The two-day World Pashto Conference (Oct. 08-09, 2009) in Kabul concluded on Friday with a special focus on education for the Pashtun people in Afghanistan and Pakistan and appealed the militants active in both countries to stop torching schools and other educational institutions.

The conference was arranged by two cultural and literary groups working for the promotion of the Pashto language in Kabul; it was the first World Pashto Conference in Afghanistan and the eighth of overall World Pashto Conferences; all of the previous World Pashto Conferences were held in Pakistan. The first World Pashto Conference was held in Peshawar in 1988.

Delegations and representatives of Pashto literary organizations from India, Pakistan, European countries, Gulf countries, Canada and the United States participated in the Conference. Several government officials, governors, members of Parliament, and tribal elders were also present.

There were four workshops in the Conference to discuss the problems the Pashtuns and their language – Pashto – has been facing in the world today. They discussed the overall situation of the Pashtuns, the lack of educational institutions for Pashtun children, the faults in the jirga system, and the apathy the governments of Afghanistan and Pakistan have towards the Pashto language.

There was a poetry reciting gathering on the first day and a music and dance session on the second day. Nearly all of the poems were about the current war-like situation in the tribal areas and Afghanistan and Pakistan. They said the war had destroyed not only their land and people, but also the history, culture, and the future.

At the concluding session, the participants unanimously passed a resolution which:

• appealed the anti-government elements on both sides of the border to stop torching schools;

• asked the governments of Pakistan and Afghanistan to support the Pashto language and work for its promotion;

• asked the relevant government institutions, literary and cultural organizations, and the civil society to cooperate with each other and find implementable mechanisms for the solutions of the problems the Pashtuns have been facing and for the promotion of the Pashto language; and

• asked the international community and the governments of Afghanistan and Pakistan to provide more and modern educational opportunities to the Pashtuns for their progress and prosperity.

Interesting notes:

• The Chairman of the first World Pashto Conference – a well-known progressive Pashtun writer, Salim Raaz – was not invited to the Conference. He told a news conference in Peshawar that the Kabul Conference was not part of the World Pashto Conferences and he didn’t know who had arranged it.

• All of the participants from Pakistan said they felt at home in Afghanistan because the country was their mother land.

• A speaker from Pakistan continuously used the term ‘Occupied Afghanistan’ for the tribal areas and the settled Pashtun-dominated districts of Pakistan (reminding the people that these areas are a part of Afghanistan but occupied by Pakistan).

• Most of the speeches and the poems focused on the current situation in the tribal areas and the worst conditions the Pashtuns live in.

• A Working Committee established the World Pashto Network and there was a demand for a World Pashto Conference every year.

• Several of the participants complained about bad arrangements of the conference.

It is not that only people do suffer in wars and conflicts; culture, history and art also get their share in the destruction wreaked by the parties involved in wars. Afghanistan can be the worst case of this in modern history: from burning books by the Communists to murdering singers by the Mujahedeen and destroying every piece of art by the Taliban, from several kinds of cruelty none is left untested in this land. Music has remained a special target throughout the war years. Fortunately, when the hardliners started suffocating it in one place, it found another place for flourishing. And that is the reason the Pashto music still survives and keeps our hearts lively and warm.

In Afghanistan, when Dr. Najibullah collapsed and the Mujahedeen forces established several small kingdoms in the country, and a civil war erupted, music continued to be targeted along with the Afghans being killed in hundreds every day (the singers were targeted by the Mujahedeen from the early days of their activities). As most of them were trained as hardcore extremists by the CIA and Pakistani ISI, they attacked singers and music shops whenever and wherever they could, the Taliban would do the same with much more force many years later.

Consequently, like other people, the singers started fleeing to Pakistan, Iran and few to Europe and the United States. Pashto-speaking Afghan singers like Naghma and her husband Mangal, Zar Sanga, Kandi Kochi, Qamar Gula, and others were welcomed by the millions of Afghan refugees in Pakistan, they reached their peak of popularity during their stay in that country. Farsi-speaking singers enjoyed the same position in Iran, Pakistan and other countries. Together with their Pakistani counterparts, the Afghan Pashto singers kept Pashto music alive and it flourished during the years when the Afghan refugees were not considered a burden by the Pakistani government because of the dollars flowed from the United States and world for Afghan refugees a big share of which went to Pakistani pockets.

Conditions for Pashto music worsened when the Taliban seized power in Afghanistan and banned all kinds of entertainment; even sporting a particular hairstyle or keeping a photo was an offence. Thus, the Pashto music continued to flourish in Pakistan, particularly in the Pashtunkhwa province, which is officially called the N.W.F.P., a name given by the British Indian government. Afghan Pashto singers were popular not only among the Afghan refugees there but the Pakistani music-lovers also formed a big audience for them. The singers got the biggest audiences of young music lovers from both the countries and enjoyed a unique popularity.

Then arrived 9/11, which changed the situation altogether. Afghanistan was attacked by the American forces and the Taliban were wiped out. Now it was their turn to flee to Pakistan. A U.N.-backed government was established in Afghanistan and people started returning their homes. Among them were singers, not the senior ones, but a young generation of new voices equipped with new techniques and technologies. Yet the senior singers, both Pakistani and Afghan, continued as the most loved entertainers though they preferred to live in Europe.

As conditions started getting better for Pashto music in Afghanistan, they deteriorated in Pakistan as Taliban influence grew there rapidly. In 2002, the Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal (MMA), a religious alliance, came into power in Pashtunkhwa and adopted the Taliban-like attitude toward music and singers. Pashto singers were beaten (popular singer Gul Zar Alam left singing because of continued threats) and music centers were being blown up. As extremism expanded its cloak from Waziristan to Bajaur, Mohmand, Khyber, Dir, Swat, and from then to Bunir, Mardan, and even to Peshawar, attacking singers and blowing music shops became a routine. In the whole Pashtun land, the scenic valley of Swat was the biggest entertainment center. Eventually the Valley was captured by the militants and war broke which forced millions of people to flee to safer areas. The whole province and the tribal areas met the same fate.

As a result, entertainment providing companies closed down and the people related the entertainment activities – singers, actors, actresses, etc. – fled the country (as did Haroon Bacha) or simply left the field (as did many others). Two very popular comedians, Mirawas and Alamzeb Mujahid, were abducted and forced into becoming religious preachers. Many others were killed. A young singer, Sardar Yousafzai, was attacked in Malakand but escaped unhurt, though two of his companions wounded.

These bad conditions for Pashto music still prevail in the extremism-hit areas of Pakistan. But, a number of Pakistani singers have still managed to continue their career in singing. Gul Zar Alam announced a comeback after Awami National Party (ANP) won the election in Pashtunkhwa. Nazia Iqbal, the queen of Pashto music, still rules the hearts of music lovers. Sardar Yousafzai and Naeem Tori are becoming more popular. There are new Pashto singers from Pakistani side of the Durand Line, like Zick Afridi, Bakhtiar Khattak, and others. This is because their voices are liked and loved in Afghanistan. Though many of these Pakistani singers do not reside in Afghanistan, the technology has made easy for music lovers to have access to their talent. Their concerts and songs are being played on television and radio channels across Afghanistan and their new video and audio CDs are sold like hot cakes. It does not matter where they reside and do record their songs; the market in Afghanistan pays well and encourages them to continue singing. Pakistani voices now flourish in Afghanistan, as is said that history repeats itself.

‘Afghanistan is the sacred home for all Pashtuns; when we are here, we feel at home. We are respected and our talent is appreciated here, we love this and we love Afghanistan. And most importantly, we pray for peace here,’ said Sardar Yousafzai and Naeem Tori during a recent visit to Kabul, after a concert in a local hotel.

Pashto (پښتو), also called Pakhto, Pashtu, Pakhtu, Paxto, Paxtu, Pushto, Pushtu, Pukhtu, or Puxtu, is the first official language of Afghanistan spoken by the majority ethnic population of the country, the Pashtuns or Pashtoons, in Pashtunkhwa (North West Frontier) Province of Pakistan and by the Pashtun Diaspora around the world (an estimate says that 40 hundred thousands Pashtuns live only in Karachi, Pakistan’s biggest city). This ancient language belongs to the Eastern-Iranian branch of the Indo-Iranian language family. There is a particular focus on learning this literature-rich language of the Afghans due to the ongoing war on terror and the increasing interest of the world to learn about the language, the Pashtuns, their culture and customs.

 Learning Pashto is as learning any language of the world: the learners have to have an interest in the language and its culture, willingness to learn and access to resources they need. As the Pashto language has never enjoyed patronage of any emperor or any powerful and independent state throughout history, but had been a target of the regional powers until late, and has managed to survive through continuous attempts against its existence, there are not as much learning resources available for it as for the other languages of the world. Yet enough books of grammar, about the usage of the language, and dictionaries from Pashto to other languages and vice versa have been written and printed and are available today that can help those who are keen to achieve their goals.

 Fortunately, for Pashto learners around the world who do not have access to the printed material, there are online resources which can be proved helpful and useful in improving their reading, writing and speaking skills of Pasho. There are websites which have free libraries where you may find books about Pashto grammar, usage, general information, proverbs, idioms, etymology, etc. On other websites you can listen to music, news programs, and political discussions and so on. Regular visits to these websites and practicing your reading and writing will improve your skills in no time.

 Useful websites

 www.qamosona.com. Qamoos (قاموس) or seend (سيند) means dictionary in Pashto. This website has several free dictionaries from/to Pashto. You can download them or use tehm online.

 www.mylanguageexchange.com. On this website you can find or become a language partner. If you are English speaking and want to find someone who speaks Pashto for language and help exchange, just sign up and do a search. You will find Pashto speaking people who want to meet English speaking people to improve their English. There are other similar websites, such as www.sharedtalk.com, which you can find by googling ‘language partner.’

 Reading Pashto

 To identify Pashto alphabets and their sounds, this wikipedia article may help you (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pashto_language). And this is more useful (http://www.omniglot.com/writing/pashto.htm). Here are complete lessons with pronunciations and pictures. (http://www.afghanan.net/pashto/pashto/learn/phon.htm). After identifying the alphabets, you can visit these websites to read Pashto articles and discussions: www.tolafghan.com, www.benawa.com, www.taand.com, and www.romaal.com. Pajhwok Afghan News (www.pajhwok.com) publishes the same news stories in both English and Pashto and in Dari as well. But you have to subscribe to access. www.tolafghan.com has a library (کتابتون) where you access free books. And there is a forum (د بحث فورمونه) where you can discuss things with other members, primarily Pashtuns. The same you can do at www.khyberwatch.com forum.

 Listening to Pashto

 Listening to Pashto programs can improve your understanding and speaking skills of the language. www.bbcpashto.com, www.voadeewa.com, and www.azadiradio.org can help you in this. You can listen to Pashto music on www.mastana.net and watch videos on www.youtube.com. Several more websites also have similar content which you can find by searching on google. (Do not search for sex or pornographic material in Pashto as you will find nothing).

 The use of Pashto ya (د پښتو ياگانو استعمال)

 There are five yas (ياگانې) used in Pashto: ى، ي، ې، ئ، ۍ Following are some examples for the proper usage of each:

 ى is called small ya and is used primarily in singular words. It is silent if it comes after alif (ا), for example, خداى (God), ځاى (place). Examples of its usage in singular words:

 سړى (man); منګى (pottery water-pot); ملګرى (colleague)

زما ورور زما ملګرى هم دى

My brother is also my colleague.

 Hint: In the Pashto script that is used in Pakistan, ے is used instead of ى. So they write the above words like this: سړے, منګے, ملګرے.

ي called big ya and is used primarily in plural words. Examples:

 سړي (men); منګي (pottery water-pots); ملګري (colleagues)

انجلۍ دوه منګي په سر کړي دي

The girl is carrying two water-pots.

 When it is not used at the end of the word, it is not necessary to be used only in plural words. Examples:

 مينه (love); حسينه (beautiful); مشين (machine)

 ې called soft ya and is used primarily in words with deep sound. Examples:

 سندرې (songs); پاڼې (pages); پستې (soft); وړې (small)

 When it is not used at the end of the word, it is not necessary to be used only in plural words. Examples:

 مېنه (house; fort); پېغله (a maid);

 ئ is another Pashto ya used only in words of command. Examples:

 لاړ شئ (go), مه ځئ (do not go), کار بس کړئ (stop working)

که غواړئ چې بريالي شئ نو زيار وکاږئ.

If you want to succeed, work hard.

 ۍ is the fifth and last ya used primarily in feminine words. Examples:

انجلۍ (a girl), سپوږمۍ (the moon), کورنۍ (a family).

ما د ښاپېرۍ کيسه ولوسته.

I read the fairy tale.

 Remember that this ya is used only at the end of the words.

 Pashto vocabulary

 Here is some general and technical Pashto vocabulary you may find helpful.

 Ghag (غږ): voice; sound

Atann (اتڼ): dance

Shaer (شاعر): poet

Kitab (کتاب): book

Tolga (ټولگه): collection

Loomray (لومړى): first

Chaap (چاپ): print

Daaley (ډالۍ): present; gift

Moar (مور): mother

Plar (پلار): father

Wror (ورور): brother

Khor (خور): sister

Aokhai (اوښى): brother-in-law

Kheena (ښينه): sister-in-law

Khusar (خسر): father-in-law

Khwakhey (خواښې): mother-in-law

Trah (تره): uncle (father’s brother)

Mama (ماما): uncle (mother’s brother)

Da trah zoye (د تره ځوى): cousin (male)

Da trah loor (د تره لور): cousin (female)

Wraz (ورځ): day

Shpah (شپه): night

Miasht (مياشت): month

Kall (کال): year

Halak (هلک): boy

Kor (کور): home; house

Zhond (ژوند): life

Khog, khozh (خوږ): sweet, dear

Zrah (زړه): heart

Lass (لاس): hand

Pakha (پښه): foot

Khidmat (خدمت): service

Dard (درد): pain

Leekwal (ليکوال): writer

Hewad (هېواد): country

Musiqi (موسيقي): music

Ghareeb (غريب): poor

Khukalai (ښکلى): smart

Khukale (ښکلې): beautiful, attractive

Jannat (جنت): paradise

Shpelai (شپېلۍ): flute

Shoondey (شونډې): lips

Rooh (روح): soul

Ghar (غر): hill

Zmaka (ځمکه): earth, land

Pattai (پټى): field

Jagrah (جګړه): war

Shkharah (شخړه): conflict

Deewa (ډيوه): candle

Zhaba (ژبه): tongue

Muska (موسکا): smile

Khanda (خندا): laugher

Mazi or ter wakh (ماضي يا تېر وخت): past

Ratloonkai (راتلونکى): future

Khoowanzai or Shoowanzai (ښوونځى): school

Wolaswali (ولسوالي): district

Welayat or ayalat (ولايت يا ايالت): province; state

Zaroorat or arrtiya ( ضرورت يا اړتيا): need

Maloomat (مالومات): information

 If you need anything else, or have a question or any suggestion, please write it down below in the comments section. I or someone else will answer your questions and will try to provide you the information you need. I hope we will have an informative and useful discussion here about how to learn Pashto. You also can post links to online materials that you think are useful for learning Pashto. If you are a Pashtun, and you are fluent in your language and have experience in teaching it or have time to teach it, write your name and email address in the comments section below and the Pashto learners will contact you.