Glowing tributes paid to Khushal Khan Khattak

The News

Glowing tributes were paid to great Pashto poet Khushal Khan Khattak at a function to mark his 323rd death anniversary.

The Poha Khparonki Jirga, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Culture Department and Khushal Adabi Jirga had arranged the gathering at the Khushal Hall instead of his mausoleum due to heavy rain. A delegation from Afghanistan, including Habibullah Rafi, Alam Gul Sahar, Perveen Malala and Sadiq Zharak, Naeem Azad and Mumtaz Dilsoz from Balochistan and intellectuals and poets from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa participated in the event. Quran Khwani was also held. The poets and scholars threw light on Khushal Khattak’s life and literary services.

The speakers said Khushal Khan had laid stress on human dignity, valour and Pakhtun nationalism. They asked the government to declare the mystic poet Abdur Rahman Baba and Khushal Khan Khattak as national poets. Minister for Information and Culture Mian Iftikhar Hussain said that Allama Iqbal had drawn inspiration from the poetry of Khushal Khan Khattak. He said the Khushal Khan Khattak Cell, Khushal Chair at the University of Peshawar and scholarships would be revived.