The road from Kabul to Kathmandu
On a beautiful, sunny day in Kabul, giddy with excitement about the journey ahead, we loaded up the pickup truck with our latest publications, as well as some various artefacts. None of us (two reporters, the driver and I) were familiar with the terrain beyond Pakistan's borders; India and the road to Nepal was still a mystery to us all.
Leaving Kabul at around 9:30 in the morning, the eastern road to Jalalabad provided us with a stunning view of the valleys and mountains, green for just two months every year. We devoured a quick lunch at a local restaurant in the town and proceeded onwards. Despite the usual harassment of customs officials and police on both sides of the Durand Line in Turkham, we arrived in Peshawar as planned, at dusk.
The next morning, after a breakfast of milk tea and parathas in Nowshera, we took the motorway to Islamabad and Lahore. After hours of driving, we eventually crossed the border at Wagah, ahead of the ceremony of lowering the Indian and Pakistani flags, before heading to Amritsar. We were now in unfamiliar territory, and found ourselves accompanied by turbaned Sikhs travelling from Wagah to Amritsar. We paid a visit to the holy Harmandir Sahib, the famous Golden Temple.
From there, the real adventure started, taking the NH1 highway from Amritsar to Jalandhar, Ludhiana and Ambala. Despite the difficulties of the road and the unbelievably erratic driving, the beauty of the landscape was mesmerising – my companions from dusty Afghanistan had never seen so much greenery. After a night in Delhi, we decided to head to Agra early the next morning, from where we sped up to Kanpur and then on to Lucknow. There, we slept the night dreaming about the opulent lifestyles of the Nawabs.
Our day began early the next morning, for the last leg of our trip to Nepal. Custom formalities did not take long, with the officials amazed to witness a truck-full of Afghans heading to Nepal. Despite the 14-hour journey ahead, we couldn't have been happier: we were finally on the cusp of realising our dream of connecting Kabul to Kathmandu.
Someday
Of course, all Southasians would realise that this exciting trip is nothing more than a dream that cannot yet come true; we have not yet been granted freedom of movement. Yet, a journey such as this could be so enlightening to the citizens of Southasia, teaching us about harmony and coexistence, being able to see the land and cultures change outside the windows as we drive through this massive region of ours. But alas, Southasia's leaders are more inclined to allow the multinational arms industry to suck our collective blood and wealth, than to let us live in peace and prosperity alongside each other. They would much rather compete to buy more weapons, than to work towards alleviating hunger and poverty.
SAARC could offer a platform for socio-economic development, and an opportunity for all of us to learn about the necessity of peaceful relationships, by putting aside the differences that purport to divide us. Member countries of SAARC are set to take part in the upcoming Summit at a very crucial yet special period in their recent history. In the past two years, Nepal has been involved in a process of democratisation, and is evolving towards a genuinely pluralistic society. After bearing the brunt of a decade-long civil war, Nepalis have much to teach others in Southasia about seeking peaceful means to overcome differences. Afghans are also in the process of building democratic institutions. We are progressing towards building an open and inclusive society, but we are yet to learn that sharing power is less a sign of weakness than a mark of wisdom. It is certainly never easy to work together with those we have fought, but this is the price we must be willing to pay if we want to live in peace.
Southasians have never before been closer to the ideal of sharing democratic values. But the leadership has to take the next step, in order to transform these words into action. And for us to learn from each other, we must be allowed to drive across our frontiers. We will yet make it to Kathmandu.
~ Shahir A Zahine is a free spirit, media developer, publisher and political activist, and runs local radio stations in several cities of Afghanistan.