70 years on, one Pashtun town still safeguards its old Hindu-Muslim brotherhood

Indian filmmaker Shilpi Batra Adwani with a Hindu Pashtun migrant woman. They pose with traditional Pashtun clothes. (Photo Courtesy: Shilpi Shilpi Batra Adwani)
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Updated 01 July 2020

70 years on, one Pashtun town still safeguards its old Hindu-Muslim brotherhood

  • As token of love, Muslims of Mekhtar have never opened the abandoned properties of town’s migrated Hindu community 
  • Around 400 Pashtun Hindus migrated from Balochistan‘s Pashtun belt and moved to Jaipur

KARACHI: For more than 70 years, locked up mud shops lining a street in Pakistan’s southwest Balochistan province have stood the test of time as monuments to one small town’s extraordinary Hindu-Muslim brotherhood.
The Pashtun community of Mekhtar, where a little over a thousand families reside off a main national highway, was once a tight-knit small town where people of the two faiths lived side by side. 
During the violent partition of the Indian subcontinent in 1947, the Hindu families of Mekhtar were forced to migrate to Jaipur across the border, where they formed a tiny community of 400 Pashtun Hindus with a very distinct culture.




Old mud shops that belonged to Hindu Pashtuns in Mekhtar's Hindu Bazaar before 1947. The properties have remained preserved and unopened for over 70 years as a symbol of interfaith harmony. June 26, 2020 (AN Photo by Shadi Khan Kakar)  

But in all these years, the dozens of shops they left behind have never been opened again-- preserved exactly as they were left by their owners seven decades ago. 
“When our Hindu friends were leaving us [after partition] they handed the keys of their shops to us,” Malik Hajji Paio Khan Kakar, a 95 year old resident of Mekhtar told Arab News. 
The keys were never used, he said, and the properties sit as though lying in wait for their rightful owners to return.
The town’s integrity is an anomaly in the history of the partition, where land grabbings of abandoned property were common in the absence of formal registrars after the two new countries were carved out and millions were forced to hastily flee their homes.




In this undated photo, a Pashtun Hindu woman in Jaipur shows off the blue tattoos distinctive of the Hindu Pashtun community. (Photo Courtesy: Shilpi Shilpi Batra Adwani)

Just before the Hindus of Mekhtar migrated to Jaipur, Kakar said they stayed as guests in the homes of their Muslim friends for several nights before finding safe passage across.
“It was like one’s brother was leaving,” Kakar reminisced.
The meat-eating Hindu Pashtuns are a little known tribe in India even today, with a distinct culture carried forward from Afghanistan and Balochistan which includes blue tattoos on the faces of the women, traditional Pashtun dancing and clothes heavily adorned with coins and embroidery.
“It was lovely to hear that the people of Mekhtar still remember us and have taken care of the shops as a token of love,” Shilpi Batra Adwani, a documentary filmmaker from a Pashtun Hindu family in Jaipur, told Arab News. 
Her grandmother, who she calls Babai, migrated from the town during the partition.




Indian filmmaker Shilpi Batra Adwani with a Hindu Pashtun migrant woman. They pose with traditional Pashtun clothes. (Photo Courtesy: Shilpi Shilpi Batra Adwani)

Shilpi told Arab News that elderly members of Jaipur’s Pashtun Hindu community still sat together and spoke about the ‘golden period’ of harmony and love they had left behind in Mekhtar.
They still speak Pashto, she said, and remained fiercely proud of the culture they had brought with them to Jaipur-- though acceptance had not always come easy.
“Because the women had tattoos, people in India used to be curious looking at them. Some found them exotic and some found them questionable,” Shilpi said.
“They would spend most of their time at their homes, remembering their lovely past times.” 




Malik Haji Paio Khan Kakar, a 95 year old resident of Mekhtar, Balochistan, is interviewed for Arab News. June 26, 2020 (AN Photo by Shadi Khan Kakar)  

Shilpi, who made a documentary about the roots of India’s Hindu Pashtuns last year, interviewed several women in her community about the days of the partition. 
From them she discovered that the Muslims of Mekhtar had come to the railway station to bid them farewell on the day they had left, with ghee and gifts of food for their long journey. 
“Together, they would do embroidery, together eat their meals and together do Attan [Pashtun folk dance]. No one would feel like they belonged to a different faith,” Shilpi said, recounting stories from her grandmother.




Indian filmmaker Shilpi Batra Adwani with a Hindu Pashtun migrant woman. They pose with traditional Pashtun clothes. (Photo Courtesy: Shilpi Shilpi Batra Adwani)

The film-maker told many other stories-- of one Hindu Pashtun who fell in love with a Muslim woman from Mekhtar and stayed behind, and of old trunks of Pashtun clothes lovingly restored and worn tearfully by the last remaining generation of the partition.
Even 73 years on, Shilpi said, Mekhtar still lived on in the memories of those who had left behind their ancestral homes and shops. 




Old mud shops that belonged to Hindu Pashtuns in Mekhtar's Hindu Bazaar before 1947. The properties have remained preserved and unopened for over 70 years as a symbol of interfaith harmony. June 26, 2020 (AN Photo by Shadi Khan Kakar)  

Across the border in Mekhtar, Kakar too reminisced about meeting his old friends one more time.
“My health and finances don’t allow me to travel, but if they could come here... that would be great,” he smiled. 
“Then maybe once more, we could sit here. All together.”


‘Living life to the fullest’: An inspiring journey of a child battling incurable cancer in Karachi

Updated 16 sec ago

‘Living life to the fullest’: An inspiring journey of a child battling incurable cancer in Karachi

  • Owais Shehzad, only nine years old, believes in celebrating life’s little wonders amid adversity
  • He finds solace in dancing and creating videos, portraying himself as any other fun-loving child

KARACHI: A young Pakistani child started sharing life’s fleeting moments on YouTube from the confines of a small room in his multistory residence in Karachi’s Baldia Town neighborhood after discovering that he was suffering from a debilitating disease.

Owais Shehzad, only nine years old, has been battling cancer for the last five years. Despite enduring intensely painful medical treatments, he found solace in dancing and creating videos, portraying himself as any other fun-loving child.

“I could neither eat nor drink, and I lost my hair and eyebrows due to chemotherapy,” he recalled, as he started reflecting on the days of enduring severe cancer treatment that caused mouth inflammation and painful blisters. “I lost my nails. It seemed like I was an alien who had come from another planet.”

“I was half-dead, yet I managed to handle the disease,” he added with a degree of pride. “My eyes sunk deep, and I could neither eat nor drink due to the blisters.”

Owais’s battle with cancer hasn’t stopped since he has been diagnosed with a type of blood cancer in which the harmful pathogens never truly go away. However, the painful treatments he endured over the last five years have kept him alive.

His passion for dance also brought him happiness even in the darkest moments, and he served as an inspiration to fellow cancer patients at the hospital.

“My bone marrow test was done and fluid was drained through an IV injection in my back,” he said. “Even in that situation, I was dancing on the bed... I was motivating children, and they were happy to see me.”

“Not only did it cheer me up, but it also brought happiness to the entire Indus Hospital, the children in the cancer ward, and my parents as well,” he reminisced.

Owais admitted to shedding tears, however, when he closed the door of his room, not wanting his parents to be hurt by his struggles.

He said that the road ahead remained uncertain, though he had always wanted to adopt a joyful and enthusiastic approach to life.

Nadeem Shehzad, Owais’s father and a local journalist, acknowledged that his son’s resilience uplifted the spirits of other parents when they were feeling weak.

“As a father, it was extremely difficult to witness my son in pain,” he told Arab News. “Whenever our strength and spirits wavered, we received a boost by witnessing the spirit and strength of this child.”

He informed that Owais had been diagnosed with B-all type blood cancer, with a recovery ratio ranging from two to five percent, which necessitates constant care to keep him alive.

“While treatment and care can prolong his life, the germs still remain in his body, and without complete care, they can become active at any time,” Nadeem explained, adding that it was also the reason why his son could not continue attending school.

Despite being unable to pursue education in a formal setting due to health issues, Owais’s passion for compels him to wear a school uniform and keep a bag at home.

“I wish to go to school,” he said. “However, my disease is such that I can neither sit nor stand due to the injections.”

Last year, the nine-year-old had one of his longstanding desires fulfilled when he embarked on a journey to Saudi Arabia for the Umrah pilgrimage.

“I had always wished to perform Umrah, to visit the house of Allah and witness His divine abode. Allah granted me an invitation... The experience of Umrah was truly amazing, and now I also aspire to perform Hajj,” he shared with gratitude.
Owais believes that those who remain happy even in sickness bring joy to God as well.

“May Allah grant me a long life, but whatever life I have, I’m living it to the fullest,” he said. “Currently, I am embracing life with utmost spirit and enthusiasm.”

He added that he harbors deep love for both journalism and the army, making his professional destination uncertain in life.

“Let’s see which of these two paths life takes me on,” he smiled.


Dubai-based multinational invests $6 million in Pakistan to acquire home care product manufacturer 

Updated 14 min 53 sec ago

Dubai-based multinational invests $6 million in Pakistan to acquire home care product manufacturer 

  • UAE’s New Future Consumer International General Trading completes acquisition of Zulfiqar Industries that makes famous Capri Soap in Pakistan 
  • The foreign investor says Pakistan is prioritized as part of its global business development strategy in the FMCG category with strategic partners 

KARACHI: New Future Consumer International General Trading (NFCIGT), a Dubai-based multinational company, has acquired a Pakistani home and personal care product manufacturer, Zulfiqar Industries Limited (ZIL), by injecting around $6 million foreign direct investment (FDI) in Pakistan, officials and a corporate finance adviser familiar with the deal said on Friday. 

The NFCIGT is an emerging global fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) player with business development initiatives in the Gulf countries, Russia, and now in Pakistan with local partners. The company has acquired over 5 million, or 84.84 percent, shares of the ZIL, according to a stock filing on Thursday. 

The ZIL, incorporated as a private limited company in 1960, manufactures and sells home and personal care products, including the famous Capri Soap, in Pakistan. 

Dr. Cobus Van Rooijen, the founder and managing director of the NFCIGT, said he believed in the long-term growth potential of Pakistan despite challenges. 

“Despite the challenging times, we firmly believe in the long-term growth potential of the country,” Rooijen said in a statement on Friday. “We look forward to leveraging our global experience and resources to drive innovation, create employment opportunities, and contribute to Pakistan’s economic growth.” 

The NFCIGT chief said his company has prioritized Pakistan as part of its global business development strategy in the FMCG category. 

“ZIL Limited has Capri as a fantastic heritage brand, which provides opportunities to expand into other personal care premium categories,” Rooijen said. “We have identified Pakistan as major investment opportunity based on demographics and anticipated consumption per capita growth in key consumer categories.” 

Pakistan’s economic landscape has faced numerous challenges, including the global COVID-19 pandemic, and associated economic repercussions, followed by global commodity super-cycle given the Russia-Ukraine war, and the internal political and economic challenges. 

However, the new investor remains optimistic about the long-term potential of the Pakistani market and the investment demonstrates their commitment to contributing to Pakistan’s economic development, creating job opportunities, and fostering innovation in the FMCG sector, according to the statement. 

The share price of ZIL has increased by 86.6 percent from Rs181.67 per share to Rs339 since January 2023, according to the data available at Pakistan Stock Exchange website. 

Alpha Beta Core, a Karachi-based financial advisory and investment banking firm, facilitated the acquisition that marks a significant milestone in the global expansion strategy of investors. 

“The acquisition of a Pakistani company by a multinational FMCG player signifies an important milestone at a time when the country is facing economic crisis and needs much needed foreign exchange inflows,” Khurram Schehzad, CEO of Alpha Beta Core, told Arab News. 

Schehzad said the acquisition highlights his team’s commitment to delivering exceptional financial advisory services and ability to navigate complex cross-border transactions. 

“We are confident that our clients’ investment in the Pakistani market will yield substantial returns and create mutually beneficial partnerships,” he added. 

Schehzad said the NFCIGT aims to contribute to the growth and development of the region and countries in which it operates, including Pakistan, . 

The NFCIGT chief said he would continue to look for complementary investment opportunities with local partners. 

“Our ambitions are to extend to multiple categories in the current countries followed by market entries in other targeted geographies, including Africa and CIS (Commonwealth of Independent States),” he said. 
 


Pakistan PM arrives in Ankara to attend Erdogan’s inauguration

Updated 03 June 2023

Pakistan PM arrives in Ankara to attend Erdogan’s inauguration

  • Pakistan and Turkiye have historic religious, cultural and trade relations 
  • PM Sharif says he will convey his ‘warmest greetings to the president’

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Saturday arrived in Ankara to attend the inauguration of Recep Tayyip Erdogan, days after his reelection as the Turkish president.

A third term gives Erdogan an even stronger hand domestically and internationally, and the election results will have implications far beyond Ankara. Turkiye stands at the crossroads of Europe and Asia, and it plays a key role in NATO.

Erdogan, who has led Turkiye as prime minister or president for 20 years, prevailed in a runoff race last weekend despite the country’s ongoing economic crisis and his government’s criticized response to a February earthquake that killed more than 50,000 people.

“Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif arrives in Ankara on his two-day official visit to attend inauguration ceremony of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan,” Sharif’s office said in a statement on Saturday.

Pakistan Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif (2nd right) with High officials from Turkish Foreign Ministry and Pakistan's Mission in Türkiye in Ankara, Turkiye on June 2, 2023. (Photo courtesy: Prime Minister Office)

“High officials from Turkish Foreign Ministry and Pakistan’s Mission in Türkiye received the Prime Minister upon his arrival at Esenboga Airport, Ankara.”

Known as “reis,” or “the chief,” among his fans, the 69-year-old Erdogan already is the longest-serving leader in the Turkish republic’s history. His reelection to a five-year term that runs until 2028 extends his rule into a third decade, and he could possibly serve longer with the help of a friendly parliament.

Pakistan and Turkiye share strong bilateral religious, cultural, trade and defense relations.

“I will convey our warmest greetings to the President on behalf of the government and people of Pakistan on his re-election. The fraternal ties between Pakistan and Türkiye are set to deepen further in line with our shared resolve and common destiny,” Sharif said on Twitter, before leaving for Ankara.

“The upcoming 7th Meeting of the High-Level Strategic Cooperation Council in Islamabad will provide the right avenue to take the momentum of our strategic partnership forward. We have yet to unlock the potential of our multifaceted relationship and efforts are being made in that direction.”


Pakistani man, missing in Iran for over five decades, finally reunites with family 

Updated 03 June 2023

Pakistani man, missing in Iran for over five decades, finally reunites with family 

  • Mumtaz Khan, hailing from Pakistan’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, went missing in 1970s after traveling to Karachi 
  • In a video call arranged by Arab News last month, he reconnected with his family for the first time in over 50 years 

PESHAWAR: Mumtaz Khan, an elderly Pakistani man who went missing and stayed in Iran for more than five decades, reunited with his family in the northwestern Pakistani province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) this week, with relatives according him an emotional welcome upon return home after ages. 

Khan left his home in the Upper Dir district and traveled to Karachi in the 1970s after being scolded by his father for not financially contributing to the household, according to his relatives. 

Khan later traveled with his friends to Iran who had convinced him to come along to earn more money, without informing his family. In a video call arranged by Arab News last month, Khan reconnected with his family for the first time in decades. 

In an interview with Arab News on Thursday, he said he got married in Iran and promised his wife he would not leave her to find his relatives in Pakistan until their children weren’t grown enough. 

“I got married to the daughter of a religious leader there. My wife told me that I would leave and desert her because I’m not the national of her country. But I promised her that I will not go back to my home country unless our children don’t get married,” 73-year-old Khan told Arab News. 

The still image taken from a video recorded on June 1, 2023, shows Mumtaz Khan meeting with his family after five decades in Upper Dir, Pakistan. (AN Photo)

“I fulfilled my promise and I’ve two daughters and two sons. One of my sons and the daughters got married and have children now. Now, I sought their permission to let me go to see my brothers and sisters, and then I will bring them here. This way, I departed for my hometown after fulfilling my promise.” 

Having moved to Iran at the age of 18, Khan started digging water wells and then switched to construction work, mostly in the port city of Chabahar. 

He said he did not try to look for his family in Pakistan earlier as his brothers would have forced him to return home and he could not go back on his word with his wife. 

“I thought my brothers would force me to come home and my wife would cry in my absence,” Khan said. 

Late last month, Khan entered Pakistan from Iran via the Pakistani border town of Nokundi in the southwestern Balochistan province. 

“When I left my home [in Iran], there was a locality called Nokundi where there were a lot of Pashtuns. I got into a car there,” he detailed. 

“They took me to a police office where they said that ‘this person is going to Pakistan for the treatment of his leg.’ They (police) simply took my photo and allowed me to go.” 

Shafiqullah Khan, a cloth merchant from Pakistan’s Balochistan who works in Iran’s Chabahar, last month shared Khan’s video on Facebook after he came to know of his story. 

Arab News made repeated attempts and was among the first media outlets to locate and speak to Khan’s brothers, and finally getting them on a video call through Chabahar-based Shafiqullah. 

Khan’s relatives said their decades-long search for him ended last month, when they saw his video on Facebook. 

Gulabuddin, Khan’s younger brother, said their entire village in Upper Dir celebrated Khan’s homecoming on May 29, with villagers and guests thronging their home in jubilation. 

“Upon the arrival of Mumtaz, we all are very happy and even there is a wave of happiness in the entire village over his homecoming,” he told Arab News. 

Khan said his village has “entirely changed,” pointing to much development and paved roads. 

“Now, it doesn’t seem to be that old hometown. When I was leaving my village, it was totally different, but now it is entirely changed and developed. Even I didn’t find the tracks and pathways we used in those old days because it has developed altogether,” he said. 

“I didn’t recognize the place, when my brothers took me to show our father’s home. In those days, our village did not have more than ten homes, but now this village has developed into a sprawling settlement.” 

Khan said he would leave for Iran after a few months and bring his children to visit his hometown. 

“After meeting all my sisters, brothers, relatives and near and dear ones, I will then leave [for Iran] after four or five months to bring back my children who will stay here for two or three months,” he added. 


Amid mounting economic challenges, Pakistan’s PM seeks export-oriented budget for next fiscal year

Updated 02 June 2023

Amid mounting economic challenges, Pakistan’s PM seeks export-oriented budget for next fiscal year

  • Pakistan recently experienced a decline in exports after commercial banks stopped opening LCs due to dollar crunch
  • The prime minister also wants special focus on the development of the country’s information technology sector

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif issued instructions on Friday to increase the country’s exports during the next fiscal year while chairing a meeting to evaluate proposals related to the Public Sector Development Program (PSDP) ahead of the upcoming budget.

Pakistan has recently experienced a decline in exports after commercial banks refused to open letters of credit (LCs) due to a dollar liquidity crunch triggered by a massive financial crisis in the country.

Additionally, the government also limited imports due to rapidly declining forex reserves and a depreciating rupee, reducing the overall production potential of the industrial sector and further exacerbated the economic slowdown in Pakistan.

“The prime minister issued clear instructions to provide alternatives to domestic imports, increase exports and give priority to innovation projects of various sectors in the development projects of the Budget 2023-24,” said a statement issued by his office after the meeting.

During the gathering, participants were also informed about the progress of ongoing projects under the PSDP.

The prime minister emphasized that agriculture, renewable energy, higher education for youth, vocational training, and employment projects should remain central to the development budget.

It was also agreed that projects related to the development of the information technology sector would play a significant role in the country’s economic planning for the next fiscal year.

Pakistan has witnessed the highest inflation rate of about 38 percent in recent weeks. Its finance minister is scheduled to announce the federal budget amid mounting economic challenges on June 9.