The place that was once the centre of sectarian violence and military operations is now countering extremism with music. The youth that were raised in the conflict zone have established a music academy in Parachinar, Kurram District — a newly merged tribal district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

The Samma Music Academy is the first of its kind institution in the tribal district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. After peace was restored in the merged tribal district, the local youth are now learning to play the musical instruments such as rabab, flute, tabla, harmonium, and other instruments in the academy.

Among the many students, Waseem Hussain, 23, is a local resident and runs a medicine shop in Parachinar. He joined the academy to learn to play musical instruments. He has so far spent one year in the academy following his passion for playing the rabab.

While talking to Bol News he said the environment in the academy is very good. Every day half an hour of theoretical class while another practical session of 30 minutes gives me joy and satisfaction, said Waseem.

He also said that it was hard to find an academy or a place to learn music but after the restoration of peace in the area, the dream of learning music has become a reality now.

Uphill struggle

While sharing his experience at the academy, the young music lover said the majority of students at the academy are from a low-income background, while some students face resistance from their families to learn music due to the taboos but still, they have a passion for it.

The institution established two years ago, has more than 60 students learning some 15 kinds of musical instruments in the academy. People from different walks of life including college students and FC officials are attending the academy to learn and polish their skills in music.

The music academy is also teaching 18 more students via video link who are living abroad. The enrolment fee is between Rs5,000 to Rs10,000 monthly keeping in view the poor financial condition of the locals in Kurram district.

Imtiaz Hussain, 28, is the first tribal resident of Pakistan who is authorized by the district administration to run the music academy in Kurram district. The founder of the first music academy in the tribal area is the son of folk singer Abid Hussain who hails from Boghaki village in Parachinar.

The founder of Samma Music Academy apprised Bol News that the idea behind the music academy was to engage the local youth in positive activities as they have been raised amid clashes.

The music teacher believes that only music can beat extremism. The youngsters from the region are engaging themselves in positive activities like music, Imtiaz added.

The young owner of the music institution informed that he always looked up to his father as a role model and from his childhood started learning music besides singing in the local Pashto language.

I am able to play many instruments but can expertly play the harmonium, which I learned from Sialkot, and the rabab which I learned from Rawalpindi while lessons in the basics of music, rhythm, and melody were taken in Hyderabad, Imtiaz added.

The young trained musician wants to send a message of peace via the profession, he highlighted.

However, the musician complained about a lack of resources to run the academy and sought government support to run its affairs more smoothly.

Parachinar is the capital of Kurram District and shares an international border with Afghanistan while internally, it borders Khyber and Orakzai tribal districts. In 2007 sectarian clashes in Parachinar turned into a larger conflict in which about 700,000 area residents suffered for years. The military had to be brought in to the area for nearly four years. More than 3,000 people died in the fighting while 13,000 families were displaced.

Many locals appreciate the efforts of the youth for the establishment of the music academy in Parachinar. There was a time when the area was ruled by the Taliban and it was impossible to even have a music cassette in the car, but with the restoration of peace here, the scenario has changed dramatically as a music academy is now operational here.

Maqbool Hussain, a young journalist in Parachinar, has said that people in the tribal belt of Pakistan are peace-loving besides being passionate about music, and has urged the government to introduce music academies in every tribal district.

The writer is a freelance contributor