Diary of Yar Khan

My friend Yar Khan is a person of deep insight. A person of courage and valor, he has always been a rebellious person. When we passed out our A-level examination, it was Yar Khan who pronounced that he will pursue his career in teaching and will not go on to work for any company especially for a multinational as he used to call them farhangi companiyaan. He even refused to his father’s request to go abroad and study law. Then he became a lecturer in Karachi University and became quiet an impressive teacher. Once, he said to me that his sole purpose of teaching is to teach his students to think rationally and judiciously.

Many years passed by and one day we met at a seminar held in Karachi University. It was a pleasant surprise to meet him after so many years. I could still see the nerve and audacity in his eyes that was so prominent in yester years. When I went home that night I felt that there is something, which do not belong to me. It was Khan’s diary. I felt nervous and decided not to open it but then I thought that why not discover a new dimension and aspect of my friend’s life. Why not study the thoughts of a defiant person. I opened it with a little hesitation. It read:


“Today is the gloomiest day I can ever have in my life. I was driving my car when I witnessed a bike crushed by a speedy bus. That was not surprising in the streets of Karachi. What was surprising was the fact that instantly many people gathered around the crime scene and took away all the belongings of the deceased. One took away his watch, another his wallet, and the other one searched his pockets just to make sure that nothing will be left begging. I was stunned and motionless but could not do anything.

I am thinking of criminals in this crime scene. Who are the criminals? The one who crushed him to death or those who did not even try to take him to hospital but instead took away his belongings?

I wonder whether we should waste our lives in memorizing the verses of God. Is not life a very short stint and thus wasting our time by memorizing the truth and holiness of words, we are wasting our time and depriving our selves from something more pleasant, something more rewarding. There was a friend of mine who gave me the address of a person whose shop was located in the Karkhana market, Peshawar. The person was the biggest dealer of smuggled aslaha and of course, of the powder. When I visited his shop, I found out that he has gone to offer his prayers. How cruel God really is or I should say how silly a human being is. His life is very simple and so his religion but why one just complicates it. I felt sorry for the smuggler. He was just wasting his time in praying. Nevertheless, how can I forget my fellow teacher who was so pious that he did not use to take his classes in prayer time but ruined the careers of many students by demanding gifts from students if they want to clear their exams.

What about justice? Are we not killing our finest emotions when we harm someone? But wait, I have an idea. I think we must privatize our supreme court. In this way we will earn foreign exchange and we will also be able to transfer the benefits of privatization policy to masses. Furthermore, our masses will get justice the way they want. Each one of us will get justice. Some will get 2 kilos and some others will get 5 kilos depending on their ration cards. Everyone will be contented. I will be glad and may be people will be so pleased that they might end up in electing the government of Musharraf again. Who knows? What will happen?”