The city of Peshawar was considered the center of Pashto music in the past, where artists from the neighboring country of Afghanistan also demonstrated their skills, but this splendor of art faded with time.

However, now the organization of Pashto musicians in Peshawar, ‘Henry Tolana’, has raised the flag again in this city and has demanded that a bazaar be set up in the city which is reserved for local musicians.

Rashid Khan, chairman of Henry Tolana, told Urdu News, ‘We want a music street to be built in Peshawar, in which all the singers live and the sound of music is scattered everywhere. A market that can gain fame because of music and regain our lost identity.’

According to musician Arshad Khan, in the past, Peshawar’s Dagri Bazaar was famous for its music. People used to visit this market from far and wide to listen to music, but then some miscreants made the situation worse and chased away the artists.

He said that famous singers and musicians live in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, but due to the lack of a platform, they are suffering from poverty.

According to Pashto musician Nadir Khan, there are currently more than 1,000 Afghan artists who have settled in Peshawar and people from Punjab and Karachi come to listen to their music.

With the establishment of Music Street, not only music and tourism will be further promoted, but employment opportunities will be available.

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Director Culture Ajmal Khan said in a conversation with Urdu News that the demand of musicians is legitimate and a separate place should be allocated for them. Artists are actually custodians of culture and we want them to be protected.

He said that the demand of Music Street is under consideration, regarding which a discussion will be held with the higher authorities. If approved by the government, the budget will be allocated in the next fiscal year by preparing PC One.

According to Ajmal Khan, this will be a big project because Peshawar is a densely populated city where all kinds of people live, so the location for this project will have to be determined.

Director Ajmal Khan further said that Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Culture Authority has always played its role to promote local musicians and we will continue to support them in the future.

On the other hand, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Caretaker Information Minister Barrister Firoz Jamal also assured all possible support to the local artists and said that these people have kept our traditional music alive and it is the responsibility of the government to take care of this community.

He further said that at present the province is suffering from severe financial crisis. Funds have been allocated for very important projects with difficulty, but efforts will definitely be made to solve the problems of the artists.