PESHAWAR: The members of Khyber Adabi Jirga have pledged to celebrate noted literary figures of the past born and bred in Khyber Agency.

The list included Hamza Baba, Khatir Afridi, Akram Khan Farooq, Khusro Afridi, Murad Shinwari, Nazir Baba, Qasir Baba, Basir Afridi, Khyber Afridi, Qayyum Quasar, Zeenat Shah Sahir and a few others, who had immensely contributed to Pashto literature.

‘Khyber Adabi Jirga’ was revived five years ago by local poets and writers on self-support basis. Since then, the 11-member cabinet of the jirga conducts its fortnight literary session at Landi Kotal Bazaar at a private godown where around 40 participants show up.

Poets and writers from parts of Khyber Agency, Peshawar and Afghanistan also participate in its meetings. KAJ members said that main objective of such events was to motivate young generation and appraise it of literary services of the literati of the past.

Muntazir Baba, chief of Khyber Adabi Jirga, during a recent meeting of the body said that literary activities would gain momentum in the agency with celebration of literary figures that had helped created ‘Khyber literary school of thought’ with their unique style of expression.

Popular Pashto poet Khatir Afridi, he said, would be the first one to be celebrated on August 24 that year whose death anniversary also fell on the same day. He said that a function would also be dedicated to trace the origin of literary history of the tribal region with special reference to Khyber Adabi Jirga founded by Ameer Hamza Khan Shinwari way back in 1950s. He said that Hamza Baba later on merged the jirga with Ulasi Adabi Jirga based in Peshawar.

Prof Tawab Shah, general secretary of KAJ, said that the literary body was changed into Hamza Baba Adabi Jirga by Murad Shinwari and drastic changes were brought in its manifesto after the death of Hamza Baba in 1994.

“We revived the jirga under Khyber Adabi Jirga’s original name five years ago,” he said. He added that in addition to Khyber Adabi Jirga, three other literary organisations were also holding literary sessions on regular basis in the area.

Mohammad Amin Shinwari, a senior progressive poet, said that jirga had no official place of its own where they could hold their literary sessions. He said that KAJ members conducted forthrightly sessions at a private godown.

Riaz Shah Afridi, another progressive poet, said celebrating their literary giants would prove a crash course for young researchers and writers alike.

Later, Wasim Akram Mumtahin, a young fiction writer, presented a short story titled ‘Khamaar’ [cobra] for critical evaluation. Mohammad Nisar Afkaar Shinwari in his critical remarks termed the literary piece a symbolic presentation focusing on the cultural invasion by the West.

Published in Dawn, July 27th, 2016