Preserving legacies: Bacha Khan’s mausoleum expected to be completed by year-end

Located in Jalalabad, the tomb’s construction has been disrupted twice earlier.

ISLAMABAD:

Construction work on the mausoleum of legendary Pukhtun leader Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan, also known as Bacha Khan, has reportedly picked up pace.

The project, which is being jointly sponsored by the Awami National Party (ANP) and the Afghan government, is being built in Nangarhar province in eastern Afghanistan. Engineers and ANP workers supervising the construction say the mausoleum will be completed by the end of the year.

Afghan journalist Babrak Miankhel said Bacha’s tomb is located in Eidgah area of Jalalabad, which is surrounded by several important buildings.

Bacha Khan, a proponent of non-violence, died on January 20, 1988 in Pakistan and was buried in Jalalabad, the capital of Nangarhar, according to his wishes. The construction of his mausoleum started in 2002, but has been disrupted twice since then.

Senior ANP leader Arbab Tahir, who is in charge of the construction work, told The Express Tribune the main building will be completed by the end of this year. “The initial estimate was nearly Rs130 million. However, it may cost more due to delays in construction work,” he said.

Elsewhere, Bacha’s house will be converted into a museum and library while the compound will also serve as a guest house, added Tahir. “The museum will have all the households items Bacha used when he stayed at his Jalalabad house. The books will be supplied from Khan Abdul Wali Khan’s library – Bacha’s son who died in January 2006.”

Engineer Habibullah, who is supervising the mausoleum’s construction site, says a mosque will also be built in the compound. “The mausoleum was designed in Lahore and most of the construction material is being sent from Pakistan,” he said, claiming the structure could stand for 500 years.

Some ANP leaders, however, are disappointed at the slow pace of construction and hold the party and Afghan government responsible. Party workers claimed the Afghan government had offered to reconstruct the shrine of Pukhtun poet Rehman Baba, but did not take much interest in expediting Bacha’s tomb.

An ANP leader requesting anonymity said it’s a shame the party could not get the work completed during its five-year tenure.

Afghan volunteers

Last week, a large number of Afghans from Jalalabad volunteered to take part in construction work for two days as a token of their appreciation and love for Bacha, Babrak Miankhel said while speaking to The Express Tribune from Jalalabad. “Volunteers say they will take part in the construction again whenever the roof is built.”

The Afghan journalist, who visited the site on Tuesday, observed construction work was slow and completing it by the end of the year would be a difficult task.

Bacha Khan Square

Afghan officials have also decided to name a public square near the mausoleum after Bacha Khan, said Aurangzen Samim, the Information and Culture department in-charge in Nangarhar.

“We have named a square located on the road between Peshawar and Kabul as Bacha Khan Square.

Bacha Khan advocated Afghans living on both sides of the Durand Line were the same,” said Samim.

Published in The Express Tribune, September 6^th, 2013.