DARRA ADAMKHEL, Pakistan - When the din of Pakistan’s most notorious weapons market becomes overwhelming, arms dealer Muhammad Jahanzeb slinks away from his stall, past colleagues test-firing machine guns, to read in the hush of the local library.
“Initially we were discouraged. People asked, ‘What is the use of books in a place like Darra Adamkhel? Who would ever read here?‘“ recalled 36-year-old founder Raj Muhammad.Literacy rates in the tribal areas, which were semi-autonomous until 2018 when they merged with the neighbouring province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, are among the lowest in Pakistan as a result of poverty, patriarchal values, inter-clan conflicts and a lack of schools.
Despite the background noise of gunsmiths testing weapons and hammering bullets into dusty patches of earth nearby, the atmosphere is genteel as readers sip endless rounds of green tea while they muse over texts.However, Mr Afridi struggles to strictly enforce a “no weapons allowed” policy during his shift.
In Darra Adamkhel, it began as a solitary reading room in 2018 stocked with Muhammad’s personal collection, above one of the hundreds of gun shops in the central bazaar.“You could say we planted the library on a pile of weapons,” said Muhammad – a prominent local academic, poet and teacher hailing from a long line of gunsmiths.But bibliophiles struggled to concentrate amidst the whirring of lathes and hammering of metal as bootleg armourers plied their trade downstairs.
“But men look beautiful with the jewel of knowledge, beauty lies not in arms but in education,” said Khan, who also donates his time alongside his son Afridi.For the general public a library card costs 150 rupees a year, while students enjoy a discount rate of 100 rupees, and youngsters flit in and out of the library even during school breaks.