February 24, 2007	Saturday	Safar 6, 1428

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ISLAMABAD, Feb 23: For Jalal Javed Masih, his age of 75 years does not prevent him from setting out on a mission to spread the message of peace.

And his mission is to pedal across the country and urge his fellow countrymen to shun violence and hatred and promote peace.

Jalal’s journey of physical endurance started three years ago when he was seriously injured after being shot by a lawyer.

“It’s my way of celebrating my new life. The gun shot almost killed me and people in my village thought I had died,” Jalal said.

“That’s when I decided I would pedal through cities, districts and provinces and carry with me the message of peace. This is my way of sacrificing for God,” he said.

However, it is not the first time that Jalal has adopted a unique way to spread the word of peace.

He walked bare feet a distance of 3,200km soon after recovering from his injury. Last year he toured Punjab on his China-made bicycle.

This year, dressed in black with a cross painted on his left shoulder and a dove on his right, Jalal has begun his journey from Peshawar and will continue to pedal down south until he reaches his destination, Karachi.

He left Peshawar on February 21 and reached Islamabad the next day. “Thick fog slowed me down. I reached Islamabad by 1am, and will leave for Jhelum on Saturday,” he said.

This ‘Aman rally’, as Jalal likes to call it, will take him to a number of cities including Gujrat, Sialkot, Lahore, Patoki, Sahiwal, Chichawatni, Multan, Bahawalpur, Hyderabad and Karachi. He will complete his journey in 40 days.

“So far it has been pretty good. People have been very generous and cooperative. But what ever it takes I will make it all the way,” Jalal said.

He does not have sponsors but people like the district coordination officers of Peshawar, Rawalpindi, Jhelum and Gujrat, to mention a few, have extended their cooperation to him.

He will rest every alternate day, and will observe a fast throughout his long and tiring journey.

“I don’t feel thirsty or hungry. I will visit every church and mosque from city to city and urge people to fast and pray for the well-being of our citizens and peace in the world,” he added.