- The KhyberWatch

Table of Contents
Editorial ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… 3
A Note from the Managing Editor ……………………………………………............................................. 4
Acknowledgements …………………………………………………………………………………………………..……….. 5
Faqir Ippi: Other Views, James Caron ……………………………………………………………………………….… 6
Haji Mirza Ali Khan (Ipi Faqir)’s War, James Caron ……………………………………………………………… 8
Pashtun-Mahajir Alliance in Karachi, Pir Rokhan ………………………………………………………………… 9
Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan:
Remembering a Non-Violent Soldier, Dr. Fazal-ur-Rahim Marwat ………………….……………….. 11
Ya Pukhtanu!, Ajmal Khattak Baba ....................................................................................... 15
The Words of a Pashtun to a Stranger, Farid Gul Mohmand …………………….………………………. 17
The People of Swat from an American Perspective, Rayan ……………………….……………………… 18
Silence in the Face of Oppression, Shehnaz ……………………………………………………………………… 21
A pediatrician takes pride in her Afghan cabdriver father, Waheeda Samady …………..……… 22
The Foreign Language Teaching Assistant Program ………………………………………………………….. 25
Incredible Embroidery from Balochistan, Azra Nafees ……………………………………………………… 26
Emerging Pashtun Talent: Interview with Ulusyar Khan Tareen ………………………..……………… 30
About Us ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 34
Guidelines for Submission ………………………………………………………………..………………………………. 35
SAHAR
February 2011
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Editorial
The dawn of the New Year is witnessing the continuous media trial of a popularly elected
government that is struggling to reach up to the expectations of the people who
were dormant during Musharraf’s dictatorial regime. While Pakistan is moving towards an
interim elections at a fast pace ,the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa assembly passed a bill to provide
for the care, protection, maintenance, welfare, training, education, rehabilitation, and
reintegration of children at risk in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. In Afghanistan, President Karzai
and Head of U.S. Central Command held a discussion on building the capacity of Afghan
Forces amidst America’s insistence to stay in Afghanistan beyond 2014 in its efforts to
stabilize the war-torn country along with other NATO forces.
In this backdrop, we at SAHAR bring to you a number of articles and features to
engage your attention and spread awareness about the issues of the Pashtun people.
Your valued feedback will help us immensely to improve the standard and quality of
the magazine. We encourage all of you to write for SAHAR. Happy Reading!
Editor in Chief,
Azra Nafees
[email protected]
SAHAR
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A Note from the Managing Editor
Dear readers:
SAHAR is pleased to announce that we have opened a new section in the magazine:
Education. In this category, we will share announcements for scholarships and grants, in
addition to featuring general education-related article. To ensure that Pashtuns succeed in
their academics, we also hope to share success tips in the academic world. Since we realize
that all education systems do not function the same way, we look forward to readers’ ideas
about what else they would like to see highlighted in this section as well as their own tips
for academic success in their countries or regions. This idea was inspired by our interactions
with Pashto professors, some of whom are non-Pashtuns, in the United States whose
contribution to Pashto and Pashtun culture is humbling and deserves immense praise.
Another change that we hope to implement is designating a separate section for Art,
where we will display Pashtuns’ artistic creativity. We therefore request that willing artists
send their original works to [email protected] for publication in future issues.
Last, we are also happy to inform our writers that we have extended the deadline for
submissions to the 15th of each month (previously, it was the 10th of each month); this way,
readers and potential contributors will have more time to reflect on the month’s issue and
have ample time to send their works for the next issue.
In this issue, we bring to you a range of perspectives on Pashtun affairs, from a review of Waziristan and its historical icon, Faqir Ippi, to a proposal for some current affairs in
Karachi, to a young Afghan doctor’s pride in her father, to information on the Fulbright
grant. It is our hope that readers and supporters share this material with others and
continue sending in their views for others to read and reflect upon.
Thank you, and happy reading!
Shehnaz
Managing Editor
[email protected]
SAHAR
February 2011
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Acknowledgements
We would like to thank khyberwatch.com for agreeing to host SAHAR monthly on its site.
Thanks also to the other Pashtun forums that have extended their support to the magazine.
A very special thanks to a new contributor, James Caron, professor at the University of
Pennsylvania, who has gladly offered some of his works for publication in SAHAR. We thank
him for his contribution not just to the magazine but also to Pashto language and Pashtun
history.
We would also like to thank Angaar, Gohar Nangyal, and Salman Khan for offering their help
in designing SAHAR’s title covers. We hope you will continue offering your services!
Last but not least, we owe much thanks to our contributors, for without their contribution,
this magazine would not be succcessful. We look forward to hearing more from you.
Please continue sending your feedback, comments, and submissions to
[email protected].
Thank you, and happy reading!
With sincere appreciation,
SAHAR Staff
[email protected]
SAHAR
February 2011
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Section 1: History, Geopolitics, and Current Affairs
_______________________________________________
Faqir Ippi: Other Views
James Caron
Waziristan: So many histories have been written about it, yet despairing few differing
narratives exist for readers of English! From 2000 to 2010, a number of books, articles,
reprinted primary source materials, and other works have been published, nearly all of
which take insurgency as their primary concern. One section of an article called
“Predicaments of Mobility,” written by Neeladri Bhattacharya, in Markovits, Pouchepadass,
and Subrahmanyam, eds., Society and Circulation (Permanent Black, 2006), is conspicuous
in its difference. It deals with Waziristan and surrounding zones as a crucial zone of transit
during the colonial era, a zone linked to wider networks of movement ranging from Central
Asia throughout the subcontinent.
But one article does not constitute a paradigm shift. Alan Warren, Waziristan, the
Faqir of Ipi and the Indian Army: the North West Frontier Revolt of 1936-37 (Oxford Univ.
Press, 2000) set the tone for the decade, even before the tragic events of September 11 th,
2001. Andrew Roe’s Waging War in Waziristan: the British Struggle in the Land of Bin Laden,
1849-1947 (University Press of Kansas, 2010) rounds off the publication with no change in
genre, only an expansion of scope. The majority of English-language historians outside
Pakistan, it seems, are only interested in Waziristan to the extent that they can learn from
colonial mistakes of the past in order to crush resistance there now. The same would likely
be true, though to a rather lesser degree, of English-language research in Pakistan too.
While critiquing an exclusive focus on insurgency, it would be equally misleading to
deny the major role that insurgency and militarization of social space has played in shaping
the daily experiences of generations of people in Waziristan. The point is not to ignore
violence, regardless of the side it comes from. Rather, the point I seek to make about
historical writing on Waziristan in English is the extent to which it, unlike writing on nearly
any other part of South Asia or indeed the world, relies almost exclusively on the
perspective of the security state. This is not to say that a historical study should be drawn
only from local sources. Such a narrative would also be incomplete. Rather, the point is that
Waziristan, like any other location in the world, deserves historical writing that takes into
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February 2011
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account a complex range of perspectives, befitting its complexity and the wider range of its
connections with the rest of its region. As long as a focus on security drives writing, the
instrumental nature of the work produced will reduce and impoverish our view of Waziri
society to a paradigm of “state” versus “insurgent”. There has never been a society so
simple as that.
With that in mind, I hope to present, over the next several issues of this magazine, a
series of other perspectives that should flesh out wider possibilities for writing and reading
about Waziristan in historical perspective. I deliberately focus on the Faqir Ippi case of
insurgency to point out that there are ways to narrate the history of violence that do not
resort to the exclusive perspective of the security state. I have used these in courses on
Pakistan in the University of Pennsylvania; I would hope that they can also be available to
the general public outside the University who can only read English.
My second hope is other readers might be inspired to contribute their own primary
sources for Afghan and Pashtun history beyond the security state.
With sincerity,
James Caron
James Caron is a lecturer in the South Asian Studies department at the University of
Pennsylvania; he teaches Pashto in addition to other courses on Pashtuns.
SAHAR
February 2011
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Haji Mirza Ali Khan (Ipi Faqir)’s War
James Caron
Primary Source: Pashto Song
Raza Hamdani, researcher. Razmiyah Dāstānẽ: Talāsh aur Tarjumah. Islamabad: Lok
Virsa, 1981.
[Pashto, transcribed Waziri dialect]
Oh Emir of the land of Waziristan! Oh Faqir of the lofty mountains! Oh Haji Sultan!
Through you, Waziristan is a rose garden
The munificence of the Holy All-Forgiving one is upon you
Your flames radiate, oh shining full moon! Oh Faqir of the lofty mountains! Oh Haji
Sultan!
You were forever at war with the Angrez
Islam forever regards you as honorable
May you never change in any way! Oh Faqir of the lofty mountains! Oh Haji Sultan!
Your actions were perfection; you were a Pashtun
You were upright in your religion
Oh you without compare, you without equal! Oh Faqir of the lofty mountains! Oh Haji
Sultan!
In England [wilayat] the Memsahibs [ladies] are crying
They are pulverizing their bangles out of such grief
The sharpness of your sword’s been made clear to them, Oh Faqir of the lofty
mountains! Oh Haji Sultan!
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February 2011
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Pashtun-Mahajir Alliance in Karachi
Pir Rokhan
The Karachi issue is a deep wound in the body politic of Pakistan that, if not healed, might
become a cancer. This issue has the potential of becoming a cause for the ultimate demise
of Pakistan, which is already on the verge of collapse. The Karachi issue has political
dimension that is ethnic in nature but that is also fundamentally a politico-economic issue.
It is proposed that the Mahajir and Pashtun communities get into an alliance both at
political as well as socio-economic levels for the restoration of perpetual peace and progress
in Karachi. Following are points that might ring bells in the minds of decision-makers in both
the communities and their representative political parties.
1. The intelligentsia of both ethnicities and their representative parties should realize that in
the bigger picture, both ethnicities in their separate capacities have no more or less
importance by virtue of belonging to a third-world country and a nearly failed state. It is
therefore their alliance that is in the interest of both.
2. Both ethnicities have already left their original abodes for a better life with no or rare
intention of returning. Whether Karachi becomes a separate city state or continues to be
the backbone of Pakistan’s economy, neither could the five million Pashtuns go back to
Pakhtunkhwa due to lack of opportunities nor could the ten million Mahajirs afford to go
back to India, which they have left for good due to the political situation prevalent at that
time.
3. The only thing that both of the communities can do is to share a mutual economic
interest for a better life by utilizing each other’s potential.
4. Both can get close to each other by having joint business ventures in areas of their
strength.
5. On the political level, Pakhtuns as well as Mahajirs have been victims of anti popular
policies of Pakistani establishment in the name of operations both in Karachi and in
Pakhtunkhwa.
6. Both the parties have been fighting for their rights for a reasonably long time and have
points of intersections in their struggle like provincial autonomy, anti-Kalabagh struggle,
anti- terrorism stance, belief in the segregation of state and religion, etc.
7. Both have been flaying extremism and have been victims of Taliban contrary to military
establishment’s policy of demonizing the Taliban in Pakistan but helping their anti-state and
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terrorist activities in Afghanistan.
8. Both started their struggle for their communities and are slowly entering Pakistani
national level politics for which a basic pre-requisite is to recognize and show tolerance
towards other’s ethnic communities, cultures, languages, and groups living in Pakistan.
9. Both ethnicities and their respective political parties can achieve their political goals in
the national politics by binding themselves in an alliance to become a power to reckon with
in national politics.
10. The hegemony of civil and military elite of Pakistan, the majority of which belongs to
Punjab, makes it compulsory for both groups and their representative political parties to
enter into the proposed alliance.
11. The dangerous and extremist thoughts and ideologies supported and propagated by the
Pakistani state will also ultimately compel both these communities to think for their muchrequired alliance.
12. Pashtuns are followers of towering historical personalities like Bacha Khan and Samad
Khan Achakzai, while the Mahajirs belong to the land of father of non violence, Gandhi, and
the champion of constitutional struggle, M. A. Jinnah. All of these political leaders believed
in peaceful and constitutional struggles instead of violence.
The violence in Karachi is not in the interest of any group. The innocent and the poor from
both sides are exploited for the interests of others—and that too by the conscious decisions
of their leaders—but the real executor and benefiter is behind the veil and gets direct
benefit from the mutual antagonism between these two communities and their
representative parties.
Pir Rokhan is a Peshawar-based analyst and writes in various fora on Pashtun issues and can
be reached at [email protected].
SAHAR
February 2011
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Khan Abdul Ghaffar - Remembering a Non-Violent Soldier
Dr. Fazal-ur-Rahim Marwat
“My faith is clear. I will forsake it even if I
stand alone in the People” (Bacha Khan).
When the history of the sub-continent is
being written, perhaps only a very few of
those who occupy public attention will
find a mention in it. But among those
“very few there will be the outstanding
and commanding figure of Badshah Khan
,” said Jawaharlal Nehru. “Straight and
simple, faithful and true, with a finely
chiseled face that compels attention, and
a character built up in the fire of long
suffering and painful ordeal, full of
hardness of the man of faith believing in his mission and yet soft with the gentleness of the
one who loves his kind exceedingly.” If anybody can be said to be a universal man, it is Khan
Abdul Ghaffar Khan, popularly known as Bacha Khan for he stands not for any narrow
sectarianism or political group but for the eternal values of love and peace that will be valid
for all times to come.
D.G. Tendulkar in his book Abdul Ghaffar Khan: Faith is Battle asserts, “The life of
Abdul Ghaffar Khan is an inspiring saga of a triumph of spirit which knows nothing of force,
whose conquests are won by the power of invincible gentleness.” Bacha Khan was against
violence in any form and for any case. Violence always promotes a sense of hatred. It is not
good for any country or nation because it is ultimately self-destructive. The alarming growth
of violence, itself a manifestation of social disruption and moral degeneration, has been
prohibiting progress on all fronts. Without overcoming this trend, we cannot solve the
political, economic and social problems of our society. If some individual or party, state or
nation supports violence and terrorism in any form and for whatever objective, that
individual, party, state or nation would ultimately plunge itself in trouble and disorder.
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Bacha Khan’s was a difficult saga and difficult mission. Difficult because, the people, the
political parties and the government have moved so far away from the party of non-violence
and peace. Commenting on Bacha Khan’s
observation, Searchlight in its October 14th,
1969 issue writes: “There is much force in Khan
Abdul Ghaffar Khan’s observation that if the
political leaders in this country (India) did not
pay heed to the fast changin g world and take
immediate steps to improve the lot of the
common people they would meet the fate of
Ayub Khan of Pakistan and Chiang Kai Shek of
erstwhile China. No country can ignore the
march of time and the forces of change that
mould
history.”
The life and work of great personage like Bacha
Khan gives us faith in the future of humanity. In
his person and movement one could search for
peace,
vision
and
progress.
One of his admirers wrote about Bacha Khan in his lifetime. “With the vision of
idealism in his eyes, he looks beyond the desolation now surrounding man. He is striving to
bring man and man, nation and nation closer to one another. His achievement signifies the
evolution of a new type of human force which alone can ultimately be the motivation of
enduring international amity.” Bacha Khan was more adherent to non-violence than
Gandhiji and never deviated from his path throughout his life. In 1940, when all Indian
National Congress discussed the policy towards the war, Bacha Khan resigned from the
working committee by saying:
Some recent resolutions of the working Committee indicate that they are restricting
the use of non-violence to the fight for India’s freedom against constituted
authority…. I should like to make it clear that the non-violence I have believed in and
preached to my brethren of the Khudai-Khidamatgars is much wider. It affects all our
life, and only that has permanent value… The Khudai-Khidmatgars must, therefore,
be what our name implies, servants of God and humanity by laying down our own
lives and never taking any life.…
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February 2011
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Mostly the Western and Indian scholars and even in his latest
book about Bacha Khan ‘A Frontier Gandhi’ by a Sindhi scholarbureaucrat S.M. Korejo tries to prove that Bacha Khan was a
follower of Gandhiji and his non-violence. This observation is
regrettable. J.S. Bright MA writes in his booklet “Frontier and
its Gandhi” in 1994 about Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan, “Ghaffar
Khan is in complete accord with the principle of non-violence.
But he has not borrowed his outlook from Mahatma Gandhi.
He has reached it. And reached it independently.
Independently like a struggler after truth. No doubt, his deep study of Quran has influenced
his doctrine of love…” He added, “At any rate,
Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan is not a Brahmin.
Neither he is a Mullah commissioned by his
Majesty the King of Afghanistan.
He is a plain Khan, and tribesmen do not
doubt his sincerity. Hence, if Ghaffar Khan has
arrived at the philosophy of non-violence, it is
absolutely no wonder. Of the two, Ghaffar Khan
and Mahatma Gandhi, my personal view is that the former has achieved a higher level of
spirituality. The Khan has reached heaven, while the Pandit is firmly on the earth but
ironically enough; the Mahatma is struggling in the air! Ghaffar Khan like Shelley has come
from heaven to the earth, while Mahatma Gandhi like Keats is going from earth to be
heaven.
Hence, I do not understand why Ghaffar Khan should be called the Frontier Gandhi.
There is no other reason except this that the Mahatma was earlier in the field, more
ambitious than spiritual and has been able to capture somehow or the other, a greater
publicity. If we judge a person by spiritual qualities, Mahatma Gandhi should rather be
called the Indian Khan than Ghaffar Khan the Frontier Gandhi, true, there the matter ends.”
He has given his people a new consciousness of life. A life of labour and love. He was man of
conviction rather than of words. He was Muslim but neither a pretender nor a hypocrite. A
man who for his services is known as Fakhari-Afghan but he called himself simply Ghaffar or
Abdul Ghaffar.
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February 2011
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He was a man who tried to light the lamp of hope and struggle in the hearts of young
Pakhtuns. A person who spent half of his life behind the bars and in chains but still preached
message of love and compassion to his people. It was Bacha Khan who practically proved by
raising the professional cadres (Qasabgaran) to the status of general and commanders of
the Khudai-Khidmatgars over Khans and Chiefs in the traditional Pakhtun society.
To him no man is superior to another except for his services for the community and
his piety. He tried h is best in invite the Pakhtuns to trade and business by opening himself a
shop. He was so particular about the quality and quantity of items/things advertised in his
journal ‘The Pakhtun’ that that he advised to check the advertised items himself or by
anyone before publishing it, and if the trader was found of adulteration or wrong-doing his
advertisement would not be published again in his journal. Without following the principles
taught by Bacha Khan, our nation, our country, rather the entire world would wait for
another Messiah, to rescue us from the quagmire of violence, terrorism, sectarianism and
selfishness.
SAHAR
February 2011
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Section 2: Literary
_______________________________________________
Ya Pukhtanu!
Late Ajmal Khattak Baba
Ya Pukhtanu! Ya lewanu Pukhtanu!
Ya tas nas shawu parganu Pukhtanu
Razai pa kor ki maraka shu sara
Da syalai wakht de chi jarga shu sara
Dunya badleegee warta zaan badal kru
Dagha da zulum zor jahan badal kru
Pa sar tor sar barband laghar Pukhtuna
Ugiya tagiya khar par pukhtuna
Sta da kheeran sara tajuna zaar sha
Sta da khwalu zani atruna zaar sha
Ta pa dunya ki yo taaqat paida ye
Toora ye, deen ye aw ghairat paida ye
Da Sikandar na tar firanga porey
Tar Changezyanu tar Auranga porey
Cha chi pa di khawra qadam ekhey de
Taa ye pa khuna bandi gham ekhey de
Da uchat sar di titeedal nadee zda
Di taa la marga takhtidal nadee zda
Waley ay ay zama ghareeba wrora
Pa der naseeb ki badnaseeba wrora
Sara da klaku matu shal khkari nun?
Pa khpal kaala ki laka ghal khkari nun?
Ka pa dunya ki khwaroo zaar dee mung yu
Ka da har cha zani bekaar dee mung yu
Da plaar neeka haq mo pradee khwaree rana
Geedarey haq da azmaree khwaree rana
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Da dak da gulo gulistan watan mo
Da pa dunya janat nishan watan mo
Nun yo tota da jahannam de rata
Khushalee na laree yo gham de rata
Da mewo dak de aw mung wagee garzoo
Loyo seendunu ki ye tagee garzoo
Pa khazanu ye khamaraan prata dee
Charta khanan charta peeran prata dee
Da ghalo dak dee mung nahar garzoo
Khpal kor mu shta aw dar pa dar garzoo
Mung khidmatuna beegaruna kawu
Wraz aw shpa zaan wajnu kaaruna kawu
Pa gata wata mu naikaan maara kra
Gedi mo tashee dee kandwaan maara kra
Ghataan zamung pa weenu uparsedal
Zamung pa sar tar asmaan warasedal
Wrunru da zaka chi uda prata yu
Uda laa kha wee munga mra prata yu
Razai chi weekh shu awal zaan badal kru
Bya daa da zulum zor jahan bada kru
Nizaam da meeney muhabbat jor kru
Kor da insaan da sharafat jor kru
Late Ajmal Khattak Baba is a remarkable Poet from Akora Khattak, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa
and his work for Pashto literature is highly commendable.
SAHAR
February 2011
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The Words of a Pashtun to a stranger!
Farid Gul Mohmand
Ah tired stranger!
You came over night, and
I still haven’t got the ceiling fan and summer clothes
Or cold water to entertain you
Or a chair
where you can rest
Or a bed
where you can take a nap!
And what more to tell you of my children:
I have six children, one arrived yesterday.
They cry and yell
to a background noise
of beeps and drones while they are fast asleep!
So I don’t know, how would they say hi to you
Or embrace
your indifference with their Pashtun hearts
Or how would they hand in ice cream to you?
But yes stranger
I have dreams and imaginations, the only asset
of me and my children, with whom
I can entertain you only
if the drones don’t take those away from me!
So wait outside the door, until
I tidy up my empty house and grieving heart!!
The poet is a London-based Pashtun and can be reached at [email protected]
SAHAR
February 2011
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The People of Swat from an American Perspective
Rayan
I, an American woman convert to Islam, went to
Pakhtunkhwa for the first time in early 2005. I
had been to Pakistan before that in 2004. Many
Americans were concerned about my visit to
Pakistan because the western media painted
Pakistan to be a highly volatile country. While I
was there, the hospitality I received was much
greater than in any of the other countries I have
been to. I suppose there is some truth in the saying, “Those who have little, give more than
those who have much.” I had heard about the fierceness of the Pashtun, but had heard nothing
about the dedication and strength of the Pashtun women. I spent nearly a year in Swat Valley
and was always amazed by the kindness, the spirituality, and the continual struggle that the
women showed for their families and their homes. No woman ever spoke to me in anger; no
harsh word was ever said to me. If I was troubled about something, it was always the women
who opened their hearts to me, the women who prayed, and the women who worked to make
life better.
The people I interacted with were surprised when I told them that our media paints a
picture of Pakistan as a dangerous country for people from the west. At first, they thought that I
was joking, but when they realized I was serious, they felt sad and told me how much they
would like to welcome people from the U.S. into their country. I asked a young teenage boy if
he had any message for the west, and he said, “Tell them please do not be afraid of us!”
I made contact with HDF, a non-profit organization started by American Pakistani doctors. This
organization works in Pakistan to help improve the quality of life through better health services,
education, and a grass root based community economic program. I would be going to Northern
Pakistan, as I had met someone with whom I had become very close the previous summer. He is
from the Northeastern part of Pakistan. We were met not just by my fiancé but by many
members of his family as well. A caravan of cars and friends had come down from the
mountains of Swat Valley in the North West Frontier Province to welcome the American lady. I
was then and always will be an honorable guest in the eyes of these people. After a week’s time
I was not just an honorable guest; I was also family.
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Women from distant villages came to our
house just to look at me; we were, after
all, from two very different worlds. Since
then, Pakistan has become a second
home to me, my family in Pakistan treats
me
with
devotion
and
concern,
something that I have not experienced
elsewhere.
I have heard from many
travelers in the East that they also were
treated well, and when they wanted to invite their new friends to the West to show the same
kindness, governments and rules got in the way, and for this very reason I must continue to
travel between California and Pakistan.
The role of women varies to some extent depending on whether the people are living in
a rural area or an urban area. I surveyed some while there. Women in urban areas have more
liberty than do women in rural areas. Women in rural areas tend to be less educated than in
their urban counterparts. Naturally, there are exceptions, at least in the case of getting an
education, and this, too, is changing with time. In spite of being educated, they do not have the
liberties women in urban areas have. Ninety percent of the women (mainly in Swat Valley) I
spoke to who live in rural Pakistan admitted that they had “no rights” compared to that of the
men living there. Fathers or older brothers can dictate where young women can go and where
they are “not allowed” to go. It is important to understand that this originally was to protect
women from harm, as many parts of Pakistan still follow tribal laws. Women are considered to
be very precious, and so a man will do all in his power to protect his mother, wife, and sisters.
Maybe one of the most surprising answers to my questions was, despite the admittance
to having no rights, all but one of the women I interviewed said they were happy. For women in
the West, the two simply do not go together; happiness and a lack of rights. Maybe it has to do
with the phrase “ignorance is bliss”? It is only by seeing something one does not have that we
acquire a desire for it. The one woman who was not so happy has an abusive husband. She
knows that not all husbands are abusive because of the Pakistani custom to live with the
husband’s extended family. I asked the women at which age they were married and whether
they married for love, or if the marriages were arranged. Ages to marry ranged from 12 to 18
years of age. All women said that they did not want to marry, and all marriages were arranged.
One woman has more rights than many women in her village, because her husband died when
her children were still quite young, and she had to work to support her family. In this way, she
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is both mother and father to her children. Those who were not yet married wanted to continue
their education, and some who were married
regretted that they had to stop their
education to marry and have families. Seventy
percent of the women I spoke to had attended
school, and one woman who had not attended
school said that she learned to read and write
from her children. Nearly all the women felt
that Islam, their religion, was a very important
part of their lives.
The women living in urban areas said they are aware that they have more rights and
liberties than women of rural Pakistan, and they too were happy. The two areas that gave
women the most pleasure in life in almost every instance were Islam and music—for example,
reading the Qu’ran, praying, listening to music, singing, and dancing. I told them that western
women have a hard time understanding the veil, and they told me that they like wearing it, and
although they are not opposed to Western clothing, they find that women from the west look
especially beautiful in Eastern clothing. I find the Pakistani clothing to be the most comfortable
clothing I have ever worn, and I have always loved clothing that is comfortable, so it is all I wear
now. I told them that when I walk with my husband, as it is done in the west, we hold hands
and discuss things, and asked them how this would be for them. Although most thought this
strange and “un-Islamic,” a few said they would be happy to walk this way with their husbands,
or some just said it doesn’t bother them when my husband and I behave this way, but they
would feel uncomfortable acting in the same way.
My experience with these women has been so blissful I look forward to visiting them
more often, to continue learning from them and to continue to help them open new doors of
opportunity for themselves. I have learned not to trust what I am told about a people as
beautiful, as hospitable, and as kind as these through other sources; I prefer to trust my own
experiences, observations, and surveys of them.
Rayan is an American woman who holds a B.A. in Social Work and has a strong desire to learn
more about Pashtun Women and Islam. She can be contacted at [email protected].
SAHAR
February 2011
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Silence in the Face of Oppression
Shehnaz
It is said that, often in the face of oppression, tyranny, and mayhem, it is writing that has
proven to be the most powerful, most imposing tool for the call for peace and justice. But
why is it a challenge to pursuade Pashtuns to write? What is it about us that writing repels
us for? Friends have suggested that it is because our cultural standards are such that we are
discouraged from expressing our thoughts in public. Is this really so? We have recently
undergone what many consider genocide, and yet we have nothing to say? Why are we
silent? Our history is being recorded, not by us but for us, and we cannot find a reason to
speak up?
Our recent conditions, including the Taliban reign and the great floods, have been
such that they need to be heard by the world—from our perspective. It is a part of our
history, and it should therefore be told from our point of view, not from the view of those
who only read and heard about it. History is recorded by the victorious and is then
interpreted and re-interpreted by those who were never there to witness any of it. Let us
stop letting others speak for us and write our history and do it ourselves. I do not worry that
our recent or current plightwill get lost in history, but I worry that, as is always the case,
facts will be distorted because we are not speaking up as openly as we should be. If we
refuse to do it, whom do we expect to speak for us?
I therefore strongly urge every victim, every survivor of natural and man-made
disaster, every witness to all oppression to tell her/his story. Let us reveal what we are going
through, and what we have been through, for the sake of our children. Maybe they will
learn from our mistakes and rectify those that can be corrected. Let us not be ashamed of
who we are, and let such shame not hinder us from speaking. Let us tell the truth and not be
afraid of the consequences, for the one thing that can further destroy our promise of a
stable future is our silence today. It is this silence that will speak against us tomorrow.
Shehnaz is the managing editor of SAHAR and may be reached at [email protected].
SAHAR
February 2011
21 | Page
A pediatrician takes pride in her Afghan cabdriver father
Waheeda Samady
In the morning, before my father and I go our separate ways to work, we chat amiably.
"Good luck on your day." "Hope business is good." And our one response to everything:
"Inshallah." God willing.
I get into my mini-SUV and head off to the hospital, groaning about the lack of sleep, the
lack of time, but also knowing that I am driving off to what has always been my dream.
My father gets into his blue taxi, picks up his radio and tells the dispatcher he's ready. Then
he waits. He waits for someone wanting to go somewhere. He waits to go home to my
mother, the woman he calls "the boss." Maybe today will be a good day. He will call her up
and tell her he is taking her out tonight. He can do that now that we're all grown up; now
that he doesn't have to save every dime for the "what-ifs" and the "just-in-cases." There is
very little complaining in his car. His day starts off with a silent prayer, then a pledge:
Hudaya ba omaide hudit. God, as you wish. Then he hums or sings. Some songs are about
love and some about loss. They are all about life. He sings. He smiles the whole time.
My father is the type of person who is content to listen, but I love it when he speaks. There
is wisdom there, although he does not intend there to be.
"What's new?" he'll ask over a Saturday morning breakfast.
"Not much," I reply. "My life revolves around these books, Dad; there is little to say unless
you want to hear about the urinary tract."
"You know when Gandhi's minister of foreign affairs died, his only true possessions were
books. It is the sign of a life worth living," he replies and begins to butter his toast.
Sometimes, the years of education and learning shine through the injuries and lost dreams. I
get a glimpse of the man who once existed, and the one who never will. Who would he have
been, I wonder, if the bombs hadn't come down in 1978? What if I could take away the time
he spent in a coma, the years of treatment and surgery, the broken bones and disabilities?
What if there were no refugee ghettos, no poverty, no fear, no depression written in his life
history. Who could he have been? The thought saddens me, but intrigues me as well. Is it
possible that he is who he is because the life he has lived has been filled with such tragedy?
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February 2011
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Perhaps these stories were the making of my hero.
Sometimes he'll tell me about his college days, about an Afghanistan I have never known
and very few people would believe ever existed. "In the College of Engineering, there was
this lecture hall, with seats for 1,000 students," his says as eyes begin to get bigger. "At the
end of the lecture, the seats would move. The whole auditorium would shift as you spun
along the diameter. The engineering of the building itself was very interesting." He
continues to describe the construction details, and then sighs. "I wonder if it's still around."
There is a pause. For 25 years I have tried to fill that silence, but I have never quite figured
out what to say. I guess silence goes best there. He is the next one to speak. "You see, even
your old-aged father was once part of something important."
When he says things like that I want to scream. I don't want to believe that the years can
beat away at you like that. I don't want to know that if enough time passes, you begin to
question what was real or who you are. I am unconcerned with what the world thinks of
him, but it is devastating to know that he at times thinks less of himself.
We are the same, but we are separated. People don't see him in me. I wish they would. I
walk in with a doctor's white coat or a suit or my Berkeley sweatshirt and jeans. High heels
or sneakers, it doesn't matter, people always seem impressed with me. "Pediatrician, eh?"
they say. "Well, good for you."
I wonder what people see when they look at him. They don't see what I see in his smile.
Perhaps they see a brown man with a thick accent; perhaps they think, another immigrant
cabdriver. Or perhaps it is much worse: Maybe he is a profile-matched terrorist, aligned with
some axis of evil. "Another Abd-ool f-----g foreigner," I once heard someone say.
Sometimes the worst things are not what people say to your face or what they say at all, it is
the things that are assumed. I am in line at the grocery store, studying at a cafe, on a plane
flying somewhere.
"Her English is excellent; she must have grown up here," I hear a lady whisper. "But why on
earth does she wear that thing on her head?"
"Oh, that's not her fault," someone replies. "Her father probably forces her to wear that."
SAHAR
February 2011
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I am still searching for a quick, biting response to comments like that. The trouble is that
things I'd like to say aren't quick. So I say nothing. I want to take their hands and pull them
home with me. Come, meet my father. Don't look at the wrinkles; don't look at the scars;
don't mind the hearing aid, or the thick accent. Don't look at the world's effect on him; look
at his effect on the world. Come into my childhood and hear the lullabies, the warm hand on
your shoulder on the worst of days, the silly jokes on mundane afternoons. Come meet the
woman he has loved and respected his whole life; witness the confidence he has nurtured in
his three daughters. Stay the night; hear his footsteps come in at midnight after a long day's
work. That sound in the middle of the night is his head bowing in prayer although he is
exhausted. Granted, the wealth is gone and the legacy unknown, but look at what the
bombs did not destroy. Now tell me, am I really oppressed? The question makes me want to
laugh. Now tell me, is he really the oppressor? The question makes me want to cry.
At times, I want to throw it all away: the education, the opportunities, the potential. I want
to slip into the passenger seat of his cab and say: This is who I am. If he is going to be
labeled, then give me those labels too. If you are going to look down on him, than you might
as well peer down on me as well. Close this gap. Erase this line. There is no differentiation
here. Of all the things I am, of all the things I could ever be, I will never be prouder than to
say that I am of him.
I am this cabdriver's daughter.
October 2010
Waheeda Samady is the pediatric chief resident at UC San Diego's Rady Children's Hospital
and a committee member of CAIR San Diego. A version of this article appeared in the
anthology "Snapshots: This Afghan American Life." This version was originally published at
http://articles.latimes.com/2010/oct/03/opinion/la-oe-samady-father-taxi-driver20101003/3 and published in SAHAR with the author’s permission.
SAHAR
February 2011
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Section 3: Education
_______________________________________________
The Foreign Language Teaching Assistant Program
The Fulbright program, one of the most prestigious, most competitive grants today, is the
largest program hosted by the Institute of International Education. Fulbright is an
international exchange program for students, scholars, teachers, professionals, and others
to study, teach, or conduct research in a country abroad. U.S. citizens interested in applying
may visit the following link for the program overview and application information:
http://us.fulbrightonline.org/home.html; students outside of the U.S. may click here for
more information: http://foreign.fulbrightonline.org/. Aiming to build and enhance the
leadership skills of its participants and to develop an enhanced understanding of the
relationship between the United States and the participants’ home countries, it consists of
sub-programs, including the Foreign Language Teaching Assistant (FLT) program.
The FLT program is available to English teachers abroad (that is, outside of the
United States) to teach a foreign language in the U.S. Qualified individuals who hold a
Pakistani passport may click the link below for eligibility criteria and application instructions:
http://www.usefpakistan.org/FLTA.html. Nationals of Afghanistan may click here for the
same information: http://kabul.usembassy.gov/flta.html. All are encouraged to apply to
teach their native language abroad as well as to enhance their leadership skills, increase
their English proficiency, and refine their teaching skills. Benefits of the program include a
monthly stipend, health insurance, travel support, and tuition awards for their required
coursework.
The program emphasizes that women, minorities, natives of FATA, FANA, and other
remote areas, and persons with disabilities are strongly encouraged to apply.
Readers are asked to spread this information and share it with as many Pashtuns as
possible; they are also encouraged to support each other during the application process so
that we can succeed as one nation.
SAHAR
February 2011
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Section 4: Art, Culture, and Entertainment
_______________________________________________
Incredible Embroidery from Balochistan
Azra Nafees
Discovering Baluchi embroidery has always been a
pleasant experience. Baluchi fabrics originate from
Pakistan's largest province Baluchistan. There are
four main provinces in Pakistan and each area has its
own signature style of embroidery.
Balochistan is the largest province in terms of area.
No other part of Pakistan can match the rich variety
of stitches in traditional embroidery created by the
Baloch-Pashtun women. The coastal belt of Makran
alone boasts of more than 29 different stitches, each
named after a flower, a leaf, a tree or a season. The
Brahvi and Balochi style of embroidery is famous for its complexity. The Marri and Bugti
tribes, who use mostly cotton thread on cotton fabric, produce the best-known and finest
examples of embroidery.
Balochi dresses (pashk)
The fascination of Balochi dresses is mostly associated
to pashks. This is so because each pashk is a piece of
art that speaks of the designer’s skill. A pashk can even
take several years to complete!
Bold colours and fine stitches characterise Balochi
embroidery, which enjoys worldwide fame. There are
no less than 28 types of stitches applied in this art with
mirrors as its integral part.
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February 2011
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The embroidered triangular pouch on the front of a woman's shirt (pushk) is typical of
Balochi, Brahvi and Makrani dress. A microcosm of variety in stitching, the difference of
embroidery on the pushk identifies the tribe.
"Kechi Doch" is the best form of
embroidery, while others include "Jigs" of
Marri
Bugti
tribe;
"Hurmuch"
and
"Mosum", Balochi "Pushk" are brilliant.
Silk thread on synthetic or cotton cloth is
also becoming popular now- a- days.
There are several types of doch (balochi
embroidery done on pashk). There’s
Kapnaal doch, Rind doch, Banor-e-Ans (Bride’s Tear), Gul -e- Kantuk, Badshah-e-Taj (King’s
Crown), Taidok, Pazep, Neza, Chandan-e-Haar, Gul-e-Nimash, and so on.
Pushtun women in Balochistan wear a flared skirt (kameez) with embroidered panels of
satin stitch in silk, silver and gold thread. Sindhi influence is quite
visible in mirror embroidery and other stitches where the Kirthar
Range separates Balochistan from Sindh.
Among the Pashtun, "Gulabatun" and
Khamak stitches are famous. One can
find Balochi embroidery on a vast
variety of items including ladies
dresses, bed sheets, cushion covers,
tea cozies, tray covers, dining sets,
table cloths, shawls, dupattas, Balochi
caps, sari patti, jackets, belts, ladies purses, shoulder bags and
many items of decorative ornamentation.
The nomadic Balochi women still produce the best work for
their own family - the Pushk with their rich embroidery down the front, and that on the
sleeves. The Pushk is a loose shirt, often reaching to the ankles, with loose sleeves and
having a long pocket (pandol) centred on the front lower half. No buttons are used in the
collar. A string exquisitely made to match its colour ties the neckslit called "Tool".
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February 2011
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In Balochistan, "Chakkan" is a kind of leather embroidery, which is famous for its intricate
designs and most appealing colour scheme. The items on which leather embroidery is
generally done include the upper part of ladies and gents
shoes (Sartal), belts, upholstery, sheath (cushion covers),
ladies purses, shoulder bags, spectacle covers and a number
of similar items. This art is peculiar to Lehri (Kachi district) and
Turbut (Makran district).
Baloch women living in eastern Balochistan, western
Balochistan, Afghanistan and
the Middle
East have
been
wearing the traditional Balochi pashk, shalwaar and
saadar/gusaan for hundreds of years. Baloch women living
in Europe, America and Africa also proudly wear their traditional dress.
The jaamag, pashk/gown is ornamented with a profusion of needle-work of various
matching colours. Different names (kapnaal, paliwaar, etc) are given to different designs of
needled-work
or
embroidery. Regardless of the name,
colour or design of the needle-work the
pattern of the gown remains the same.
Shalwars/ trousers are very loose with
embroideries
over
the
hem.
The gusaan worn to cover the head,
neck and chest; is also embroidered
with matching colours as the gown.
Virgins and widows usually wear black, white or simpler jaamag with less needle-work or
simply patched with flowered ribbon, while a married women uses various colours, the
favourite being red.
The married old women sometimes use black jaamag without
embroidery. If a widow uses embroidery, it is a clear indication that she intends to remarry.
Along with beautifully flowered dress, trouser and head scarf Baloch women also wear
unique jewellery designs ike durr (earrings), haar ortouk (necklace), mondrik (rings in hands
and foot fingers), sanga or taal (rings around hands), bahoband or bahink (armlets).
SAHAR
February 2011
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Balochi dresses are making a very profitable market, locally from the tourist’s point of view
as well as in the international fashion business.
In Karachi where the largest numbers the Baloch live
together, Balochi dress has a market of millions of
rupees. Many non Baloch have been earning their
bread on making Balochi dresses; needle-worked or
embroidered. Equally in the western Balochistan
many Afghan refugees make Balochi dresses to earn
their livings; some of whom have established huge
businesses in this trade.
The
Balochi
pashk,
whose magnificent mirror inset embroidery has made
it a part of the ethnic chic fashion world, is the most
sought after dress today.
Little mirror discs are set using closely worked silken threads. Generally, the mirror work is
made on a dark background with motifs such as petals, flowers, creepers, etc. A majority of
these motifs are inspired by ancient belief, daily life as well as rituals. However, they differ
from region to region and are passed down from one generation to the other over the
centuries.
Until recently, long hours were devoted to create some of the best designs using
embroidery and mirror work for personal use. However, things today have become a bit
more organized and slightly speedier with the aim of catering to the requirements of the
tourists as well.
Azra Nafees is the founder of SAHAR magazine and may be reached at
[email protected]
SAHAR
February 2011
29 | Page
Section 5: Emerging Pashtun Talent – Ulusyar Khan Tareen
_______________________________________________
SAHAR presents to you an interview with another rising singer, Ulusyar Khan Tareen,
popularly known for his song “Sanam Jaana Musafira.” We hope you enjoy reading it as
much as we enjoyed taking it!
Editor Sahar: Salamoona Ulusyar Khan
Tareen.
Ulusyar Khan: Walaikum assalam, Azra
ES: Tell us something about yourself. A
brief background about where you were
born, how your childhood was like,
about your early education, etc.
UYK: Well, my childhood was not very
different from ordinary children. I was born in Pishin, Balochistan, and was brought up
there. I am the second child in my family after my brother Azizyar Khan. I received my basic
education from Pishin and spent most of my time there. I have done BCS and now I am
doing my Masters in Graphic designing from Quaid-e Azam University, Islamabad.
ES: When you sang your first song, you couldn't have
predicted that much success. What was your take on it
at that time?
UYK: Well, I felt great obviously and was thankful to
Allah for the fame and recognition that He blessed me
with.
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February 2011
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ES: When did you realize that you had a talent for music?
Which was your first song?
UYK: I started singing, though not professionally, at a very
tender age. I always had a great passion for singing and used
to sing at school functions. Later, I realized that I can make a
mark in this field and tried my luck. By the grace of Almighty
Allah, people liked and appreciated my work and I got
recognition as a singer. But the song which gave me a
launching pad was Adnan Sami Khan’s hamd “Ay Khuda,”
which I sang in my college function. It gave me lots of
confidence and appreciation when I received first prize for
singing that hamd.
ES: What kind of music is your all-time favourite?
UYK: I am a diehard lover of Sufi music.
ES: Is there anyone else from your family in the music industry?
UYK: Well, my younger brothers, Hikmatyar Khan and Qamyar Khan, sing very well, but they
have not taken up singing as their profession. They have great voices and lots of talent.
ES: How did your family react when you decided to
join the music industry?
UYK: They have been very supportive, and their
encouragement enabled me to try my luck in the
singing arena.
ES: Is music more of a passion or a profession to
you?
UYK: A passion, I would I say.
ES: Did you go to any music school for formal
learning?
UYK: No. I practice singing on my own. Since I am
busy in studies at the moment, I hardly find any time to pursue singing more professionally.
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February 2011
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ES: When did you release your first solo album?
UYK: I have completed one album so far but have not released it due to my commitment in
academics, but I shall soon work on it and add a few more numbers to it and make it
available to the listeners, Inshallah.
ES: Which do you like doing the most, producing,
recording, composing or performing live?
UYK: I like performing live.
ES: Time has changed a lot since you started in
the business—significantly because of the
internet. Has it helped or hindered the music
profession in general?
UYK: I am personally in favour of promoting
music through internet. It increases your audience and viewer ship. Most importantly, your
work reaches even to audience who is living far away from their homeland and can enjoy
their favourite music just with a click.
ES: Now I must ask you the age-old question. What does a
young person, looking to break into the business, need to
realize his goals? Many aspiring singers have talent but no
links and contacts. How would you advise such a person
who may be reading this to proceed?
UYK: Just have trust in yourself and in your abilities, and
work hard. Hard work and dedication really pay off.
ES: Do you believe in Riyadh (practice)?
UYK: Yes, of course I do.
ES: Your song SANAM JANA MUSAFIRA has created a lot of sensation and stir among your
Pashtun fan club. How did the idea of singing SANAM JANA strike you?
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February 2011
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UYK: I liked the melody and the lyrics and was sure that it can leave an effect on the
listeners, so just gave it a try.
ES: How much loss have you suffered so far due to the current situation in the country? As
many musicians were forced to quit the singing profession or leave the country for risk of
their lives?
UYK: Music industry has really received a heavy blow but I wish and pray that the situation
gets better soon.
ES: Any message you want to leave for your fans?
UYK: I must thank all my fans and supporters for their love and appreciation. They are my
strength and I wish them all well.
ES: Thank you Ulusyar Khan for being with us.
UYK: Manana Azra Khor.
SAHAR
February 2011
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About Us
Welcome to SAHAR - The Voice of Pashtuns-a monthly publication that commits to
engage with the ever-evolving and increasingly significant paradigm in Pashtun thought and
psyche transformation.
The need of SAHAR was felt due to the ever increasing misconceptions about
Pashtuns in the region and the criticality of the same in the development of various
stereotypes about Pashtun nation in general. SAHAR is an initiative to engage the Pashtun
intelligentsia and youth, both at home and in the Diaspora with the aim to discuss Pashtun
issues and contribute to a more informed debate on the Pashtun question on both sides of
the Durand Line. The Magazine also intends to provide a forum to our youth to remain in
touch with their culture, art and literature and at the same time, to illustrate a softer image
of the Pashtuns to the outer world.
On another level, and more importantly, it is of particular relevance to mention that
SAHAR aims to provide input to the policy and decision makers in the public/private sector
both at home and abroad by providing a more authentic and indigenous debate and analysis
on the various aspects of the crises currently being faced in the region.
Finally, SAHAR will act as a platform to bring out the immense talent in our youth
and make them stakeholders in the debate with the long term aim of preparing them for
leadership role in the future. It is our hope that the contributions in SAHAR will help burnish
and restore the credibility and essence of true Pashtun society while also proving useful to
provide input to policy making in the region.
SAHAR
February 2011
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Guidelines for Submission
SAHAR-The Voice of Pashtuns welcomes article submissions by all, particularly Pashtuns,
regardless of their age, location, creed, caste, as intend to become the real ‘Voices of
Pashtuns’. If you have an article you think would be suitable for publication in SAHAR,
please send an e-mail with the subject heading “Submission” to the editor at
[email protected]. Articles that adhere to the guidelines given below shall be
considered for publication. Please remember that SAHAR does not pay for submissions as
we work as a volunteer team.
Content
You can write on any subject that relates to Pashtun issues (i.e., Pashtun history, politics,
geo-politics, economy, society, current affairs and contemporary issues, culture, war/peace,
leadership, interviews of Pashtun celebrities, travelogues, cuisine, art and heritage or
anything that revolves around Pashtuns). If you want to know first whether we would be
interested in featuring your article before you write it, e-mail your proposal to us at the
given mailing address and we will be glad to discuss it.
SAHAR seeks fact-based analysis and opinions, but well-thought out views or
arguments that are well supported will have a much better chance of being featured. If you
source information used in your article, you must mention the source at the end of the
article or provide footnotes. Please facts check your work. Particularly if your article is about
something controversial, it’s best to provide sources to support your assertions. All content
must be the original work of the author; no form of plagiarism will be tolerated. It is
assumed that all works publisehd in SAHAR belong solely to those who are stated as their
authors.
Format
Please attach articles as a Word document with your email. No PDF forms will be accepted.
Please singlespace and do not indent. Type your articles in Aerial Style, Size12 font. Also
send photos if any with relevant captions. Submitted articles should be final drafts. Please
take care to proofread your own work before submitting it. If you think that your English is
not up to the mark, the editor will be happy to work with you provided sufficient time is
available.
If the editor decides your article requires any kind of significant revision before
publication, you will be notified and given the opportunity to approve of any such changes.
Such revisions may include correction of factual statements, revisions for grammar and
SAHAR
February 2011
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readability, and changing the title to something likelier to draw more readers’ attention or
improve search engine optimization. Any proposed revisions are intended only to improve
the quality of each article. Please include a short bio with your submission to let readers
know a little about you, just something brief to let people know who you are. You may also
submit a photograph of yourself that will appear with your bio.
Please let the editor know whether a piece is an exclusive submission or not, and
whether it has been published elsewhere previously (this will not affect the consideration
your article is given, but the courtesy is appreciated).
Deadline for receipt of articles
Articles should reach the editor by the 15th of each month. Your articles, after due editing
might find place in any of the upcoming issues depending upon the quality and suitability of
the articles. However, selection of articles for publication is the sole discretion of the
Editorial Board.
Disclaimer
The views and opinions expressed in articles published at ‘SAHAR- The Voice of Pashtuns are
the respective author’s own. Every effort is taken to ensure that information published at
SAHAR is factually accurate. However, SAHAR does not accept any responsibility for
submitted articles that are published on the website. Under no circumstances shall SAHAR
be held liable for the work of others for which permission has been granted for publication
at SAHAR.
Thank you for considering SAHAR-The Voice of Pashtuns as an outlet for your
writing!
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Except where otherwise indicated, entire contents are copyright@editorsahar. Feel free to
distribute this magazine (in whole and for free) to anyone you want. However, you may not
sell this magazine or its contents, nor extract and use more than a paragraph of content in
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Published monthly in PDF. Visit us at http://khyberwatch.com/Sahar
SAHAR
February 2011
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