PPP Chitral leaders asked to apologize to poet Afzalullah Afzal
CHITRAL: Anjuman Taraqqi-e-Khowar (Chitral chapter) at an emergency meeting on Wednesday condemned “offensive remarks” made by PPP Chitral leaders and activists against Afzalullah Afzal, a known poet and literary figure of Khowar language.
The remarks were made over a video clip from a humorous poem Afzal presented in a 2021 poetry session, which was recently circulated on social media.
Besides targeting Mr. Afzal personally, the PPP leaders also used inappropriate language against the Anjuman as an institution, the meeting was told.
Furthermore, Mr. Afzal was unnecessarily summoned to the local police station and harassed in an unlawful manner.
The meeting was moderated by Khowar poet Abdullah Shahab and presided over by the central patron-in-chief of the Anjuman Taraqqi-e-Khowar Chitral chapter Muhammad Irfan Irfan.
The central president of the Anjuman Shehzada Tanvirul Mulk, former central president Advocate Abdul Wali Khan Abid, the president of the Chitral chapter Muazzuddin Bahram, poets, writers, intellectuals, members of civil society, social media activists, and lawyers from all across Chitral were also present.
A resolution unanimously passed at the meeting said the district leaders of PPP had hurt the sentiments of the literary community of Chitral and disrespected the senior poet. Therefore, PPP Chitral must issue a formal apology on their official Facebook page or through a video message by the district president.
Moreover, senior member and information secretary of PPP Chitral Nazar Wali Shah must also issue a video apology to the literary community for his derogatory remarks and immediately delete the offensive video message from social media.
The humorous poem by Mr. Afzalullah Afzal was written years ago and had no relation to recent hospitalization of President Asif Ali Zardari. However, PPP workers deliberately circulated the video with malicious intent. Therefore, the leadership of PPP, Chitral police, and intelligence agencies should initiate an impartial investigation and take legal action against those responsible.
The resolution stated that if the above three demands were not implemented, the Anjuman and the literary community will completely boycott the PPP Chitral. No representative of the PPP will be invited to literary programs, nor will poets participate in any PPP-related events.