Schoolgirls’ day and journalistic memories

By Afzal Hussain Bokhari

Educational institutions in KP, especially schools meant for girls, have generally speaking been in a poor plight for the past some time. In this context, whenever one notices an event or an activity, it immensely inspires confidence in the teaching-learning process. A similar event occurred on December 23 when the girls’ branch of Peshawar Public School and College (Warsak Road) observed its annual prize distribution day.

Provincial Minister for Education Sardar Hussain Babak was supposed to be the chief guest but due to some pre-occupation, special secretary Mohammad Fareed Qureshi had to preside over the get-together. From 1979, the boys’ and girls’ branches had been functioning amicably well as an entity. However, due to management problems and increasing rush for new admissions, the school’s board of governors decided on November 22, 2011 that both the branches would work independently.

In the light of this landmark decision, the annual day assumed a significantly new dimension. However, it was reassuring to see that principal of the boys’ branch Inamur Rehman was also present on the occasion. Retired principals – Jamil Khan and Wilayat Shah from boys’ while Almas Begum and Rahat Josh from girls’ wings – also found time to attend. In summer this year, the first principal Abdur Raziq Swati passed away after a prolonged illness while the first headmistress Farrukh Begum lived in Hayatabad in advanced state of dementia. It may not be out of place to mention here that pop singer Adnan Sami is son of the elder brother of Farrukh’s husband.

Presenting the progress report, principal Nadeema Perveen availed of the opportunity by mentioning the problems faced by the school and put forth before the chief guest a list of more than 11 demands. Responding to the principal’s remarks, Fareed Qureshi said that within the available resources he would try to bring the school out of financial difficulties.

The parents broke into an understandable applause when the ‘best student of the year’ award was given to Sehrish Ayub from school and Gul Rukh from college side. Parental feelings came into play when Gul Rukh’s father DSP Imtiaz, adjusting the brown belt on his uniform, argued with photographer Faridoon to be more generous in taking the snapshots of his daughter.

Children in colourful dress presented a PT show under the supervision of Khalilur Rehman and Nausheen Bibi. Also to draw praise were the skits presented by intelligent girls under the direction of Farzana Haziq and Shehla Khan. Walls were decorated with banners displayed by Hafsa (the champions) and Ayesha houses. Melodious tunes presented by the police band thrilled the audience. Staff members Rameem Gauhar, Sardar Bibi, Shahnaz Anwar, Najma Bibi and Fatima Malik did everything to make the event a success. Announcements in English were made by Noorul Huda and in Urdu by Afshan Bano.

Forgetting the icy Christmas and New Year celebrations of Central Asian Republics, progressive journalist Shiraz Paracha has lately been visiting home and meeting old-time friends in City, where he was once the bureau chief of a Lahore-based Urdu newspaper. Apart from being a well-informed reporter, he also used to host a weekly television show from Peshawar centre of PTV.

 During the second tenure of Benazir Bhutto, three columnists Irshad Ahmad Haqqani, Munno Bhai and (Neelam Ghar-famed) Tariq Aziz (who could not continue after a few puerile pieces) had been lashing out at BB for not bowing before their overriding ambitions. As the coincidence would have it, Irshad Ahmad Haqqani agreed to be a guest on Paracha’s television show.

A few of Paracha’s acquaintances, including your diarist, happened to be among the audience which wanted to subject Haqqani to a mild grilling. Towards the end of the show, producer Masood Ahmad Shah brought the boom, lights and camera on to this scribe and Paracha signaled me to speak. I can still recall the question: “Why is it so that when BB fails to oblige, she gets ferocious detractors in the form of a college teacher from Qasur who, after becoming a columnist, wanted to be Pakistan’s ambassador to China, in the person of a writer from Lahore’s Riwaz Garden that wanted to be PTV’s MD and in the shape of a television host from Sahiwal that stood deprived of “the watching eyes and listening ears”? Memories like these got refreshed on Sunday evening when Paracha joined a group of friends over a cup of tea.

Locally known first in Parachinar and then in Hayatabad, Mohammad Musharraf Bangash passed away after losing his battle against heart ailment. Brother of Dr Mudassar Bangash of Kidney Centre (HMC) and maternal uncle of journalists Mumtaz Bangash and Shafiq Bangash, the deceased was a highly pious gentleman who commanded respect from young and the old alike.

 In freezing, end-of-the-December temperature, the mourners converged on the residence of Dr Mudassar (a paedriatician) in Sector H-3 of Phase II and offered condolences. Some years back, the family of the deceased moved from Parachinar to Peshawar when a projectile reportedly hit their house thus killing one of the Bangash brothers.

Members of the bereaved family included the widow, two sons and an equal number of daughters. Mourners mostly belonged originally to Parachinar. The conversation among them naturally turned to politically uncertain conditions in Kurram and the Orakzai tribal agencies, the military’s operation clean-up there, the construction of a wall and the recent visit to the area by army chief General Ashfaq Pervaiz Kayani to have a personal assessment of the state of militancy in the region.

Due to the closure of the main road that links Peshawar to Parachinar and Hangu, the residents have been feeling a number of hardships. Some students even have to spend more on the alternative road journey that brings them to Peshawar via Teri Mangal in the Nangarhar province of Afghanistan. Families with limited sources of income feel insecure and have understandably developed psychological disorders. People in the Kurram Agency have convened several jirgas but they still await the evasive sectarian harmony.