As I traveled alone on the Motorway towards Peshawar for long-overdue social calls, my mind was diverted by the turbulence the region beyond Attock has faced for centuries. This collage picture shows the family graves of the world-renowned journalist Rahim Ullah Yousafzai in Katlung Khyber Pakhtunkhwa , who was the only journalist credited with interviewing Mullah Omar, the founder of the Taliban movement in Afghanistan, and Osama Bin Laden. I recall transcribing the interview of Osama Bin Laden conducted by Hamid Mir, which Dawn published as world-exclusive news, taking the world media by storm.
Facts are always the first casualty in any conflict between the mighty and the weak, and these two controversial figures could be no exception. I am sure late Rahim Ullah Yousafzai knew many secrets about Mullah Omar, who was not a worldly man by any definition and challenged the world’s superpower without compromising on his principles. His demands were simple: produce proof and guarantee a fair trial for the Muslim guest Afghanistan hosted.
Afghanistan has given refuge to many political refugees, such as Ajab Khan Afridi, a fugitive of the British Empire, as part of the Pukhtun code of honor. Osama Bin Laden could be no exception, even if it led to the most expensive conflict the United States suffered in its entire history. I wonder why the remains of Osama Bin Laden, the world’s most wanted terrorist, were buried at sea, if not to bury the facts.
Many would wish to read about the book “Secret Life of Mullah Omar” by Dutch journalist Bette Dam, who accompanied the Dutch Forces as a war correspondent. Instead, she focused on discovering the personal life of the elusive Taliban movement founder. Surprisingly, the book is published only in Dutch, with no English version, which is self-explanatory: even in death, Mullah Omar is feared, having defeated the world’s intelligence services, who failed to trace him despite numerous raids.
I cannot say whether God was on whose side, but I can say with conviction that it was not on the side of the United States and its allies, who were after Afghanistan’s estimated 1.3 trillion untapped resources without realizing they paid an equal amount to escape hastily, as the world watched on TV.
As I entered Peshawar, I heard the Pak-Afghan border was closed due to tension between the two brotherly Islamic nations, who share many commonalities except the imaginary line drawn by the British, now fenced. I do not know who fans the fire to keep it boiling, but it is only human blood spilled on both sides, resulting in untold sufferings for millions of children, women, and the elderly, each blaming the other for aggression. Meanwhile, those who sit on stockpiles of nuclear warheads thousands of miles away watch the game from the sidelines as the world temperature rises, not just due to fossil fuels or deforestation, but also tons of lethal explosives used by the developed world in our region, creating an urgent need for cancer hospitals everywhere.
May God save not the king but the people who are burning in the fire ignited by their own leaders worldwide.
