PESHAWAR:
The government has sacked a top law officer who swept floors, did the dishes and polished shoes at shrines and places of worship during a recent official trip to India to ‘promote inter-faith harmony’.
Muhammad Khurshid Khan, a deputy attorney general based in Peshawar, confirmed to The Express Tribune that he has been de-notified and replaced with Farooq Shah.
Known for his seva (community service), Khan is currently in Kathmandu, Nepal, for a service pilgrimage (Sevadari). However, he has cut short his planned tour of Bhutan and Tibet and will return to Pakistan on Thursday (today).
Khan made headlines in Indian press in March, this year, by sweeping floors and polishing shoes of devotees at Sikh gurdwaras in India, including Golden Temple.
This was, according to Khan, “to heal the wounds of minorities in Pakistan by becoming their sevadar (performer of service)”. For him, it was a “penance for his crimes.”
Back home, his sevadari did not go well with conservatives. The Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) issued him a show-cause notice for ‘defaming’ Pakistan abroad. However, the notice was never delivered to Khan following a strong criticism from liberal lawyers.
Attorney General of Pakistan Irfan Qadir also confirmed that Khan has been replaced with Shah. However, he did not cite any reason for Khan’s removal from the post.
“DAG is not a permanent post. It’s assigned for three years,” Qadir told The Express Tribune by phone from Islamabad.
Even if Qadir’s claim is believed, Khan has not completed his three-year term. According to Khan, he had assumed the charge in September 2010 and his stint should have expired in September 2013.
Interestingly, Khurshid Khan, also a loyalist of the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), gave another reason for his sacking.
“I’ve been punished for my struggle against corruption and for challenging Dewaan-e-Khaas, a restaurant allegedly built on public property by Awami National Party activists,” Khan told The Express Tribune by phone from Kathmandu. Khan added that he has called up his son and asked him to return the official vehicle.
Khan claimed that an ANP activist had threatened him to withdraw his petition against the restaurant or else he would be fired. “Now, [after sacking] I’ve been released from the golden cage. I will continue to fight against corruption,” he added.
Published in The Express Tribune, August 2nd, 2012.
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sad
"The Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) issued him a show-cause notice for ‘defaming’ Pakistan abroad." What right they have to question Khan who is a private citizen and has the right to do anything he wants. If he believes in non-violence,work ethics and fight the corrupt in the government , then I say more power to him. By the way it is not Khan who is giving bad name to Pakistan, it the corrupt lot in Islamabad and Peshawar who are corrupt to the core and they are the ones who are buying properties abroad with ill gotten money. Does Khan has an account in Swiss Banks?. By the way there is nothing wrong working, whether sweeping floors, washing clothes and polishing shoes, we all do these chores everyday over here and we don't have servants to exploit like they do in Pakistan. Any work is pride , it is called work ethics. I wish Pakistanis realize that any work is respectful and those who don't want to work are leaches on the society.
@SK: Sir the topic is increase inter-faith harmony.
there is no dearth of loonies in Pakistan ... be it bureaucracy....
I am sort of speechless. Numb. I want to scream. Disappointed. Disillusioned. Well may be not surprised. One man who reaches out in friendship. A man of peace and this is what we do to him. We are such a self-destructive people. I don't understand my people. I am a foreigner in my own land.
His interfaith service reminds me that of the best know Mughal King Akbar. Even after centuries of his death he is still respected. He visited Sikh shrine and sat on the floor to eat food with commoners, he celebrated Rakhi with Hindu girls and had Birbal, a hindu, as his minister etc. The majority of problem of subcontinent will be solved if we followed Akbar and Mr Khan and not the Arungzeb. All the issues of Sunni, shia, Ahmadi christians, Hindu can be solved in Pakistan if one followed MrKhan and learn that Relegion is like undergarment to protet the inner soul and not to be shown to the world.
Mr. Khan, now please go and polish some more shoes and increase inter-faith harmony. I only have one question for you though... have you ever cleaned an ablution place in any of our mosques?
@Zain: You say "A good step indeed. Never saw an Indian official showing such magnanimity." Sir If Indian officials are mean, bad and have no conscious then You mean to say that Mr Khan should be same and should have no magnanimity or right to do service.
@Faysal: Your comment makes sense.
So some Pakistanis think Pakistan's name has been maligned by his act? Instead of hailing him for his act, we have people whining. No wonder this county is in the state it is.
I don't believe this. Just when i thought that finally there were some people with their sanity intact in Pakistan, you people do something so crazy and redeem all those Pak bashers all over the world. My heart goes out to Khurshid Sahab. He did not have to do penance for the sins committed by others, but he is a brave man and I salute him for standing up for his principles.
Come on ET, Khurshid Khan has never said he has been served noticed for becoming "seva" but he has put blame on ANP. ET will try it's utmost to spice up it's every story with religion touch, very very pathetic of ET
@ Awans,
Pakistan and Muslims do not have shortage of bigots it seems. Pl read the article again. He was on official trip to India to ‘promote inter-faith harmony’.
There is a proverb in English which you should really know: Service to humanity is service to god. Both are same.
From the look of it, he seems to be the last of his gentle kind from Pakistan before the country turns totally a cesspool.
Although his acts were all in good faith, he should have done it in a private trip not a govt. funded trip.
Brave man, great example of Islamic Tolerance, History will remember you in golden words, you are a true leader and you have showed by your actions that Islam respect all religions, you are true Muslim.
Reason is well known. A moderate person is an anathema to today's Pakistan.
The news title is wrong. He is not being sacked for doing sava but for opposing the ruling ANP government.
@Awans It was a visit by the High Court bar, where all lawyers put in the money themselves and go as a group. Going to the toilet is also a personal thing, should people avoid doing that too on an official visit?
(@admin: I wrote "should people avoid doing that too on a personal visit?" in last post, should be replaced by "should people avoid doing that too on an official visit?"
@Awans It was a visit by the High Court bar, where all lawyers put in the money themselves and go as a group. Going to the toilet is also a personal thing, should people avoid doing that too on a personal visit?
He now has more time for 'seva'. If he truly beleives what is doing it is definitely blessing in disguise or if it is another gimmick then you never find him around any religious place. By the way why he goes to abroad there are shrines, gurdawara's and manders in Pakistan.
This is too bad. But it doesn't seem like his "denotification" has anything to do with his sevadaari. He himself doesn't think so.
Most of the Pakistanis know where there roots are ... He just went to find his roots... So he paid the price from the mullas ....
@Awans: ET says another story as usual....you explained it better than ET did.
This shows the level of our tolerance.
@Awans........well the protocols are for official meetings and activities, officers on their visits do visits shrines, holy places and tourist spots during their private time and their is no violation of code of conduct.......except violation of bigotry.
I applaud the work of Khan. Sacking of Khan under the pretext of his having completed his three year contract sends a wrong signal. It tells the world and Pakistanis that Pakistan is not in favor of interfaith harmony. It once again proves what intolerant society it is. It does not approve any Muslim serving non-Muslim however pure the motive may be.
this gentleman is a hero.salute him with all my heart
personally I love him and like his ANP party also. You people just imagine a brave pattan become so humble because of the happenings in the swat valley. Lots of people dying there because of the drone attack and taliban also. Most of the peace loving people migrated to karachi and start living there. If things are going like this peshawar will be a ghost city. Then you people start telling story to your children once upon time there were people living in peshawar city.
Two problems.
He is a liberal who supports inter faith unity
He is from PPP
finished.
I think only Tribune has shown this news because it is defending liberals by at least showing reality.
Hypocrisy rules supreme, not a shred of genuine humanity left in us.
Much respect for Khurshid sahib. Carry on your service and keep spreading the message of hope and tolerance. Fire can be kindled even from the ashes.
Good, what a tool! There are plenty of poor in Pakistan help them!
A good step indeed. Never saw an Indian official showing such magnanimity.
He is lucky that he did not end up like Dr Afridi who exposed nexus of terrorism or Mr Abid who exposed passport racquet.
He is good only for these thing, he should not be fired but should be kept for the same job he did in india, he can perform better then his last official duty.
@m.: and continuting to fail them by electing parties like PPP and PML-N
World believes that Pakistan generates only extremists and not people like Khan. Pakistan has taken very good steps to keep its image high. People need to remember Pakistan as a nation of abduction of minority girls and their marriage and of course TV conversions.
Khurshid Khan is a man of honour who got punished for believing in, and living his life by, the same principles that were espoused by Jinnah. It is truly a sad day for us when when we punish a man for fighting for our nation's soul on one hand and celebrate those who seek to divide us along religious and sectarian lines.
Truly Sorry Khurshid Khan sahib. You are a true Muslim and we in Pakistan are not in a position to follow in your example.
Sorry Pakistan, sorry Jinnah sahab, sorry Khurshid Khan. We failed you.....failed you miserably.
Well Mr Khan was on a visit sanctioned by Pakistani Government. In his Private visit he can do whatever he want but when someone is on Government protocol then there are some limitations and Government officer must conform to that and if he broke those roles of engagement then he should be put to task as he is representing Pakistan on an international scale and the foreign affairs is not a joke actually.