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From Khyber to Karachi: a man walks for peace
Sidrah Roghay
Friday, November 25, 2011
Waving a white peace flag, Kasrat Roy, the man who covered 2,250 kilometres from Khyber to Karachi in seventy two days arrived at the Mazar-e-Quaid on Thursday afternoon.
The Guinness World Record holder for the longest peace walk started his unusual endeavour from Bab-e-Khyber and ended it at the mausoleum of the Father of the Nation.
Roy is short, dark and has the red, sunken eyes of a man who is tired from a long journey. He wears a blue track suit, his unkempt hair lies at his shoulders and he calls himself a social activist.
The golden moment of his epic journey was at Cheechawatni, a small town in Punjab, where he travelled two-and-a-half kilometers in three hours because of the crowd gathered on the streets. Men, women, farmers, schoolchildren and everyone came onto the streets. I have never received a better welcome, he smiles.
But he complains over the political leaders in Karachi. I covered all this distance for peace and took a much needed initiative, yet I stood alone at the mausoleum today, he says, adding that nobody from the government had the courtesy to offer him a free nights stay in the city.
While Roy complains about the leaders, he thanks the security forces, who ensured his security throughout the journey and the civil society, which always encouraged him.
The single, young man hails from Hafizabad, a small town in Punjab famous for its rice crop, where his parents are waiting for him. My parents always stood by me. They said I was doing something for the country.
But others were not as kind. They told me I had become dark because of excessive exposure to the sun and no one listens to a black man, but I see all these journalists standing here, taking interest in me.
From a humble background, he decided to undertake this seemingly impossible task because he was sick of the news coverage being given by the local and international media to Pakistan. Amidst all these bomb blasts and wars, I wanted to portray a softer image of Pakistan, give my people hope and promote positive physical activity, Roy says, feeling that he has given the Muslim world something to be proud of.
He claims that the United Nations talks about terrorism in Pakistan; they also talk about Kasrat Roy, who is standing for peace. His appeal to the government is simple: Give the public hope to live. Our public is like a sinking man, whose survival depends on the few breaths it manages.
Roy stands for the man who dies because of hunger, for the bystander who dies of target killing, and the civilian who dies in a drone attack. If there is no peace how will investment be coming in? Our existing investors are fleeing to Bangladesh. How will the poor man eat?
In 2007, Roy travelled 1,199 kilometres in 85 days and established a world record. On Thursday, he broke his own record.
From Khyber to Karachi: a man walks for peace
Sidrah Roghay
Friday, November 25, 2011
Waving a white peace flag, Kasrat Roy, the man who covered 2,250 kilometres from Khyber to Karachi in seventy two days arrived at the Mazar-e-Quaid on Thursday afternoon.
The Guinness World Record holder for the longest peace walk started his unusual endeavour from Bab-e-Khyber and ended it at the mausoleum of the Father of the Nation.
Roy is short, dark and has the red, sunken eyes of a man who is tired from a long journey. He wears a blue track suit, his unkempt hair lies at his shoulders and he calls himself a social activist.
The golden moment of his epic journey was at Cheechawatni, a small town in Punjab, where he travelled two-and-a-half kilometers in three hours because of the crowd gathered on the streets. Men, women, farmers, schoolchildren and everyone came onto the streets. I have never received a better welcome, he smiles.
But he complains over the political leaders in Karachi. I covered all this distance for peace and took a much needed initiative, yet I stood alone at the mausoleum today, he says, adding that nobody from the government had the courtesy to offer him a free nights stay in the city.
While Roy complains about the leaders, he thanks the security forces, who ensured his security throughout the journey and the civil society, which always encouraged him.
The single, young man hails from Hafizabad, a small town in Punjab famous for its rice crop, where his parents are waiting for him. My parents always stood by me. They said I was doing something for the country.
But others were not as kind. They told me I had become dark because of excessive exposure to the sun and no one listens to a black man, but I see all these journalists standing here, taking interest in me.
From a humble background, he decided to undertake this seemingly impossible task because he was sick of the news coverage being given by the local and international media to Pakistan. Amidst all these bomb blasts and wars, I wanted to portray a softer image of Pakistan, give my people hope and promote positive physical activity, Roy says, feeling that he has given the Muslim world something to be proud of.
He claims that the United Nations talks about terrorism in Pakistan; they also talk about Kasrat Roy, who is standing for peace. His appeal to the government is simple: Give the public hope to live. Our public is like a sinking man, whose survival depends on the few breaths it manages.
Roy stands for the man who dies because of hunger, for the bystander who dies of target killing, and the civilian who dies in a drone attack. If there is no peace how will investment be coming in? Our existing investors are fleeing to Bangladesh. How will the poor man eat?
In 2007, Roy travelled 1,199 kilometres in 85 days and established a world record. On Thursday, he broke his own record.
From Khyber to Karachi: a man walks for peace
