Yasmin Nigar Khan, great granddaughter of Khan Abdul Gaffar Khan, better known as Frontier Gandhi said that the Indian government should extend cooperation to Phastoons or Pathans in their demand for citizenship.
Interacting with mediapersons on Wednesday, Yasmin, the president of All India Pakhtoon Jirga-e-Hind, said that there were 32 lakh Phastoons in the country who were living and working in India but were yet to get citizenship. “Post independence, and division of India, Pundit Jawaharlal Nehru had told my grandfather that he would urge the Indian government to help Phastoons who wanted to stay in India,” she said.
She added that the Indian government should also raise the issue internationally. “Indian government should raise the issue about Pakistan atrocities on Pathans. Pashtoons should get their independence too,” she said.
The great-granddaughter of Khan Abdul Gaffar Khan also said that they would seek an appointment with Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and request her to allot some land to them to put up a university. “We intend to put up two universities in the name of my great-grandfather, one in Delhi and the other in Kolkata. We will meet the CM and request her for some land. Pathans in Afghanistan are in poor shape. Deprived of education, they had been brainwashed into violence. We will want them to come here, stay and study so that they are better equipped to deal with the condition. The universities would cater to all but Pathans will get priority in terms of admission,” she said.
Asked about who would fund in putting up the university building, Yasmin said that if 32 lakh pathans paid Rs 10 each there would be a lot of money. “Besides there are people like Salman Khan and Amir Khan who can contribute a lot more,” she said.
Abdullah Khan, another Phastoon living in Kolkata said that there were friends and relatives in Pakistan who they could not visit as they didnt have any passport. “We long to meet them and especially at times of an emergency situation. The government should also think of doing something for us. We too had contributed in the fight for India’s freedom,” he said.
