First-Ever Pashto Drama Shot in the United States Exposes the Dark Reality of Human Smuggling -

Amjad Hadi Yousafzai

Peshawar: The teaser of the Pashto drama serial “Khapona”, based on the highly sensitive and pressing issue of human smuggling, has been officially released. The serial is directed and produced by Ashfaq Toru, while the screenplay has been jointly written by Muhammad Izhar Bobi and Feroz Khan Zeegar.

Khapona is a collaborative production of Seven Colors Production International, Micro Screen International, and Wah Brothers. Spanning forty episodes, the serial powerfully portrays the social, psychological, and humanitarian consequences associated with human smuggling, shedding light on an issue often ignored or discussed only in fragments.

The editing of the drama has been carried out by Sahibzada. The cast features a diverse mix of national and international actors, including Tariq Jamal, Izhar Bobi, Khalid Khattak, Hameed Shahzad, Qazi Arif, Naik Khan, Sher Khan, Manji Singh, Govinder Singh, Waqas Abbas, Zia Bobi, Azmam Bobi, Owais Shah, Bridget Lee, Huyo Garcia, Henry Romero, Andrew Martiner, Flavio Garcia, Kay McFarland, Ahad Lodhi, Shivangi, Saeed Sheena, Haji Fazal Razzaq, Rukhiya, Shakiba Afghan, Salam Swati, Shah Rukh, Zaman Baghdadi, Sajjad Ali, Hamza Nowshehri, and M. K. Shirazi.
Makeup services were provided by Ramziya Ghazal, while Farah Ji Shah designed the costumes.

Speaking about the project, director Ashfaq Toru stated that the core purpose of Khapona is to create public awareness and expose the devastating effects of human smuggling, a crime that destroys families, futures, and societies. He emphasized that the drama aims to play a meaningful role in promoting human rights awareness and social responsibility, both nationally and internationally.

A major milestone of Khapona is that it is the first Pashto drama serial to be filmed in the United States. The shooting took place across New York, Maryland, and Philadelphia, highlighting the global reach and international scope of the story and reinforcing the reality that human smuggling is not a local issue, but a worldwide crisis.