Haji Sahib Turangzai: Life and struggle

City Notes

Abid Jan Razarwal

Grandson and successor to Haji Sahib Turangzai, Haji Syed Khushal Babaji has said that he had sent his cousin Dr. Nasir to negotiate with the occupants of the Haji Sahib Turangzai mosque in Lakaro, Mohmand Agency to persuade them to vacate the place.

In an exclusive interview with the Statesman on Wednesday Khushal Babaji said that some 20 Taliban had asked Dr. Nasir for staying for 3 nights in the mosque which Nasir refused by saying that the Taliban were fully armed. "However on Sunday night when we came to the mosque it was full of Taliban," he said adding that they were 80 in numbers and were fully armed.

He said that then we talked to the Jirga because the mosque was a public place and was the property of the whole Mohmandnama.

He said that the Taliban seemed local people and therefore had put masks to conceal their identity. He said that they had made bunkers on top of the mosque. However he said that after talking with the Jirga now only 20 Taliban had remained while the other had vacated the mosque.

It is pertinent to mention here that a few days earlier some armed masked men claiming to be Taliban have occupied the mausoleum and mosque of famous freedom fighter Haji Sahib Turangai. They claim that it was a retaliation of the operation in Lal Masjid in Islamabad and want to build madrassa there.

The talks with the Babaji revealed that the successors of the Haji Sahib Turangzai had nothing with the extremist religious groups and they want the place vacated. There are also speculations galore the whole thing is a drama by some vested interests to provide an opportunity to the NATO forces in Afghanistan to attack Mohmand Agency.

Here it is pertinent to give a brief introduction to the life and struggle of Haji Sahib Turangzai.

Haji Sahib's real name was Fazal Wahid and he was born to a noble family in 1858 at Turangzai; a famous town in district Charsadda. His father's name was Fazal Ahad.

After getting religious education at home Haji Sahib went to Darul Uloom Deoband where he grew an attachment to Sheikh ul Hind Maulana Mahmood ul Hasan and in 1294 Hijri, accompanied the Sheikh on Hajj.

The detachment of Greece from the Ottomon Caliphate in Turkey resulted in wide-scale reprisals from Muslims in Afghanistan, the Frontier, and India. Haji Sahib Turangzai also took part in an armed struggle under the leadership of Hadda Mullah Sahib when British Cantoments at Malakand and Chakdarra were attacked in 1897. He fought the enemy at the fronts of Malakand, Batkhela, Pir Kali, and Chakdarra. After the demise of Hadda Mullah Sahib in 1902, Maulana Muhammad Alam was appointed his Khaleefa. Maulana Muhammad Alam was also known as Sufi Alam Gul. After this great loss, Haji Sahib Turangzai gave a renewed pledge to Hadda Mullah Sahib's new Khaleefa. In return, Sufi Sahib gifted him with his sword and turban and appointed him his Khaleefa as well.

In 1908, Haji Sahib had the privilege to go on Hajj once again. Upon his return, he started his social work again and in this regard started touring each village and town along with great Khudai Khidmatgar Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan, popularly known as Bacha Khan. His reform activities concentrated upon ridding the society from social ills; they established independent schools and madrassas in the areas under their influence.

Although these activities were non-political in nature, the British saw them as threats to its own system of governance and education. They accused Haji Sahib of running a parallel government to that of the British and had him arrested and put on trial. On the basis of lack of evidence, Haji Sahib was released but his fellow workers were given sentences of up to three years.

Despite this political victimization, Haji Sahib continued his efforts to promote education.

In 1913, Sir Sahibzada Abdul Qayum Khan chose Haji Sahib Turangzai to inaugurate the foundation laying ceremony of Darul Uloom Islamia (present day Islamia College).

In June 1915 the British government issued an arrest warrant against him evading arrest at midnight, Haji Sahib left Peshawar and headed for Mohmand Territory along with his sons and trusted friends. Within days of arriving at Mohmand Agency, Haji Sahib along with Mujahideen from Chamarkand accelerated attacks on British positions in the nearby areas. The Chamarkand Mujahideen were under the leadership of Ameer Niamatullah Khan. In August 1915, they attacked a British camp stationed at Rustam in Mardan. The numbers of injured and dead were so great that sixteen trucks were used to transfer them to hospitals in Mardan.

In 1923, the British sent their troops to Mohmand Territory to stamp out the resistance. This time however, instead of any bloodshed they managed to sign a truce after which they pushed back their troops. Haji Sahib stayed temporarily in various places after this pact. Many influential in Swat, Buner and Dir were hesitant to give permanent refuge to Haji Sahib due to fear of confronting the British. After many negotiations, Haji Sahib managed to secure a written agreement with the tribes and settled himself in Sur Kamar (Red Mountain). A Darwesh Faqeer by the name of "Gud Mullah" (Limbless Mullah) had engaged himself in building a huge mosque at the place. People would be astonished on seeing the mosque and would comment that there are not more than 10 people for Friday prayers or Eid prayers in the area so what is the need of such a big mosque. Gud Mullah would smile back that Allah will send such a pious person to this mosque that even this big mosque would not suffice to accommodate all his followers. His words were proved right.

Haji Sahib changed the name of Sur Qamar to Ghazi Abad after settling here. It is said that there was shortage of water in the area. There was only one small stream which was enough for ablution needs of not more than fifteen people. One morning, Haji Sahib went there and prayed. By the blessings of Allah, the capacity of water in the stream grew so much that four watermills operate on the stream which provide water to fields in an area that is roughly 3-4 square miles.

In 1928, Haji Sahib developed an injury in his knee. He grew unable to walk and was confined to his bed. But his followers would still carry him around while he would be in his bed. Despite his disability, Haji Sahib would always be present at every battle.

In 1936, Haji Sahib fell seriously ill. With time, his condition worsened and finally his soul left this world on the 14th of December 1937 aged 81. He was survived by three sons and two daughters.

 Varsity seminar on Urdu linguistics

City Diary

By Afzal Hussain Bokhari

Beaten by the end-of-July heat and the post-monsoon suffocation, most of Peshawar University's 41 departments have understandably gone into some sort of hibernation during the summer vacation. However, a few of the teachers in some departments try to be innovative and involve their students and teachers in co-curricular activities that carry both educative and entertainment value.

One such instance is that of Urdu Department, which plans to hold over August 12-16 a seminar titled "Urdu linguistics". The interesting part of the academic exercise is that the venue of the seminar will not be the age-old building complex that houses the three departments of Urdu, Persian and Philosophy. The venue will in fact be the chilling heights of university's summer camp located at Baragali in the midst of lofty deodars and the ever-dancing pines that hold in their spreading branches some of the most fascinating breeds of lively monkeys!

In order to finalise the programme, a meeting of the department was held on Saturday with its head Dr. Sabir Kalorvi being in the chair. Apart from Dr. Riaz Majeed, Dr. Irshad Shakir and Dr. Salman Ali the others who attended the meeting and stayed in the department up to 2pm included Dr. Robina Shaheen and Zubaida Zulfiqar. Two young staff members - Badshah Munir and Salman Ali - will be in charge of the overall arrangements.

If there was anything lacking in the department meeting, it was the unusual absence of Dr. Nazeer Tabassum, who suffered a heart attack in the middle of July and remained in the intensive care unit for about five days. Friends and colleagues have been visiting his Meena Bazaar home to inquire after his health. Due to some family problems, Tabassum had to experience some of the worst moments of his life in June and July.

As far as the general lifestyle is concerned, his admirers somehow feel that he has put on some extra pounds of flesh on his already bulky physique and is not adequately judicious about his food. The proud author of two collections of poetry - "Tum udaas mat hona" and the recently-published "Abhi mausam nahin badla" - Tabassum is fairly popular in and out of the university, for his romantic temperament and ready wit.   

According to the tentative programme, the participants of the seminar will leave Peshawar on August 12 at 8am. By 11-30am they are likely to reach Hassan Abdaal where delegates arriving from other universities may join them at a local hotel. By 3pm the participants are expected to reach a restaurant opposite Abbottabad's Lady Garden. Interestingly, the restaurant has been named after a legendary Western woman who in paintings is known for her captivating smile. The seminar participants may be joined there by the Hazara delegates that manage to converge on that scenic hill station that also has on it the country's famous Kakool Military Academy. By sundown, the delegates will reach their destination. This is probably going to be the first time that the guests will be received by the host department with such new members on its staff as Dr. Riaz Majeed, Dr. Shakir Awan and Dr. Salman Ali, the last having joined the department only recently from the neighbouring Islamia College. Salman Ali, by the way, did his doctorate by conducting research on biographies.

If anyone from NWFP feels tempted to take part in the seminar on his own, he can do so by getting himself registered with the host department on paying a fixed amount of fee not exceeding Rs1, 000. However, those wishing to participate from areas out of the NWFP will have to pay only 100 rupees as the registration fee. The guest writers invited to speak in the seminar have been asked to restrict their ideas on any aspect of Urdu linguistics up to a maximum of 20 minutes. The invitation letter says that if the resources permit the department may offer some sort of an honorarium to the guest speakers.

Since the weather in Baragali is treacherously unpredictable, the host department has advised every guest to bring along an umbrella, a torch, warm clothes, a lock and medicines that one may feel like using. The final details of the seminar relating to the guest speakers, their topics and the timings may be issued in printed form by the department on or after the 1st of August. However, an important feature of the seminar will be a grand 'mushaira' session on August 14.

The invitation letter is silent about the matter but there are strong chances that the guests may have an opportunity to visit the famously huge and valuable personal library of Dr. Kalorvi located in village Qalandarabad near Abbottabad. The library has some unique manuscripts and rare books, which being out of print are not available anywhere in Pakistan or India. Some time back, Dr. Kalorvi decided to allow the research scholars in or outside of NWFP to have an access to the library on getting the membership of the library.

The nearest places of interest that one can possibly visit include Nathiagali and Thandiani. Nathiagali is a well-developed picnic spot and for its pleasantly cold weather it used to be in a way the summer capital of the NWFP government. Thandiani too is located on almost steep heights and until recently before the suicide attacks or their threats scared them away, the Western tourists especially the Englishmen and their friends used to arrange elaborate hiking trips to that place.

Apart from sight-seeing and shopping trips to Nathiagali and Abbottabad in which the guests pick embroidered jackets and Punjabi 'khussa' shoes, the locally arranged music parties especially after dinner are extremely entertaining. In such parties no radio or television artist is invited. Students and teachers volunteer to sing folk songs. Sometimes the most beautiful voice that enthralls the audience turns out to be that of the local 'nanbai' who in place of a 'tabla' takes an empty tin of cooking oil and putting it upside down in front of him slaps the desired beats out of it to match his ecstatic 'tappas'.

Of Mahmood Sarhadi and the writers’ role

City Diary

By Afzal Hussain Bokhari

Taha Khan went down the memory lane and recalled the days when he, Ahmad Faraz and Mirza Mahmood Sarhadi used to assemble in the offices of the now defunct daily "Anjaam" and play rounds of sweep at cards. One day during the game, Taha Khan without any purpose read out a couplet from Urdu poetry: "Jhoot kehta hoon aur bay khatkay; Kaun such keh kay daar per latkay!" When Faraz asked if he knew who the author of that couplet was, Taha shook his head. It came as a pleasant surprise that Mahmood Sarhadi was the proud author.

The monthly session of the literary organisation "Takhleeq", held at the Hayatabad residence of Fazal-ul-Haq Fazli, had devoted the opening part of its proceedings to a discussion pertaining to the life and art of Mirza Mahmood Sarhadi who due to his popular quartets had earned the title of "Akbar-i-Sarhad" meaning Akbar Allahabadi of the Frontier province.

Majid Sarhadi recalled a meeting with Mirza Mahmood in which the latter narrated some of his poetry. Majid noticed in Mirza's lines an expression "jo bhi kehway hai". With Urdu as his mother tongue, Majid told Mirza that even he had not used such an expression in his poetry so how on earth did that phrase find its way into Mirza's lines. Mehmood Sarhadi surprised Majid by saying that he picked the expression when he remained posted in Kanpur, India.

In a heart-warming manner, Ismail Awan recalled the moments spent with Mahmood Sarhadi in Raiti Bazaar and the Ghanta Ghar vicinity. He lamented that most of the people paying tributes to the late Peshawari poet did not even know where exactly in the city was the author of "Andesha-i-Shehr" really buried.

At the end of the literary sitting when the guests invaded the dining table and reached for their share of the meat-balls, Awan withdrew to a chair in the corner of Fazli's basement to ease his aching knees. I quietly walked up to him and asked about Sarhadi's last resting place. "From Ganj area, if you move eastward and walk past the famous "chowrasta", you will notice ahead some archaeological sites of the Mauria dynasty. It is here that Sarhadi's grave still bears the tombstone with the title of "Akbar-i-Sarhad" inscribed on it," Awan smilingly volunteered the information.

The tiny "Takhleeq" crowd heaved a sigh of relief when Majid Sarhadi announced that Bushra Farrukh and Farooq Zaman Babar had succeeded in their mediatory efforts that they had undertaken on their own to end the controversy resulting out of an article written by a teacher of Edwardes College.

Some months back the college teacher contributed to a local Urdu newspaper an article for publication.

In the article he did not show very high opinion about the creative work being done by writers in Peshawar. More or less, same was his opinion about the overall grooming of research workers in Peshawar University's Urdu Department.

Somehow or the other, the article got leaked out of the newspaper office well before anyone could decide whether or not to send it into print. Within days the photocopies of the letter rapidly changed hands. Feelings of ill will, hostility and animosity started breeding against the teacher.

An undeclared social boycott was put in place. Some writers took the letter as personal insult and the college teacher started receiving abusive messages and threatening phone calls.

The common question being asked was: "How dare that fellow write such trash?" 

The college teacher thought that the storm in the teacup would blow itself over in due course but the crisis continued to worsen. At one stage the state of affairs got so awkward that about half a dozen of poets told the organisers of the Women Writers' Forum mushaira that if the college teacher was allowed on to the rostrum, they would walk out of the gathering en mass. It was here that Bushra Farrukh assumed the mediatory role and after months of mutual consultations, she persuaded the teacher to walk into the rival camp, explain himself away and, if possible, apologise unconditionally over what had happened.

The organisers of the literary evening asked your diarist to share his ideas with the audience on the role of writers in the present situation. I'll try to sum up my humble submissions below. Writers comprise the most sensitive section of the population. They are normally the first to notice any injustice around them and also the first to register an artistic protest against it. Unfortunately, most of the writers have become de-politicised, money-minded and compromising.

It was an unpleasant fact that in 60 years, 160 million people of the country had been able to produce just one Habib Jalib. The political establishment in the country was in the habit of pushing everyone to the wall.

After Benazir Bhutto and Mian Nawaz Sharif, it was now the religious leadership that was being driven to the wall. This policy had now started to boomerang on us. Everyone pushed to the wall tends to react like the proverbial cat with fierce paws.

If we can talk peace with our traditional "enemy" – India – why can't we talk to our "friends" in the tribal areas? The role of the writers should be to highlight the need for peace and dialogue. The communication channels must remain open and should never get choked. The writers should rationalise their society which with every passing day was becoming illogical, intolerant and extremist.

By the time the last round, reserved for mushaira, began the audience started showing signs of impatience. With cell phones glued to their ears, women participants – Mrs. Saeeda Nayyar, Mrs. Anoosh W. Khan, Mrs. Bushra Farrukh and Mrs. Zakira Afzal – received reminders from home to return. Having to do with a transplanted kidney, host Fazli too showed signs of exhaustion, though he read out a brief poem explaining how he had to "compensate" police for a small favour it did to him.

All the 17 poets present in the literary meeting read out what they thought was the best of their poetry. However, a couplet from chief guest Sajjad Babar's new ghazal deserves to be reproduced here: "Nia hai motia, mur mur ki mehrabon ke pehloo main; Khandar ke darr se pewasta, kahan uss jaisa ho ga!"

Vulnerability of women in male-dominated society

City Notes

Abid Jan Razarwal

Clad in a shuttle cock burqa (veil) she was sitting in the terrace of the office of an NGO working for women rights in Peshawar and was relentlessly crying. "Now is the time to carry out my plan of killing of my husband and I would do it definitely," she told me with a bold and decisive voice when I dared to approach her. When the burden of her heart lightened a little after crying aloud I enquired of the problem faced by her.

She was a middle aged woman with fare complexion.

Looking towards me with stale eyes that had no hope in them she said that she hailed from a poor family and was wedded to a person who was not only drug addict but was also habitual gambler. She said that she had three daughters. "The man used me for smuggling to the down country and I had no option but to obey him," she disclosed.

I had three daughters and was very much worried about their future. However I had decided in my mind that whenever I was relieved from the burden of these daughters I would either kill this person or would kill myself, she continued.

She said that her husband used to smuggle foreign cloth by her to Punjab. "Even my body has been used to smuggle heroin," she recalled having tears in her eyes.

She said that the earning through this illegal business was used by her husband for drugs and gambling. She said that she had even worked as a pick pocket and used to rob the lady passengers of their valuables, traveling in the buses and Mazdas plying on various routes inside the city.

"I did all these dirty things and also faced the brutalities and routine beating of my husband for the sake of my three daughters," she claimed, adding that now all these three daughters have been wedded and she had been relieved from that burden.

She said that after the marriages of her daughters she had asked her husband that she would never perform any illegal business now. "My husband agreed and now I have got work in three houses, as a household servant and they gave me enough money to sustain myself and my addicted husband.

However at this point I thought that the story of the lady was ended but to my surprise the lady again resorted to crying. I asked the nearby standing security guard of the NGO to bring a glass of water to the ill fated old lady.

After pouring down the water from her throat she said that today when she got her salary her husband snatched it from her and returned home empty handed as all of the money was gambled out. She said that when she resisted her husband resorted to beating her.

"I have no option but either to commit suicide or kill my husband," she concluded.

How vulnerable women are in this male dominated society is crystal clear from the perils of this ill fated woman.

The inevitable but unhappy ending

City Notes

Abid Jan Razarwal

Whether the Lal Masjid issue was a duping ploy by the vested interests to divert the attention of the people from the real issues confronting the country or was a ramification of the dual and unrealistic policies of the rulers, one thing is certain that that final showdown of this fiasco would lead to more bloodshed especially in NWFP and tribal areas which has already been visible by the killing of three Chinese in Peshawar and attacks on security forces in Bajaur and Dir.

After the killing of Maulana Abdur Rasheed Ghazi in the "Operation Silence' and his followers (students) who preferred to fight till the better end, security in the entire country is on the red alert due to an expected fallout of the incident.

There is no denying the fact that the clerics and their late father, who founded the mosque, were proteges of Pakistani intelligence during the 1979-89 anti-Soviet jihad and later in supporting the Taleban rise to power in Afghanistan.

After 9/11 their relations with the spy agencies changed as the mosque became a focal point for anger against Musharraf for supporting the US-led invasion of Afghanistan.

According to the Ghazi brothers the mosque housed around 5,000 male and 4,000 female students, ranging in ages from early teens to mid 20s.

About 80 percent of the students residing in the mosque were Pakhtoon from NWFP and the tribal belt. Their parents from various parts of the province and tribal areas had been in Islamabad for the last seven days. Though getting exact information of casualties in a military operation is never been possible but the casualties definitely would be in hundreds and the dead bodies that would be sent to the province and tribal belt would further radicalize the Islamists and the students and clerics of the hundreds of religious seminaries through out the country.

Heavy contingents of army have already been dispatched to Bajaur for a possible operation against the activists of the banned Tehreek-e-Nifaz-e-Shariat Mohammadi (TNSM) of Maulana Sufi Mohammad.

Though majority of Pakistani disapproved the stand of the Ghazi brothers but it is also a fact that the killing of the Ghazi would increase violence across the country.

Pakhtoon residing on both sides of the Durand Line have been facing bloodbath and violence since 1979 due to the policies of the world powers as battles are always fought on their land.

Now the Lal Masjid operation would further accelerate that violence and political analysts fear that the American-led 'war against terror' would be fought now not from across the Durand Line but on this side of the border.

The Pakistani society seems at war with itself due to the perpetual wrong policies of those at the helms of the affairs, said Prof. Haseenullah.

He said that changing policies and ideologies overnight are bound to face with failures and create unrest in the society.

"The root cause of the issue is in the contradictions of our educational policies", said Ihsanullah, a political analyst. He said that in Pakistan three kind of educational institutions are imparting education to the young generation- the government schools, the private educational institutions and the religious seminaries (Madrassas). 

Besides the architects of the policies of the world especially after the 9/11 incident have made the world more insecure due to their flawed policies based on bloodshed and violence.

Even after the 9/11 the policies of the rulers have made the world more insecure and that too under the pretext of making it more secure. There is no denying the fact that violence breeds violence and the rulers by resorting to start war against terrorism has simply increased the violence in the world and terrorism has increased.

"Hearts could be won by sympathy, love and fellow feelings not by coercive force of the states machinery", claimed Feroz Shah, a school teacher. The billions of dollars drained on the 'war against terror' could be utilized for ending illiteracy and poverty from the world. Injustice, poverty, illiteracy and the longstanding political conflicts in Middle East and South Asian countries are undoubtedly the breeding ground for terrorism.

But the rulers instead of extirpating the roots of terrorism are further fuelling it by resorting to coercive force against it.

The terrorists and extremists are scattered within the population in Afghanistan and tribal areas of Pakistan and the forces by resorting to aerial bombing against them on poor intelligence reports kill thousands of innocent civilians including women and children.

This practice of huge collateral damages in the villages and towns of Afghanistan and tribal areas of Pakistan is the main reason that public in these areas are supporting Talibaan and are against of the policies of Bush, Karzai and Musharraf administrations. 

The Lal Masjid operation though was inevitable but would definitely add to the already bleeding wounds of Pakhtoon.

Pakhtoons living on a powder keg

City Notes

Abid Jan Razarwal

There is no denying the fact that the increase in murder cases, personal feuds and worsening law and order situation in the NWFP is directly linked with the increase of unlicensed small arms in the province and Kalashnikov culture in the society.

Since the presence of weapons is linked to personal security, honour and property, the government will have to ensure security to the commoners first and then expect a surrendering of arms.

It means, besides going ahead with the deweaponisation plan, the government will have to improve the performance of the law enforcement agencies and perhaps that is the reason that all deweaponization drives of all the previous governments including the present one failed to yield the desired results.

Unless and until the citizens are not sure of the safety of their properties, lives and honour they would never be persuaded to surrender their arms.

Though the Taliban government in Afghanistan had many drawbacks but it had done one thing of which the Afghan society was in dire need and that was the maintenance of peace and deweaponisation of the Afghan society.

Pakistan, according to anti-arms campaigners, has one of the greatest per capita rates of gun ownership in the world.

Though there are no official figures, rough estimates put the total number of small arms at large in the country at more than 20 million, with about half of them illegal. NWFP alone is believed to have nearly half a million illegitimate small arms and light weapons.

The severe proliferation of small arms in Pakistan began after the Russian invasion of Afghanistan in 1979.

In addition to the cross border flow of weapons, an estimated 30 percent of the weapons funneled by US and Pakistani intelligence services to the Afghan Jihadis during the conflict were diverted for other purposes, according to anti-small arms activists.

The figure of two million legally authorized weapons in Pakistan is quoted in the Small Arms Survey, 2002.

In 2001, the Musharraf government launched a countrywide anti-arms drive in a bid to curb the "Kalashnikov culture".

It led to the recovery of over 210,000 illegal arms in 18 months.

This is just a small fraction of the estimated number of weapons in circulation in the country. Despite the official ban on sale and purchase of non-licensed weapons, unauthorized arms and ammunition remain in circulation and the illegal arms trade and gunrunning continue.

In 2002, the Peshawar police reportedly seized 3,390 weapons, which included Kalashnikovs, rifles, shotguns, stenguns, pistols, cartridges, and rocket launchers.

Balochistan and North West Frontier provinces have been leading in gun ownership.

Gun culture here refers to the long-standing tradition of owning and carrying guns among Pakhtun.

The gun culture is linked to the "twin pillars of Pakhtun tribal society," melmastia-hospitality and badal -revenge.

Old customs and cultural norms also promote the gun culture.

In NWFP carrying a gun or a Klashinkov is a sign of honour and respect.

A gun is also considered to be the jewel of a man in Pakhtun society, thus the social necessity emerging as an intimidating component of provincial culture.

However social and political reformists like Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan, popularly known as Bacha Khan and other leaders had considerably changed the Pakhtun society by introducing the non-violence philosophy to it.

But it is also a bad luck of Pakhtun that their land always remained a battlefield among great super powers of the world.

And the 'great game' never ends here as a result the Pakhtun motherland always remain a dump of explosive.

One of the centers of gun-manufacturing is the town of Darra Adam Khel, near Peshawar, which was historically known for manufacturing the Lee Enfield .303; however, the town now produces ordnance including the AK-47, the mini-Kalashnikov, and hand-held firearms, including the James Bond pen gun.

It is interesting to note that the law does not forbid a licensee to purchase weapons from an illegal manufacturer or supplier.

As far as Darra arms manufacturers are concerned, the illegal and legal demand and supply are inter-linked. When Nawaz Sharif banned the issuance of licenses of prohibited bore weapons (AK-47s), the Darra manufacturers were quick in adapting the technology to produce weapons that could be used in both semi-automatic (non-prohibited bore) and automatic modes.

It is no secret that there is a whole network of manufacturers, middlemen, brokers and transporters who can deliver illegally manufactured weapons at cheap rates anywhere in Pakistan.

Stopping illegal production of arms is not an easy task. It involves persuading the manufacturers of arms and the tribal leaders and other influential of the northern areas in favour of a prohibition move. It is also a question of providing alternative means of income to the manufacturers and their minions.

Of course, what is of prime importance is the political will to stop illegal production and sale of arms.

In recent years as law and order situation in the NWFP worsened gun running and open display of arms in Peshawar and other district of the province is a common experience and the number of murder cases and personal feuds have also been increased.

Of roll number slips that really slipped

City Notes

Abid Jan Razarwal

Tough it was a good move by the University of Peshawar to switch over from the traditional post office to the modern courier services for delivery of roll number slips to the candidates of B.A B.Sc examination. However due to lack of proper planning and home work the move failed and the ultimate sufferer were none others but the poor students.

The university had to reschedule the examination and also baton charged the protesting students for two consecutive days.

According to reports the UoP had contracted with a private courier company for the delivery of 31,000 roll number slips to the candidates of the B.A B.Sc examinations scheduled to be held from June 27th. The University administration had given the contract of Rs0.1 million to the company. However as the company had no or poor network in the far-flung and remote areas of the province it failed to deliver the roll number slips in time. While due to no delivery of the slips the students and parents had been feeling great apprehensions and confusion.

The university administration claims that it had delivered the roll number slips to the company well in time while the company at the eleventh hour refused to deliver the same. The UoP administration then approached the Post Office officials for help but due to lack of proper time they also refused to deliver the same.

The UoP even reportedly offered to double the amount for the delivery of the roll number slips but the Post Office officials replied that it was not possible for to do it in two days.

It is pertinent to mention here that since the inception of the UoP the roll number slips are being delivered to the private students through a coordinated system of the UoP and the Pakistan Post Office and there has never been any delay or mismanagement in the process.

It was for the first time that the UoP wanted to modernize the delivery process and tried to hire the services of a private courier company. But unlike the postal services of Pakistan Post Office the network of the private company was not extended to the far-flung areas of the country and that candidates from Dir, Timergara, Swabi, Batkhela, Mardan and Charsadda faced great confusion over the delay in the receipt of roll number slips.

The students from these far-off areas have thronged Peshawar for inquiring about their roll number slips since last two and three days and have hired rooms in the hotels. Reportedly they have also been baton-charged by police for destruction of the windowpanes and security fences at the UoP.

The UoP had also no option but to delay the examination till July 2nd so as to ensure the delivery of roll number slips to the candidates.

Poverty, hygiene and the street food culture in Peshawar

City Notes

Abid Jan Razarwal

The introduction of 'Food streets' may be a new phenomenon in our cities, but the street food culture in the whole subcontinent is centuries old.

Notwithstanding the fact of their  hygienic condition the food stalls on the city roads in Peshawar provide the cheapest and freshest Pakhtun cuisine of almost all varieties.

Deftly flipping a paratha on to a metal plate in his makeshift shop near Spin Jumaat here Alamgir claimed that people from far flung areas come for breakfast at his stall. Though there was no concept of cleanliness at the shop but Alamgir proudly claimed that people come here because of the taste and the quality of the food served here.

The business starts from 9 at night and continues till 9 at morning, he added.

Next to him, another street vendor stirs a giant pan of succulent jalebi while another vendor entertains a number of customers with 'Choli', another economical breakfast of the city.

For thousands of years, food stalls such as these have been an integral part of life in serving hot, nutritious, cheap snacks that many consider to be the only authentic Pakhtun cuisine.

Where else can you get fresh stuff like this," said Bakht Zaman, a taxi driver, as he ate a plate of 'Choli' and chutney.

"I eat here every day and I've never been sick and added that even many rich people preferred street stalls to the often overpriced restaurants and proliferating Western fast-food outlets in city, such as Mc-Donald's and KFC.

Usman, a pushcart owner said that he can take a complete breakfast of Rs.15 here.

However not only the poor but certain well-to-do people also like to have a breakfast here instead of the pricey restaurants.

Presently as the summer is on full swing, what could be more welcome than a tall glass of juice or lassi deliciously chilled with loads of crushed ice?

And that is the reason that the business of cold drinks shops and stalls is in full swing in the city. These stalls mostly on four-wheeled carts have swarmed every street and roadside in the city and have good business.

"Pa dwa rupai glass de Arif pa dokan nast de," a tape recorder repeatedly attract customers at Shabistan Cinema Road. One wonders that when a glass of mango juice is offered on Rs.2 what would be its ingredients because in other stalls the same glass is sold on Rs.20. However as majority of the people live beyond poverty line they least bother about the hygienic conditions of the product they consume the only attraction and consideration for them is the low price of the product.

Shamim's makeshift fruit juice shop, raised on a four-wheeled van in front of Hashthnagri Square, is quite busy. It's June and the sun is particularly harsh for most of the day. And having a glass of cold sharbat (juice) is very tempting.

He offers at his "Madeena Sharbat" stall the juice of 'emli and alobokhara'. He claims that his product is a sure cure for jaundice.

Shamim has no doubt about the purity of his product. Jamal, a vegetable vendor nearby, is a little puzzled as he learns about the probability of germs in the sharbat he is enjoying so much. In the end he however takes side with Shamim, "Maybe there is poison in it, but I have had so many glasses of it without facing any problems. Perhaps, we poor people have a stronger stomach than the rich," he remarked.

Doctors, however say that these local made cold drinks are dangerous for health because they contain high amount of saccharine and soda.

They believe that such drinks cause stomach and intestine diseases and add that manufactures of these drinks mostly use contaminated water, which causes typhoid, diabetes, and brain disease.

Another popular drink in Peshawar is "Da Gani Ras" (Sugar cane juice). Though the juice is prepared through a machine, but the glass used is not properly washed and cleaned because they wash every glass in a pot of water which is filled with unclean water and never change that water. 

"Toothi Moothi" is another favourite snack especially for children and students during summer not only in Peshawar but in all the towns and villages of NWFP. It is a sort of wooden bridge with a hole along a sharp blade in the middle. A bowl is placed beneath the hole under the wooden bridge. A sizeable piece of ice is placed over that bridge. The ice is tactfully being rubbed over the bridge and crushed down into the bowl. Both the water bowl and the piece of ice are out in the open and apart from the germs inside, they are also attracting a good amount of dust swirling all around.