Hamza Shinwari

Ameer Hamza Shinwari (Pashto: حمزه شينواری), born in Landi Kotal, Present day Federally Administered Tribal Areas in the year 1907 and died in February 1994, was a famous Pashtun poet of Pakistan. He Belonged to the Shinwari tribe of the ethnic Pashtuns. Ameer Hamza's work is considered a fusion between classic and modern poetry. He followed the traditional old classical poetry and blended it with the modern spirit, as well as introducing new ideas in Pashto Ghazals. He is known as the father of Pashto Ghazals.

Early career

At a young age, Ameer Hamza Shinwari dreamt of making a career in film, he wrote the story for the first ever Pashto language film, Laila Majnoon, in 1941. The film, which was released in Bombay before the independence of Pakistan, earned him a pittance. But it was during a visit to Ajmer Sharif that he first came into contact with the world of mysticism. He adopted the Chishtia order of mysticism, following in the footsteps of Rahman Baba, and blended it with the Pashtunwali, the famous Pashtun code of conduct. The government of Pakistan also honoured him with a posthumous 'Presidential Pride of Performance' award, and the government of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province built the Hamza Baba Cultural Complex in Landi Kotal in homage to his great services to Pashtun culture.