Within Six Months

By Qaiser Khan Afridi, "Cultural event at Rahman Baba’s shrine postponed" - The News International - Karachi, Pakistan
Friday, April 3, 2009

Peshawar: Keeping in view the severe damage caused to the shrine of Pashto Sufi poet Abdur Rahman Baba in the recent bombing, the Rahman Baba Adabi Jirga has announced postponement of the grand cultural festival, saying it will be held once the government repairs the shrine.

Every year in April, fans of Rahman Baba organise a grand cultural festival at the shrine. Poets, writers and lovers of Rahman Baba from Afghanistan and Pakistan come together to celebrate the festival. This time, the festival was scheduled for April 5.

Addressing a press conference here, Rahman Baba Adabi Jirga President Yousuf Ali Dilsoz said that since 1962, they had been holding the festival regularly as per the Jirga’s constitution, but, unfortunately, for the first time, they would not be able to hold the four-day event owing to the damage caused to the shrine.

Jirga Patron-in-Chief Sultan Muhammad Darwesh, Vice-President Abdul Jalil Sabir and Finance Secretary Malik Waris were also present on the occasion. “At first, we decided to hold the event, but after consulting our elders and other 125 members of the Jirga, we agreed to postpone the festival, as the provincial government has displayed banners right outside the shrine, stating the building is dilapidated and could crumble anytime,” Dilsoz said, adding that they would hold the event once the government repaired the building within six months, as promised.

Lauding Afghan President Hamid Karzai for promising reconstruction of Rehman Baba’s shrine, he said a representative of the Afghan government visited the shrine and offered to build it completely.

“The federal and provincial governments have also vowed to reconstruct the shrine within six months,” he said, demanding of the government to equip the Rahman Baba auditorium with the latest facilities by providing chairs and installing a sound system.

[Picture: Rahman Baba's Shrine. Photo from http://en.qantara.de/webcom/show_article.php/_c-310/_nr-632/i.html].