Eid Mubarak, Swat!

Posted on September 23, 2009
Filed Under >Adil Najam, Law & Justice, Society
11 Comments
Total Views: 32571

Adil Najam

Normalcy is slowly making its way back to Swat. I am not much of a fan of Pushto cinema, nor is watching the newest Pushto movie my idea of what Eid is; but I am a big fan of the idea that those who wish to see Pushto movies should be able to do so. That is called freedom. And that is why this picture and news item from Dawn makes me feel good this Eid.

MINGORA: Film shows and other forms of entertainment returned to Swat district on Monday, after about three years. On the first day of Eid a new Pashto film was released in two cinema halls which ran three daily shows. Authorities did not allow the late-night show because of curfew. Another cinema house is likely to reopen in a few days.

People queuing up to buy tickets for ‘Gul Soorey Soorey Kram’ had to undergo a thorough body search. On Tuesday, police had to use batons to disperse a large crowd which had gathered outside a cinema. Because of the disturbance the first two shows at the hall were cancelled. Entertainment business in Swat suffered huge losses over the past three years. The Taliban had forced dancers and musicians and owners of video and audio shops to either abandon their work or leave the district.

Early this year, they killed dancer Shabana and hung her body from a lamppost in a chowk. Now after the successful military operation, dancers are returning to their homes and most video shops have reopened. Shops dealing in garments and cosmetics for women are doing a roaring business. People offered Eid prayers in local mosques while the main congregation was held in Saidu Sharif for administration and army personnel under tight security.

11 responses to “Eid Mubarak, Swat!”

  1. Vaseem says:

    Good sign.

    Actually, I would love to see the movie too.Never seen a Pushto movie.

    But it is the normal and small things in life that matter and I think this change shows that when we put our heads to it our government and army are capable of doing the right thing.

    EID MUBARAK, SWAT.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

*