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PESHAWAR, Pakistan - My annual and occasionally semiannual visits to Peshawar, the city of my birth, have been a source of joy and renewal for many years. I have believed that one could always go home. Now I’m not so sure.

Located at the crossroads of Asia, this ancient city was once called the city of flowers. A famous American traveler called it the Paris of Asia and its main street, the Street of Story Tellers, the Piccadilly of Central Asia. Comparisons to Paris and Piccadilly were always a stretch, but as metaphors for a romantic and exotic place it was very apt.

Here the great Indian plains and the Central Asian steppes converged and gave rise to a fascinating culture that always carried the echoes of far away lands.

It was through the high mountain passes in the Hindu Kush that all invaders, beginning with Alexander of Macedonia in 320 B.C. and many more who followed the trail, came to the Indian subcontinent.It was in this milieu that I was born, raised, and was steeped in the culture and languages of the city. When I left Peshawar in 1963 for America, I shed a few tears, as most young men and women do when they leave home. I took with me nothing but a few snapshots and a rich album of memories.

In the past eight years, the face of this city has been changing. It is not the physical appearance, though that has changed too, but the values that were the essence of life here. Terrorism and random violence have had a profound effect on the psyche of its people.Recently, while walking in one of the bazaars in the old city, I accidently stepped on a discarded empty bag of potato chips. With air trapped inside, it burst, making a loud noise and causing me and everyone around to jump in panic. People are on edge, and any loud noise reminds them of the ever-present possibility of bombing, or, worse, a suicide bomber.

If these shadowy terrorists were anarchists, social radicals, or even militant communists, people would have stood up to them. But the terrorists speak the language of religion and even though most people do not subscribe to their brand of Islam, they are afraid to say so in public. Public dissension is the quickest way to get in the crosshairs of the Taliban.

I found most people in my home town to be trapped in that warped and distorted logic. And, of course, there are some, a minority I must add, who think the Taliban would cure Pakistani society of all its ills. They seem to have forgotten what the Taliban did in neighboring Afghanistan when they ruled there from 1996 through 2002.The Taliban systematically destroyed Afghan and specifically Pashtun culture by banning music, the arts, and any kind of artistic expression.

Their hand was visible when last month they bombed the tomb of the 17th-century Sufi Pashtun poet Rahman Baba just outside the city. His devotional and romantic poetry inspired and gave spiritual sustenance to many generations of Pashtuns and non-Pashtuns.Al-Qaeda and the Taliban believe only in the austere and harsh Wahhabi Islam and they are committed to destroying anything that comes in its way, including the tomb of an ancient poet-saint that stood as a symbol of religious tolerance and brotherhood of mankind. I wept when I saw the desecrated tomb.

It used to be delightful to walk the streets of Peshawar at all hours of the day and night. It used to be a great feeling to walk the crowded streets and to come across a familiar face and reminisce for few minutes on the curb, or to accept an impromptu invitation for cup of green tea. Not anymore.

My favorite time of the day is when I walk to the neighborhood mosque for early prayer service at dawn. It is always a peaceful and spiritual interlude before the start of daily activities. On the way back from the mosque, one could smell the aroma of freshly baked bread wafting from the bakery, or the sweet and aromatic smell of halva - cream of wheat pudding - being cooked in a big caldron at the sweet shop.

A few weeks ago, a man was kidnapped from another mosque. Needless to say, I felt vulnerable in my own neighborhood and now I do not venture out at that early hour.

One wishes things were different. For me there is the escape of flying home to Toledo. That can’t be said about millions of people who are being terrorized by these self-appointed, self-anointed, uneducated, and uncouth custodians of my faith.

Dr. S. Amjad Hussain is a retired Toledo surgeon whose column appears every other week in The Blade. Contact him at: aghaji@bex.net

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DPA / April 4, 2009

Rome - Italian police inspecting a manhole at a railway station in Rome have discovered 24 children from Afghanistan living in makeshift shelter of cardboard and blankets. Officials believe the children whose ages range from 10 to 15 travelled from Afghanistan unaccompanied by their parents, according to news reports Saturday.

It was not immediately clear when the children arrived in Italy, although it appears they may have spent some time in Turkey after leaving their homeland, officials said.

The children shared their living space with over 90 adults at Rome’s Ostiense train station where many of the city’s homeless seek refuge, especially on cold winter nights.

The children have been transferred to two municipal youth shelters where through interpreters attempts are being made to identify them, Rome’s welfare superintendent Sveva Belviso, said.

Since January, the number of requests to house in city shelters unaccompanied children has increased by 100 per cent, she said.

“The 900 beds have now all been taken and we are now forced to seek alternative accommodation in other Italian regions,” Belviso said.

The discovery of the Afghan children, highlights the Italian capital’s soaring homelessness problems, officials say.

During controls this week carried out at the city’s four main railway stations, police identified 95 homeless people, 85 of whom are immigrants.

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Afghanistan’s unquenchable confidence drove them unerringly to a convincing 60-run win over Bermuda, who were condemned to their second loss in as many days. Afghanistan batted aggressively, fielded with agility and bowled with impressive discipline throughout. In contrast, Bermuda were outplayed in all three facets of the game and are already contemplating the embarrassment of not reaching the Super Eights.

Chasing 240, Bermuda lost Lionel Cann - a batsman apparently back to his flourishing best - when he was bowled by Dawlat Ahmadza’s third ball of the innings. Jekon Edness followed soon after to Hasti Gul and, in a beautifully controlled five-over spell, Ahmadza conceded just five runs to tie Bermuda in knots.

Karim Khan dismissed for 83

And then a resurgence took place with Glenn Blakeney and Steven Outerbridge opening their shoulders in a third-wicket stand of 118 to levy the balance. But their partnership lacked momentum thanks to Afghanistan’s tidy spinners, in particular Samiullah Shenwari, the young legspinner with an impressive stock delivery, who startled many with prodigious turn. Blakeney often mistakenly played across the line to the slower bowlers but, when driving straight down the ground, looked far more assured.

Blakeney scorched a huge six over the top during his 89-ball fifty but was bowled attempting another heave, and it was left to Outerbridge to salvage a run-chase, as Bermuda sought an unlikely 115 from the last 16 overs. It was far too great a task. Hameed Hasan returned and bowled at a lively pace, with disciplined lines, to nip out two quick wickets while Samiullah deceived David Hemp with a lovely delivery that curved and dipped.

That they failed to bat out their 50 overs tells a sorry but familiar tale of underachievement by Bermuda. Their captain, Irvine Romaine, refused the notion that they underestimated their opponents. “We didn’t, no, but if you look at when they played in Division 3, they [have improved]. I was surprised when the last seam bowler [Hasan] came on. He is a quality bowler, one of the fastest in the tournament. We did not expect that at all and he is a top-notch bowler.

“This is part of cricket. Sometimes you show up to play, sometimes you don’t.”

Though the margin of victory was significant, Afghanistan also suffered a batting slump, but two classy fifties from their captain and Man-of-the-Match Nowroz Mangal and the indefatigable Karim Khan, ensured a more than competitive total. Karim, who yesterday cracked 39 in Afghanistan’s win over Denmark, stroked 83 with ten crisp fours and propelled an innings which stood at 128 for 1 after 28 overs. But it was Nowroz’s late burst, in which he helped put on 55 in the last five overs, that really tested Bermuda’s bowlers and fielding. Both aspects were found wanting.

Rodney Trott’s tidy offspin earned him 2 for 33 though his impact ought to have spelled a warning to Bermuda in facing Afghanistan’s own tweakers, who turned the ball far more prodigiously.

There was little question which team was the hungrier, and Afghanistan’s second win on the trot ought to serve as an acute reminder of their fearlessness and ability. They now take on Kenya, who today thrashed UAE, on Saturday.

Source: Cricinfo.com

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Source: TIME

The call to prayer rings out; a long, deep, echoing sound that billows through the streets of Johannesburg’s Mayfair district. Here in the heart of the city’s Muslim enclave, the Afghan cricket team — the sporting world’s favorite underdogs — are eating curry and naan. “It tastes just like home,” says Hasti Gul Abid, a 25-year-old middle-order batsman.

The Afghans are in South Africa preparing for their Cricket World Cup qualifying matches, which started April 1. They got off to a good start, beating Denmark and Bermuda. A top-four finish in Johannesburg will see them go through to the main event, due to be held in various cities across South Asia in 2011. It would also crown an astonishing rise. Seven years ago, in a country defined by conflict, and which does not have a proper grass pitch even today, there was no national team. But three tournament wins in the past year, comprising 15 victories in 17 matches, have brought Afghanistan to the brink of an appearance among the world’s best. At home, they are national heroes.

That this devastated country should be able to field a cricket team at all, let alone one as successful as this, is an unbelievable achievement. When the Soviets invaded Afghanistan in 1979, they sent the country spiraling into 30 years of war. Millions of Afghans fled the country, many into neighboring Pakistan (from which they only started returning after the U.S.-led invasion of 2001). “At the time when the Red troops (Soviets) came, we fled to Pakistan and lived in Kacha Gari refugee camp…We thought we would never come back to our country,” Abid says.

To while away the boredom, a few exiled young Afghans began picking up cricket from Pakistanis. Abid was among them, and an unlikely source of national pride was born. Smashed concrete is all that remains of the Kacha Gari pitch now, and the boundary is marked only by lumps of piled-up dirt. But to many Afghans, it is a deeply moving place. On a recent return visit, Abid knelt down, kissed the ground and said, as if still astonished, “I started cricket here.”

The squad still comprises unpaid amateurs (even in South Africa, they are not drawing match fees but a $50 per diem provided by the generosity of the ICC), many of whom look quite a bit older than their listed age. The Afghan National Cricket Academy in Kabul consists of four battered training nets and one bowling machine, a piece of equipment used by serious players to practice shots. When the power cuts out, which happens frequently in the Afghan capital, the machine can’t be operated. These are the wretched resources used by the Afghans to compete against nations that have decades of experience in the game.

Despite these handicaps, they have been able to draw on seemingly limitless reserves of drive and ambition to reach their present position. “We will crush all the teams,” says Abid’s brother Karim Saddiq, a 25-year-old opening batsman, with the unshakeable belief that typifies the squad. “It’s my mission to be player of the tournament.” The players have already shown their mettle in South Africa, winning their first two games against Denmark and Bermuda with poised batting and destructive bowling. If they finish in the top four of their group — which also includes, the Netherlands, UAE and Kenya — they go to a knock-out stage and could meet the likes of Ireland, Scotland, Oman, Canada, Namibia and Uganda. The top four of this group will play in the World Cup.

“To be honest all these teams have 30, 40 or 50 years experience, but we are just jumping up the levels,” said Kabir Khan, a former test player for Pakistan, who now coaches the team out of respect for his Afghan father’s memory. “He migrated from Kabul to Pakistan in 1964,” he says. “I want to make his spirit happy.”

Ehmal Pasarly of the BBC Pashtu language radio service has been giving live commentary of several of the team’s performances to date, including its historic win against Jersey last year in the ICC World Cricket League Division Five final — a feat that put Afghanistan 29th in the international rankings. “During Jersey we received more than two thousand emails and phone calls,” he said. “The emails came from all over the world, but most were from Afghans delighted by their team’s success.” The broadcaster adds that by the time the team played its early World Cup qualifiers in Argentina in February this year, the number of emails per match reached “over 10,000.”

Afghans — indeed cricket fans regardless of nationality — are hoping that the miraculous momentum will continue. Says batsman, Raees Ahmedzai, 24: “In the last year we have played very good cricket and God willing we will qualify for the 2011 World Cup. We want to do something for our country. It has lots of problems, but we are very proud.”

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PESHAWAR: Speakers at a seminar here Monday eulogised the services of seven great personalities in the field of literature and vowed to follow in their footsteps for the welfare and better future of the coming generations.

Sahu Leekunko Maraka, a literary organisation, had organised the function at the Press Club to pay tributes to revolutionary Pashto poets Ameer Hamza Khan Shinwari, known as Babe-e-Ghazal, Qalandar Mohmand, Sahibzada Faizi, Ghani Khan, Dost Muhammad Khan Kamil, Ayub Sabir and Saifur Rehman Salim for their literary work.

The poets, writers, intellectuals, educationists and members of civil society, besides media men and political activists, attended the function wherein more than a dozen speakers praised the great work of Pakhtun poets and shed light on various aspects of their works in poetry and read out papers saying their contributions would be remembered for long.

Known critic, Salim Raz presided over the function, while former ANP provincial president, Begum Nasim Wali Khan, called as ‘Mor Bibi’ was the guest of honour on the occasion.

ANP MNA Jamila Gillani was prominent among the participants. The participants heard the lengthy speeches and papers on the lives of their ‘elders’ (mashran), particularly the aging Begum Nasim Wali Khan, and it was difficult for many to control their tears when she compared the revolutionary poetry of Ghani Khan and Qalandar Mohmand with the existing deteriorating standard of the Pakhtun nation and their areas.

She, too, in her chocked voice recited a few verses from Ghani Khan and Qalandar Mohmand’s poetry and said the poets had been guiding nations through their poetry and writings.The independence and prosperous future for Pakhtun, she said was their dream but that could not be materialised in their lives.

Eulogising history of the Pakhtuns, she said they had never been defeated by any superpower in the past, asking them to think as to why their condition was deteriorating. She said that Swat was burning. People were being killed in bomb blasts and rocket attacks. The people of Bajaur and Swat have been forced to live like refugees in their own country.

Begum Nasim said the former rulers and bureaucrats created Bangladesh through their wrong policies. The Pakhtuns would soon achieve their goal, if the rulers continued the same policies. She asked poets and writers to educate and convey messages through their writings and poetry. The rulers, she said, should provide education in their mother tongue at least at primary level.

Salim Raz pointed out weakness in the education system and urged the Pakhtuns to concentrate on establishing their identity by following clear-cut policies.

The Pakhtuns, he said, had lost their identity. It, he said, was unfortunate that the writers and poets could not express their sentiments and they avoided even mentioning the word Taliban while discussing the existing situation.

The writers, he said, lacked the moral courage in this regard. The same is the case with intellectuals and lawyers. The educated section of the society, he said, usually say they would file appeals in the court of Mangal Bagh, if the government could not solve their problems.

Similarly, he said the lawyers had also demanded holding inquiry into the fracturing of their colleague’s leg during the last march, through Qazi courts in Swat instead of the ordinary courts here.

He posed a question as to where their nation was leading when the intellectuals and lawyers were making such demands. He asked the literary figures to do away with their impartiality, which is another name of hypocrisy in the existing situation. They would have to be partial — either to support darkness or light.

Syed Mehmud Zafar, Aamir Gamrialay, Iqbal Mohmand, Dr Yar Muhammad Maghmum, Talabyar Khugianay, Dad Muhammad Dilsoz, Farhad Muhammad Ghalib Kheshgi, Faqeer Muhammad, Raj Wali Khattak, Ghulam Hussain, Dr Muhammad Alam Yousafzai, Majeedullah Khalil, Tariq Ahmad Khan, Saadullah Jan Barq, Fazal Shah Fazal, Dr Israr, Qazi Hanifullah Hanif, Dr Ahmad Ali Ajiz, Mushtaq Majrooh and Dr Zubair Hasrat also spoke on the occasion.

Syed Bukhar Shah
Source: The News

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Asalam Alaikom,

The site has been redesigned and will be updated frequently.

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PESHAWAR: The recipient of national civil award, Tamgha-e-Imtiaz, Prof Dr Salma Shaheen, has expressed the resolve to make Pashto Academy a real centre of research and study for the promotion of Pashto language, culture and literature.

The academy has so far brought out 70 research publications, completed 40 research projects made linkages with foreign as well as national institutions and launched two magazines besides having a library with 50,000 collections, she told The News.

Salma Shaheen, who is director of the Pashto Academy, University of Peshawar, said a Cultural Museum and Art Gallery at the academy was under construction at a cost of Rs 23 million provided by the Higher Education Commission. On completion, she added, the Museum and Art Gallery with its technologically advanced audio video system would be a true picture of the rich and glorified history, literature, language, culture and the art.

Salma said it was the best standard and quality of the academy publications that the Balochistan University, Allama Iqbal Open University and universities in Afghanistan had included the publications in their courses of study.

A researcher, poet, novelist and prose writer, Dr Salma Shaheen, was awarded the prestigious civil award on March 23 for her achievements in the field of literature. She is well-known figure in the literary circles of Pakistan, Afghanistan, China and Iran.

Having a doctorate in Pashto literature, Salma Shaheen has to her credit 42 research publications written on socials, cultural, traditional, linguistic issues published in journals of repute. The academician has authored 14 books on Pashto literature, culture and traditions. She is the first woman Pashto novelist from NWFP, having contributed two novels, Ka Rana Shawa (If there is a way through) and Kani Au Azghi (Stones and thorns).

In a very unique manner, she has highlighted the social and cultural issues faced by the people of NWFP and suggested solution to the problems without compromising traditional values. As a prominent poet of Pashto, Dr Salma Shaheen has to her credit three poetic collections — Ravail; Nawai Sahar and Zah Hum Hagha si Wara Way — which have demonstrated her unique style of poetic composition.

Abasin Da Tarikh pa Aina Ki; Pakhto Tappa; Muasharati au Saqafati Asar; Modern Poem in Pashto; Awami Sandare; Musical Instrument of Pashtuns; Peshawar City and tradition are her famous books, used by the researches.

The literatus was nominated member of a cultural delegation during visit to China and wrote

a book on her journey to China titled ‘Dil aur Ankhein Cheen Main.’ Dr. Shaheen has attended a number of seminars, conferences and workshops and is member of a number of social organisations and civil society organisations.

In recognition of her services, she has achieved Abasin Art Council Award; “Pakistan Culture Association Award; Pakistan Academy of Letters Hijra Award and Tamgha-e-Imtiaz Award was another honour she got for her outstanding achievements.

Talking to The News, Dr Salma Shaheen said class difference, gender discrimination and imbalance in the society were the focus of her writings. “I like brave and bold women who dare to play role in the society,” she said.

Source: By Nisar Mahmood, The News

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Afghanistan’s Supreme Court has ruled President Hamid Karzai may stay in office until a new leader is elected later this year.

The country’s constitution stipulates his term should expire on 21 May.

Mr Karzai’s spokesman said he had accepted the decision and would follow the court’s instructions.

Elections were due next month, but the country’s electoral commission says they should be delayed until August due to security concerns.

This is an important victory for Hamid Karzai, who had insisted that his mandate should be extended until the election, says the BBC’s Ian Pannell in Kabul.

The Supreme Court ruling said: “The continuation of the president and his deputies is in the interests of the people of Afghanistan.”

Shrewd moves

Mr Karzai’s spokesman, Homayun Hamidzada, said the president had received and would follow the court’s decision.

“Continuation means ensuring stability and the fact that the Supreme Court has issued a judgement ensures his legitimacy,” he said, quoted by AFP news agency.

Last week the US government indicated it, too, would support Mr Karzai’s bid to stay in power until the elections are held.

This would appear to stave off the threat of a constitutional crisis, our correspondent says, although it remains to be seen how the opposition will respond.

Hamid Karzai has made a series of shrewd moves that have outwitted his critics and improved his chances of winning another term as president of Afghanistan, our correspondent adds.

He has gone from being beleaguered, estranged from his American sponsors just a few weeks ago, to looking like the candidate to beat in the August election.

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