Karnataka   

Young Afghans miffed by images of their nation

KANHANGAD: They hold their nation dear and dismiss as media creation outlandish images of it outside.

The three degree students from Afghanistan attracted attention from one and all at an ongoing international management seminar, ‘Diksha- 2011,' hosted by the Kannur University Centre for MBA, here on Saturday.

They said their country, though once hit by terrorism, was advancing fast in various spheres.

“It is wrong to presume that Afghanistan is gripped by the threat from fanatical tribal people who unleash terror along the areas bordering Pakistan,” said Ahmad Zubair from Kabul, the nation's capital, a second-year economics student at Devagiri College, Kozhikode.

“The notion that Afghanistan is infested with hard-core terrorist elements is all part of a media creation, and our country is moving ahead in all spheres of human activities,” said Mr. Zubair, who is doing his studies here under an agreement between the Indian Council for Cultural Relations and Afghanistan.

He said people, including women, enjoyed complete freedom of movement in Afghanistan.

They were actively involved in various engagements. Things had changed for the better after the Hamid Karzai government came to power, dislodging the Taliban militia.

“We even have a women Minister in the government,” Lutfullah Meerwais, a second-year commerce student, said.

Unlike in India, education up to class 12 in Afghanistan is being taken care of by the universities, while professional education courses are under the nation's Higher Education Ministry.

“Ninety students from Afghanistan are studying in various colleges in Kerala, and we like the State for its natural beauty and hospitality shown by the local people towards us,” Mohammed Tahir Zuk, also a second-year commerce student, said.

They want to do a Master's course in management after their graduation and plan to return to their country.

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