The Baloch Students Action Committee (BSAC) organised a literary gathering to honour Professor Ghamkhwar Hayat and Anwar Sahib Khan, two Baloch literary figures known for their contributions to Brahui and Balochi language and literature.
The gathering was attended by students, young people, poets and people from different schools of thought, along with BSAC Central President Uzair Baloch and Central Committee members Sohail Baloch, Nigrah Baloch and Hani Baloch.
The programme included papers and documentaries on the lives and work of Ghamkhwar Hayat and Anwar Sahib Khan, as well as sessions on the educational challenges facing Baloch students in Quetta and the importance of Baloch politics.
Addressing the gathering, Uzair Baloch said efforts were being made to create what he described as a fabricated and negative perception of student politics, arguing that genuine political and intellectual engagement could help address social problems.
He said Baloch society was “passing through a critical period” and called on young people to play an active role in the intellectual and social development of the community.
Speakers described Ghamkhwar Hayat as an important voice in Brahui and Balochi literature whose writings addressed issues facing the Baloch people, while Anwar Sahib Khan was remembered for his contributions to poetry, literature, cinema and political and intellectual awareness.
The programme also featured a book exhibition under the “Balochistan Kitaab Karwaan” initiative, a poetry recital and the traditional Dochapi.
Ghamkhwar Hayat, whose real name was Muhammad Khan, was a Brahui language poet, writer, translator and academic who taught at Government Boys Degree College Noshki. He was shot dead near his home in Noshki in May, with rights groups and political organisations alleging the involvement of an armed group locally referred to as a “death squad”.
Read More: The Killing of Ghamkhwar Hayat and the Shrinking Space for Thought in Balochistan — TBP Report
Anwar Sahib Khan, widely known as Mama, was a Balochi language poet, writer and actor associated with the early development of Balochi cinema and theatre. Born in Pasni in 1944, he authored the poetry collections Sareechk and Chaotaar and died in 2018 at the age of 74.