Habibullah Rafi, a well-known Afghan writer and member of the Academy of Sciences of Afghanistan, said he has discovered a 400-year-old book on the history of Pashtuns.
He said the 600-page book was found in Germany with the cooperation of Afghans in that country.
According to Rafi the book is about the lives of Pashtuns, covering a 900-year span.
“The book has been published in 600 pages. The book has some stories which are rare in other books,” said Rafi.
The book Rafi discovered was published 400 year ago and is about the first mystical and literary movement of the Pashtuns.
It was written by Sheikh Mati Baba between the 7th and 10th centuries, he said.
Rafi said this is now the second known copy dating back so many years, with the first having been found in Karachi and the work of Sheikh Mati Baba is followed by people in Saudi Arabia, Peshawar, India and Afghanistan.
“Two copies of the book have been found – in Karachi and now in Germany. I have evaluated both of them,” said Rafi.
Meanwhile, Ehsanullah Aryanzai, another Afghan writer, says his book of 6,000 pages, which is on the history and geography of the world’s continents – in Pashto – has now been translated into Dari.
He said the original version is in its fourth print run.
“I urge the young generation to read the book once to know about our lives and the lives of others,” said Aryanzai.
He pointed out that the continuation of war in Afghanistan has had a negative impact on the culture of reading and studying among the people.
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