The Noble ‘Servant’ Of Peshawar- by Shaheen Buneri
Source: Radio Liberty
Khurshid Khan, an eminent 60-year-old lawyer and deputy attorney general of Pakistan, wants to “heal the wounds” of the terror-stricken minority Sikh community in that country.
So he does an extraordinary thing at a temple in the northwestern city of Peshawar.
Every day when he handles his work as a legal expert, Khan visits a Sikh temple in center of the city, wraps a piece of cloth around his head to show his respect, and sits in the doorway to shine the shoes of Sikhs, whose community has come under frequent attack by Taliban militants over the last few years.
Two months back, militants in Khyber Agency abducted three Sikhs and demanded for a huge ransom for their release. Two were eventually freed, but one, Jispal Singh, was killed in brutal fashion and his corpse left on the roadside in the tribal area.
“I went to offer my condolences to the family of Jispal Singh and that was a turning point in my life,” Khan tells RFE/RL’s Radio Mashaal. “I realized that as a Pashtun I should work to ‘heal their wounds’ by becoming their sewadar (servant). I want to give them a message of love and brotherhood, and that’s why every day I am here to shine their shoes.”
Khan says he is himself a landlord and doesn’t even shine his own shoes at his home. But his cause inspires him to sit on the ground on a daily basis and shine 70-80 pairs of shoes.
“I can see the light of love in their eyes for me and my people,” he maintains.
He adds that Sikhs have lived in the area with the dominant Pashtun communities for centuries, pay taxes, and play an important role in the economic progress of the region. But still, he laments, we fail to protect their lives and properties.
They are being killed and kidnapped by the Taliban in Orakzai, Kurrum, and Khyber tribal regions, Khan says, adding that other Pakistanis must stand by them in these critical hours and give them a sense of oneness and brotherhood.
An estimated 28,000 Sikhs live in Pakistan, including about 10,000 who live in the tribal region and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of the conflict-ridden country. In May 2009, Taliban militants destroyed 11 Sikh homes in the Orakzai tribal district after accusing them of failing to pay “taxes.” The ongoing conflict in the Buner and Swat districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa has displaced more than 200 families.
I think it would be better if he helped facilitate the transport of Sikhs and Hindus into India, so they can be protected from the Islamic hatred of Pakistan.
These are the people who guarantee that the future of Pakistan is based on the philosophy of co-existence with other religions and sects. Confrontation will not bring us any good.
Sikhs are an important part of Pakhtun Community. We must try our best to accomodate and ensure their safety. Stupid Talibans or foreign agents want to create divisions among our community. Khurshid Khan – kudos to you. My hat goes off to you. I hope others step up and offer to protect all minorities. Remember, hospitality is the core value of Pakhtuns and must not be shunned!
http://www.dawn.com/wps/wcm/connect/dawn-content-library/dawn/the-newspaper/local/peshawar/law-officer-shines-shoes-at-gurdwara-to-project-soft-image-160
PESHAWAR, May 31: A senior politician and member of the legal team of the ruling Pakistan People’s Party has begun serving worshipers in a Gurdwara, located in the heart of the provincial capital, in his effort to build soft image of Pakhtuns tainted by militancy.
From 9am to 5pm, Khurshid Khan serves as deputy attorney general of Pakistan disposing of judicial affairs relating to the federal government, but in the evening he is a Sevadar (a servant without pay) in Gurdwara Bhai Joga Singh located in the Dabgari area of Peshawar.
According to the Sikh faith, only people from the Sikh community volunteer to serve in Gurdwara by enrolling their names in a register kept by an organising committee for each place of worship.
Usually, the turn of a volunteer comes in three to four weeks, but Mr Khan is doing this job continuously for two months, says Gorcharn Singh, a young Sevadar standing beside him.
Volunteers can be asked to work anywhere in Gurdwara, but the most rewarding job, according to the Sikh belief, is to take care of the shoes of worshipers. Mr Khan is doing the same job since he managed his access to this Gurdwara. Worshipers deposit their shoes at the entrance of Gurdwara, where they are given a token.
“I am doing this job mainly to satisfy my soul because I have developed the feelings that minorities in this region are not treated the way our culture and values teach us,” Mr Khan told Dawn, while handing over shoes to a worshiper.
Kidnapping of three Sikhs, one of whom was beheaded later, was something that shocked Mr Khan, who wanted to express solidarity with the Sikh community that he materialised by becoming a Sevadar.
“I am a fundamentalist Muslim but I am not terrorist; I am Pakistani but I am not terrorist and I am Khan but not terrorist,” said Mr Khan, while elaborating his ideology behind his decision to become Sevadar.
Mr Khan often hits the headlines by coming up with innovative methods to express his views on particular issues. In the 2002 election, he shot himself during a press conference when the PPP entered into an electoral alliance with the Awami National Party. His second and most prominent action was in 2008 when he sprayed black colour on the face of Advocate Ahmad Raza Qasuri to express his anguish against his anti-Zulfikar Ali Bhutto comments.
On Sunday next, he is planning to go to Punja Sahib, another holy place of the Sikh community in Hassanabdal and then to Sheikhupura to do the same job. He is also intending to go to worship places of other religions in coming days.
Mr Khan said his purpose was just to tell the world that Pakhtuns were not violent people and they believed in peaceful coexistence. “This is my mission that I will continue while serving minorities in this country for the rest of my life.”
Nice write up. Mr Khurshid Advocate can be contacted on 0092-3339259332.
Very effectively written information. It will likely be invaluable to anyone who usess it, including myself. Keep up the nice work – for certain i will check out extra posts.