9 June 2010 - Afghanistan’s ace cyclist – who toured 14 countries on a bicycle in 2002-2003 with a message of peace – is planning to embark on a world tour again “within a few weeks.”

Nadir Shah’s upcoming tour has the added spice that his 13-year-old son, Feroz Khan, will join him and it will be filmed by an Afghan film crew. Shah, 43 and a father of seven (three boys and four girls) who hails from Surkhod district in the eastern part of the country near Jalalabad, told UNAMA “I want to show to the world, once again, our wish and desire for peace.”

The dentist-turned-cyclist said he plans to tour about 20 countries this time.

The tour is supported by the Government of Afghanistan and by Abdul Satar Khawasi, secretary of the Wolesi Jirga (Lower House), and the Afghan Film Department of the Ministry of Culture and Information has assigned cameraman Jawanshir Haidari to film the tour.

In 2003 Shah’s tour took him across the Middle East, Europe and the United States over 371 days. President Hamid Karzai asked him to donate his bicycle to the Kabul Museum in December last year where it is on display highlighting his efforts to promote peace in Afghanistan.

Nadir Shah told UNAMA that he is very worried about the escalating violence.

“It’s very painful for me. I want to ask strongly all the countries to bring peace here. First of all, the Afghans themselves should work for peace. Then the international community, especially the United Nations, should help us,” he said.

Shortly after he completed his tour in March 2003 that ended at the UN headquarters in New York, the Government of Afghanistan declared Mr Shah a Peace Ambassador. Recalling his reception on this tour Shah said: “In Europe and America, all Afghans I met were shouting, ‘Love live Afghanistan and peace!’”

“When I returned, I was welcomed at the Presidential Palace by (President) Karzai and (Vice President) Fahim.”

Mr Shah said he received full support from his family, though they were concerned for his safety. “Normally, I was never away from my home for more than five days. My children were a bit upset when they didn’t see me around for months. When they heard me speak on the radio, they thought I was inside the little box.”

When he was 11, his father had bought him his first bicycle to ride in going to school.

“Soon after, I started teaching cycling to my classmates and I became a good cyclist,” he said.

He said there was war everywhere when he was young. “So, there was no sport. The Government paid more attention to war, not sports.”

One thing he liked about the earlier tour is that he noticed that all the countries he crossed in Europe were living like a family even if Europe was at war 60 years ago.

“When I was entering Holland from Germany, I thought I had lost my way and asked the locals which way would lead me to Holland. They said I was already 20 kilometres into Holland. It looked all the same. I want to see my country like this.”

By Tilak Pokharel and Shafiqullah Waak, UNAMA