I will leave my family and country but I will not leave my mustache

The Dhaka Times Desk A Pakistani businessman named Amir Mohammad Khan Afridi said that he is willing to leave his family and even leave the country to save his mustache!

A 48-year-old Pakistani businessman has been kidnapped. He has received several death threats from militants and has been forced into a sort of exile away from his family. And the reason for all these incidents is one. He had to bear so much with his mouth shut because of his 76 cm or 30 inch long mustache. At 76 cm the whole is perfectly trimmed. Afridi spends 30 minutes every day tending to his beloved mustache.

Afridi, a resident of Peshawar, said, "People respect me a lot." This is my identity. In response to the question why he was ready to give up everything because of the mustache, he said, I feel very satisfied and happy. When the mustache fades, no one wants to look back at me. Afridi said, I got used to attracting people's attention. And I enjoy it very much. The 30-inch-long mustache had earlier drawn the ire of members of the militant outfit Lashkar-e-Islam. Members of the Taliban-affiliated organization asked him to cut off the mustache as it was against Islamic customs. Even if he does not shave, he must wrap his moustache. Initially, the organization demanded $500 per month from him as security. In 2009, 4 gunmen stormed Afridi's house when he refused to pay it. After that, the militant organization kidnapped him and detained him for 1 month. They released him only after cutting off the mustache.

Afridi was saying, I was worried that they might kill me. And so I was forced to sacrifice the mustache. After this incident, Afridi fled and took refuge in a safe place in Peshawar. When his mustache grew back in 2012, new threats began to emerge. So he left the north-west and went to Faisalabad. He chose to live in exile far away from his family. Visit family once or twice a month.

Afridi said, I am still worried. I have come to Peshawar to spend Ramadan with my family. But most of the time I stay at home. Of course, his wife and 10 children don't mind the moustache. But, sometimes they request to cut the moustache. Afridi said, sometimes my family members ask me to cut my moustache. Afridi refused to cut off his beloved mustache while listening to their pleas to stay together. In Afridi's words, I can leave my family, I can leave Pakistan but I can't cut my moustache. His dream is to seek political asylum in any country for his mustache. Or if a visa is somehow obtained, to participate in a foreign tournament.

Afridi also said, I am trying to send my family abroad. USA, Canada, UK or even Dubai. But I need political asylum. Source: Online