Chief Guest, friends, ladies and gentlemen It gives me great pleasure to welcome you on behalf of FATA secretariat and FATA CBP this evening.
Before the program starts may I request everyone to please stand and observe 1 minute of silence as a mark of solidarity for all those who have become target of terrorism in Lahore, Swat & Peshawar. Thank You!
Allow me to briefly introduce the tele drama La Ta Na Zaar Sham, Love you to Death. It is a story of love and passion, and of commitment and responsibility. The underlying theme is one of attachment to one’s land, people and the natural environment in a balanced way and as depicted through the problems confronting of Malik Duran.
One day his perfect world is shattered by the sudden arrival of a terrorist force in a rural Pukhtun village that seeks to impose from without a way of life that is both foreign and unnatural and therefore stifling to both man and beast. The compact between families and nature is broken when violence is imported into the peaceful workings of a Pukhtun village.
Yet through the trials and tribulations that the affected family experiences we see in this drama how lives are altered permanently but in the process the human spirit soars to reach new levels of consciousness, in which both men and women show their resilience, strength, commitment and perseverance to fight for their liberty and strive to live a life of dignity within their own Pushtun value set.
The head of the family pays the price of being a leader when he tries to restore the balance upset by the new force by making the ultimate sacrifice of his most precious possession ——- his son for the greater social good of the tranquility of the community that he leads.
Farmanullah Jan the director has concealed many telling messages into the tale however the one that I carried away after watching the drama was – that no matter what the compulsion our society cannot progress if reason is sacrificed at the altar of bigotry! If no religion advocates the death of another human being however grand the cause may be, then how can these new so called votaries of Islam who have taken over large swathes of territory justify mass slaughter of the innocent so that one misguided and brain washed youth can reach his heavenly abode? This is selfishness for one’s own misguided benefit.
Let me state unequivocally that we are not dealing with a religiously driven insurgency in different parts of FATA & NWFP but with cults created & crafted by barbarous people who terrorize, abuse and exploit captive populations for personal enrichment. This evil must be confronted and stopped. Anyone that exults death belongs to the devil and must be shunned from our society.
It is therefore vital to remain positive and look to the future with hope and optimism. We all need to change ourselves if we wish to see the world smiling back at us. The power of love and peace heals wounds and the power of points gives us the road to follow so that we may fulfill our dreams and also enlarge our identity.
Tonight, you will also hear song and music of the Pushtun AND that has been produced very professionally by Muhammad Azam, Saadullah Barq, Rehmat Shah who have done a great job. They announce to the world that the Pushtun loves life and needs encouragement to follow that path with more vigor and energy. It is the strong rebuke of culture and song to the deviant cultists of FATA & NWFP.
Before I conclude I want to thank each one of you who is here tonight to celebrate life and by your presence you have just said a loud NO to the traders in death; I also want to thank the caste of Love you to Death, and the team that produced Proud Pushtun for providing us an evening where we have assembled to salute life.
I thank the FATA Secretariat for its leadership, and the CBP team that conceived the whole project and gave us this scintillating evening tonight. Thank you all!