on the provincial government’s decision to setup libraries throughout the province, Shafeq Gigyani, member Reading Policy KP said that the development of a country can be measured by its education system, and any educational system can be measured by the number of libraries there.

Commenting on the immediate need for setting up libraries in the tribal belt, he said the tribal districts of Pakistan needs libraries more than the relatively more advanced and facilities equipped areas of the country as militancy has badly damaged the education sector of the region.

He regretted the fact that the tribal areas were caught up in militancy, conflict, terrorism, and insecurity for more than a decade, which besides affecting governance, has seriously affected the mental and psychological development of youths residing in the areas.

Member of the Reading Policy said that the establishing of such libraries in the tribal belt will help improve the youths’ mental health because library provides a calm area within the frantic milieu of the society.

He also said that the public libraries have a positive impact on the area residents because they are platforms of democratic institutions that disseminate information, create awareness and promote education.

Lauding the initiative, he said the Higher Education and Libraries Minister Kamran Bangash has taken a wonderful step for the libraries of not only Peshawar, but also for the tribal belt of the province.

The reading advocate opined that such initiatives should be continued in the province to create more opportunities for the youth to express themselves.

Rafiullah Khan, a resident of Bajaur – newly merged tribal district with Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, said the initiative will help locals in developing reading habits among youngsters as well as adults in the tribal belt of the country.

Hamza Mehsud, a journalist from South Waziristan opined that the initiative will create opportunities for learning, and will help shape new ideas and perspectives of the general public that are central to a creative and innovative society.

While commenting on the initiative, Rehan Khan, a social activist from the Kurram Agency, said the move will preserve cultural heritage as the libraries are rich repositories of history and local culture that are not available anywhere else in the world.

Shafaq Saba, a resident of Orakzai District was of the view that such an initiative by the KP government will help the locals in counter checking the information which is available online, because not everything on the social media is likely to be correct.

The initiative will help shape new ideas and perspectives of the general public that are central to a creative and innovative society

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