famous Pashtun poet Amer Hamza Shinwari

Ameer Hamza Shinwari (born in Landi Kotal in the year 1907 and died in February 1994, was a famous Pashtun poet. 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 and took this genre of poetry to perfection. He is known as the father of Pashto Ghazals.

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 Partition of India, 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.

Ameer Hamza Shinwari was also a critic and a playwright, he wrote 200 plays for Radio Pakistan, Peshawar, a number of features, critical essays and research papers for different literary magazines and newspapers of Pakistan. Ameer Hamza Shinwari died on February 18, 1994.