Events / 23 September
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa
Pashtun Culture Day
Attan dance, rubab music, poetry, and hospitality, a celebration of Pashtun identity across KP and beyond.
Marked on 23 September, Pashtun Culture Day fills campuses and city centres in KP, Balochistan, and Karachi with traditional dress, turbans, the circular Attan dance, rubab and mangey music, Pashto poetry, and the famed melmastia (hospitality).
- Attan dance
- Rubab music
- Pashto poetry
- Chapli kebab & melmastia
- Fixed date
- When to plan
- Fixed on 23 September each year.
- Getting there
- Peshawar is the cultural hub, with major gatherings also in Quetta and Karachi's Pashtun neighbourhoods.
Identity on show
Expect rings of dancers performing Attan to the rubab and drums, poetry recitals, and stalls of dress and craft. It is a proud, public celebration of Pashtun culture.
Pair with Peshawar
Combine the day with Peshawar's old city, Qissa Khwani Bazaar, Sethi Houses, and the food streets, for a deeper sense of Pashtun heritage.
More in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa
Region guide →
April
Qaqlasht Festival
One of Chitral's oldest spring gatherings, polo, paragliding, and mountain culture on the Qaqlasht plateau.
April - May
Murree & Galiyat Spring Gala
Pine-forest spring fairs on the ridge above Islamabad, cool air, walking tracks, and the first escape from the plains heat.
May
Chilam Joshi (Joshi)
The Kalasha spring festival, milk stored for days, processions, and group dancing at the Charso grounds in Bumburet.
