ISLAMABAD, Dec 21: A group of six disabled veterans of Afghan Jehad against the Soviet Union on Saturday began a world tour carrying a message of peace, and to remind the international community the pledges made at Bonn and Tokyo for the reconstruction of Afghanistan.

“Wars lead nowhere; these only bring miseries and destruction,” said Afghan Charge d’ Affaires Rahmatullah Musaghazi at a press conference held here at Afghan Embassy on the arrival of the veterans at the start of their 10-month-long peace mission.

Haji Abdul Rehman, who lost his legs in the jehad, and his five companions wanted also to visit India by road to bring home the message that war could not solve any dispute, but New Delhi turned down the request.

This tour will end at New York on Sept 11, 2003, at the second anniversary of the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Centre and Pentagon.

The 23-year-long armed conflict in Afghanistan had left 1.5 million people dead and over two million maimed, Mr Musaghazi said, asking the world community to come forward and share burden of these people.

He said that whatever had been contributed by the international community towards the reconstruction and rehabilitation of Afghan was not enough, as the entire infrastructure had been broken down in what he called the “imposed wars”.

“There is no education, health or irrigation system left in our country,” he said.

Besides Haji Abdul Rehman, Shireen Agha, Salim Shan, Rozi Gul, Naik Mohammad and Mohammad Afzal are included in the peace mission.

Mr Musaghazi said they would leave for Karachi on Sunday and then fly to Dubai for their onward journey to London. On their way to London, they would visit 15 countries in Middle East, Africa and Europe.