PESHAWAR: The young students should own, practice and promote their cultural values, said Dr Mohsin Khan, the director of Institute of Management Sciences (IMS), Hayatabad here on Sunday.

He was addressing a cultural event that was organised by IMS in collaboration with Tourism Corporation, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (TCKP). About 50 stalls were set up by students belonging to various districts and four tribal agencies including Khyber, Bajaur, North Waziristan and South Waziristan.

“I am from Janikhel village of North Waziristan. I am a second year student of social science. I enjoyed this event very much. We displayed our cultural dresses and traditional musical instruments along with tribal food items,” Kashmala Wazir a student of IMS told Dawn.

Mr Khan urged the students to own and practice their social and cultural values. “It is the responsibility of youth to preserve and promote our indigenous cultural values as it our identity. Young students should honour these social norms,” he said.

He said that organising cultural events helped in paving way for peace in the region and created a spirit of ownership in youth. “Young students need to own and feel proud of their rich cultural legacy. Youth should know what could make them proud of in the global village,” the director said.

Stalls were divided into three segments — funfair, cultural and bonfire. The funfair stalls comprised fast food items, young entrepreneurships and business exhibitions. The cultural stalls showcased various Afghan, Chitrali and tribal items while bonfire segment stall presented local dances. Six teams from four tribal agencies, Chitral and Afghanistan participated in the atnr (traditional dance) competition.

A group of physically challenged students from Paraplegic Center, Peshawar, also showcased their stall.

The participants enjoyed traditional foods, handicrafts, rabab performance and atnr. Both boy and girl students, attired in traditional dresses, showed keen interest in the event. The students performing Khattak, Waziri atnr, Afghani and Chitrali dance stole the show.

Published in Dawn, November 30th , 2014