Opting for right kind of entertainment

By Afzal Hussain Bokhari

Before leaving his house on Friday evening, the young schoolboy assured his parents that after getting battery of his cell phone replaced, he would soon rush back home. Rush back home soon, the truthful schoolboy did but it was in the form of a dead body.

After getting the battery replaced from Kabari Bazaar at the back of Qissa Khwani, he strayed to the nearby Cinema Road and at the entrance of the well-guarded Tasveer Mahel cinema started looking at the attractive posters of the romantically-named Pushto film 'Meena main ista sanamma'.

Hardly had he identified the beautiful scenery at the back of the good-looking hero and the heroine, when a loud explosion in the cinema's car parking area brought the posters, the wall and the film fan down to the floor.

The deafening blast in the red Suzuki (Alto) car shook him out of his freshly-woven fantasy and the critically wounded, sobbing schoolboy vaguely wondered at the connotation of love and the sweetheart as intended in the title of the movie.

Almost same was the case with a guest from Swat staying in a hotel in the Qissa Khwani Bazaar. Escaping from the uncertain conditions in Mingora, Matta and Khwazakhela, the peace-abiding Swati youth came over to the proverbial safety and hospitality of Peshawar.

After sipping on the cardamom-flavoured, creamy afternoon tea, he decided to have the evening stroll along the lively and artistic Cinema Road - named so because of the geographical proximity in the area of three film theatres i.e. Tasveer Mahal, Picture House and Novelty.

Even if you don't buy anything special, you carry the 'feel good' sensation inside you with tantalising voices of Naghma Mangal and Nazia Iqbal overlapping each other and pouring into your ears some of the really sweet melodies of the times. The visitors have a hard and long look at the men walking in and out of the CD shops.

Sometimes the strangers recognise the figures to be drama artists, singers or musicians. There have been times when people like Rafiq Shinwari and Murad Shinwari (poet Amir Hamza Khan Shinwari's son) used to visit this market for their professional requirements.

Thoughtfully chewing strong tobacco mixed with betel leaves imported from the battle-free Sri Lanka, the gunman in front of Tasveer Mahal Cinema adjusts the rifle to his shoulder and tries to look vigilant like an eagle.

However, the unidentified saboteurs manage to outwit him by bringing into the parking area a car packed with 60 to 80 kilos of explosives.

The chief of the Capital City Police apologises to the public for the security lapse. Coming as it does from the CCP chief, the apology may not, however, bring any solace to the parents of the schoolboy or those of the hotel guest from Swat.

Those who got killed, maimed or wounded in the car bomb explosion were the entertainment-starved people from the low income group. If they had been rich with extra bucks to throw away, they would never have strayed into the Cinema Road labyrinth. The wealthy and the affluent go straight to the parks and hotels of Dubai and Abu Dhabi.

From Sharjah and Riyadh, they issue directions to their 'chowkidars' who guard their bungalows and take care of their business in the violence-hit areas. Being penniless and voiceless in contemporary society is as great a sin as living in a camp for IDPs. But living under the threat of militancy is all the more unnerving.        

Depending on personal perception of the issue, one could agree or disagree with the observations made in the discourse but a highly stimulating, interactive and consultative meeting was held the other day under the auspices of Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP).

Blunt and outspoken in expressing her views without mincing matters unnecessarily, the HRCP chairperson Asma Jehangir said that in order to mitigate the hardships of the Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs), effective arrangements for them should be made at every available place.

Equally fearless jurist and former president of Peshawar High Court Bar Association, Abdul Latif Afridi, was of the view that in the backdrop of the circumstances created in Malakand division, also involved in the situation could possibly be some hidden elements that might well be providing guidance to the militants.

Complaining against the existing arrangements, District Nazim Mardan, Himayatullah Mayar, said that his district had 12, 32, 089 registered IDPs but the relief teams from the United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR), World Food Programme and the United Nations Children's Education Fund (UNICEF) were handing down to each of the ration-card holding IDPs a packet of cooking oil and bag of wheat which was obviously of no use to them.

Social worker from Swabi, Farzana Bibi, said that it was alright for relief agencies to distribute food items among the IDPs but it would be better if packs of dried or liquid milk were also given for infants living with their mothers in the camps.

Former journalist and at present the representative of a Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO), Shabina Ayaz, somehow felt that Swat-like situation was also being created in Peshawar.

Expressing her concerns at the worsening situation, she said that incidents like government institutions receiving anonymous letters and increasing incidents of kidnappings and explosions might ultimately force the administration to extend the military operation even up to the provincial capital.

District Nazim, Swabi, Shahram Khan, said that visits to refugee camps by ministers, party leaders and other prominent figures were adding to the grievances of the IDPs as most of the time meant for distributing relief goods among them was taken up by photo sessions and speeches.

The grumbling lecturer from Government College, Swabi, Muhammad Yousuf, was full of complaints and stories of injustice and of broken promises. With mixed feelings of anger and protest, he said that the government had promised to grant free admissions to students in local schools and colleges but only those carrying recommendation letters from ministers had been lucky enough to get admissions.