Armed attack on renowned Pashto singer Atta Khan in Dera Ismail Khan has been strongly condemned by the poets, singers and social figures. It should be mentioned here that more than a dozen armed men stormed car of Atta Khan near Geloti area of Dera Ismail Khan but luckily he survive unhurt. The police have registered a case against unidentified assailants and was investigating into the incident. The attack on prominent singer has been strongly condemned by people belonging to different walks of life. They also criticized the government for failure to mend the deteriorating law and order situation and ensuring security to public lives and properties. Shoukat Aziz, a singer hailing from South Waziristan termed the attack on Atta Khan as attack on all music artists of KP. He said that the incident was heart wrenching for all music artists and it has added to the worries of musicians in the area.

The Pashto literary scholar and poet Munawar Ghamkhwar has said that singers are the ambassadors of peace and Atta Khan has always promoted love and peace through his melodious voice. “Such attacks on our pride singers are actually the attack on our peace and culture” Ghamkhwar maintained. The social activist, Naqeeb Sherani said that such attacks are aimed at suppressing the voices for social rights and cultural promotion.  The social and cultural circles of the region have demanded of the government to take notice of the incident and initiate concrete steps for the security and safety of the music artists. It is worthy mentioning that Atta Khan is a multilingual singer from DIK district of KP, who has performed in different Asian and European countries and has been awarded numerous pride of performance awards.

Credit: Independent News Pakistan