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Peshawar: Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Minister for Culture and Information Mian Iftikhar Hussain has said that culture is the basis for peace and toleration in the society and peace and toleration is the launching pad for progressive and democratic forces to gain grandeur and both preach mutual co-existence. This is exactly what great Bacha Khan left behind as the legacy for his followers, he added.
He was addressing a cultural programme arranged by the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Culture Department in collaboration with Hunerkadda College of Arts Islamabad at Islamabad on Sunday night. Secretary Culture Azmat Hanif Orakzai, Director Hunerkadda College of Arts Islamabad Jamal Shah and Director Culture Pervez Khan were also present on this occasion.
The Culture Minister said that empirical study showed that a living nation must have a rich culture and we take our culture as our inherited asset. He said that culture should be taken in consonance with the religion and it should not be seen in isolation furthering that we are a peace loving people believe in non-violence and hate violence and coercive method.
He regretted that Pakhtoon had been chuck mated between super powers and unfortunately the image of Pakhtoon was wrongly portrayed which has become a threat for very survival of Pakhtuns as a nation.
Mian Iftikhar continued that the most regrettable aspect of the whole episode is that the innocent Pakhtoon were deceived in the name of Islam. He said that our emotional attachment to art is not artificial.
We love our culture and it is a matter of life and death for us and we are doing politics for serving of people. He said, during the last 30 years or more, our culture is wilfully targeted to eliminate us as a nation, he maintained.
The Minister asserted that we should stop this negative trend and we have to put a brave face to knock out all those who are a threat to our culture. We are committed to give due respect to all without any discrimination and the artists should have their due share, he concluded.
For more information, contact:
Government of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa
Tel: +9291 921 6889 (Ext 106)
Email: info@khyberpakhtunkhwa.gov.pk