TheJakartaPost
Please Update your browser
Your browser is out of date, and may not be compatible with our website. A list of the most popular web browsers can be found below.
Just click on the icons to get to the download page.
Popular Reads
Top Results
No results found. Please check your search term and try again
Can't find what you're looking for?
View all search results
Popular Reads
Top Results
No results found. Please check your search term and try again
Can't find what you're looking for?
View all search results
Unfolding Stories
Library thrives in Pakistan's 'wild west' gun market town
The town of Darra Adamkhel is part of the deeply conservative tribal belt where decades of militancy and drug-running in the surrounding mountains earned it a reputation as a "wild west" waypoint between Pakistan and Afghanistan.
Change text size
Gift Premium Articles
to Anyone
Share the best of The Jakarta Post with friends, family, or colleagues. As a subscriber, you can gift 3 to 5 articles each month that anyone can read—no subscription needed!
Set as preferred source
In this photograph taken on January 4, 2023, an arms dealer Muhammad Jahanzeb checks an automatic gun at his shop in Darra Adamkhel town, some 35 kilometres (20 miles) south of Peshawar. The town of Darra Adamkhel has long been known for its black market bazaars stocked with forged American rifles, replica revolvers and rip-off AK-47s. Decades of militancy and drug-running in the surrounding mountains earned it a reputation as a “wild west“ waypoint between Pakistan and Afghanistan.
(AFP /Abdul Majeed)
W
hen 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.
"It's my hobby, my favourite hobby, so sometimes I sneak off," the 28-year-old told AFP after showing off his inventory of vintage rifles, forged assault weapons and a menacing array of burnished flick-knives.
"I've always wished that we would have a library here, and my wish has come true."
The town of Darra Adamkhel is part of the deeply conservative tribal belt where decades of militancy and drug-running in the surrounding mountains earned it a reputation as a "wild west" waypoint between Pakistan and Afghanistan.
It has long been known for its black market bazaars stocked with forged American rifles, replica revolvers and rip-off AK-47s.
But a short walk away a town library is thriving by offering titles including Virginia Woolf's classic "Mrs Dalloway", instalments in the teenage vampire romance series "Twilight", and "Life, Speeches and Letters" by Abraham Lincoln.
"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.
More from The Weekender
Tinggal Meninggal: How Kristo Imanuel dares moviegoers to laugh at death
Kristo Imanuel didn’t expect this film to be made. But now that it is, it might be doing exactly what he hoped: Helping people laugh at things they’re too afraid to talk about.
Breaking down 'Sore Idaman': Loss and love, on loop
A romance turned sci-fi turned tragedy, Yandy Laurens' Sore: Istri dari Masa Depan isn’t just a tearjerker: It’s a meditation on choosing love, every single time. Note: This review may contain spoilers.
Jakarta: A ‘city of cinema’ in the making
Jakarta has the potential to become a City of Cinema. But it needs more than a vision; it needs a system.
