Afghan recounts nostalgic tales while leaving Pakistan

PESHAWAR: Maulvi Khair Mohammad, an Afghan who spent 30 years in Pakistan, will leave for Afghanistan on Thursday, but he says he is feeling much pain as if he is leaving his own country.

“I was nine years old when I came to Pakistan with my parents. At that time I didn’t know the pain of migration, but now I feel as if I am leaving my country and relatives,” he told The News while collecting his religious books, sheets, and utensils from a narrow room situated at the corner of a village mosque, where he has been leading prayers and teaching the Holy Quran for 18 years.

He was also receiving his well-wishers, coming to bid him farewell. He was unable to accept the offers of lunch and dinner and some of them had brought cooked food and a few were seen offering cash to help him meet his expenses on the travel to Afghanistan and the expected expenditures in his new destination.

Maulvi Khair Mohammad said he received more than 60 guests between Maghrib and Isha prayers. Same is the case inside his house, where the village women come to see them off. He is receiving love, affection, respect and gifts from the people from the day they knew about their departure. Since the villagers knew there will be cold in Kabul, they also bring with them warm clothes, sweaters and even uncooked food items for them.

With tearful eyes, the bearded Maulvi said he could neither narrate his sentiments in words nor could he forget the love and affection of Pakistani people during his remaining life. One lady gifted golden rings to his daughter.

Hailing from Baghlan province of Afghanistan, he said he would stay in Kabul, where he had rented two-room house. His remaining family will go to Baghlan, but he would stay in Kabul for the completion of his sons’ education.

He plans to establish a small shop in Kabul and later complete the construction of his own house, which he purchased with the cooperation of his Pakistani friends and well-wishers. He said he had purchased 10-marla plot of land in Kabul and now he would try to construct it with the passage of time. 

Maulvi Khair Mohammad will also take with him wooden materials for the construction of his house. He has sold his two cows at cheaper rate but would take with him dung cakes, which he said was necessary because he would have nothing to face the cold nights in Kabul.

Like those of other Afghan refugees, the Maulvi, his father and five brothers have hired a tractor-trolley for Rs110,000 from Akora Khattak refugee camp up to Baghlan. He was very upset with the ongoing propaganda against Afghans, which he said was being spread by the enemies only to create hatred among Pakhtuns living on both sides of the border. He said that some people were spreading propaganda and baseless reports that Afghans slaughtered Pakistani driver and kidnapped Pakistani children. “Such reports have no reality,” he added.

The Afghan refugees faced problems due to sudden announcement of the Pakistani government to repatriate Afghans, who had to repatriate to their homeland someday. It seems that Pakistan’s policymakers had not prepared proper plans before making sudden announcement of sending Afghan refugees to Afghanistan.

“The sudden announcement badly disturbed my children’s education,” he said. His elder son is doing medical dispensary course in North-West General Hospital in Hayatabad, where he was asked to prepare passport for further education.

His second son has also quit education and is not going to madrassa in Lund Khwar. Like others, his sons would not be able to continue education because there may be totally different syllabi and courses in Kabul.