Afrasiab (Persian: افراسياب‎ afrāsiyāb; Turkish: Efrasiyab; Avestan: Fraŋrasyan; Pahlavi: Frāsiyāv, Frāsiyāk, and Freangrāsyāk) is the name of the mythical king and hero of Turan.

The Mythical King and Hero[link]

According to the Shahnameh (Book of Kings), by the Persian epic poet Ferdowsi, Afrasiab was the king and hero of Turan and an archenemy of Iran. In Iranian mythology, Afrasiab is considered by far the most prominent of all Turanian kings; he is a formidable warrior, a skilful general, and an agent of Ahriman, who is endowed with magical powers of deception to destroy Iranian civilization.^[1]

According to Middle Persian and Islamic sources, Afrasiab was a descendant of Tūr (Avestan: Tūriya-), one of the three sons of the Iranian mythical King Fereydun (the other two sons being Salm and Iraj). In Bundahishn he is named as the seventh grandson of Tūr. In Avestan traditions, his common epithet mairya- (deceitful, villainous^[2]) can be interpreted as meaning 'an evil man'. He lived in a subterranean fortress made of metal, called Hanakana.

According to Avestan sources, Afrasiab was killed by Haoma near the Čīčhast (possibly either referring to Lake Hamun in Sistan or some unknown lake in today's Central Asia), and according to Shahnameh he met his death in a cave known as the Hang-e Afrasiab, or the dying place of Afrasiab, on a mountaintop in Azerbaijan. The fugitive Afrasiab, having been repeatedly defeated by the armies of his adversary, the mythical King of Iran Kay Khosrow (who happened to be his own grandson, through his daughter Farangis), wandered wretchedly and fearfully around, and eventually took refuge in this cave and died.

In Turkic literature[link]

Although the identification of the Turanians, a rival Iranian tribe, with the Turks, and Afrasiab with their king, is a late development,^{[citation needed]} Turks cultivated the legends of Afrasiab as a Turkish hero after they had come into contact with the Iranians. Mahmud al-Kashgari quotes in his Dīwān loḡāt al-Tork (5th/11th cent.) a number of elegiac verses lamenting the death of Alp Er Tunga^[1][3]

See also[link]

• Afrasiyab (Samarkand)

References[link]

External links[link]

• Ehsan Yarshater, "Afrāsiāb", Encyclopædia Iranica
• Afrasiab featured in Rostam Comic Book
• The battle of Rustam and Afrasiab on Asian miniature

Afrasiab Khattak or (Pashto: افراسیاب خټک, Urdu: افراسياب خٹک; also spelled as Afrasayab Khattak) is a left-wing intellectual and communist from the State of Pakistan, currently serving as the senator, representing the Kohat Division of the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Province for the Pakistan Senate.

Inspired by the Russian communist party, Khattak joined pro-Soviet Communist Party, later joined the socialist party, the Awami National Party in 1980. He is the President of the Avami National Party's central secretariat based in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Province and as well as Chairman of the special standing committee senate. Khattak started his political activism in 1970s, but escaped to Soviet Union to divert the effects of Great Purge authorized by far-right wing regime of General Zia-ul-Haq. In 1980s, he took asylum in Afghanistan Soviet Republic, serving as the top adviser to the Soviet government in the matters of Afghanistan. After the Fall of Kabul, Khattak settled back to Pakistan and founded the Afghanistan Pakistan People's Friendship Association in 2001. In 2002, Khattak was appointed as the president of Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP).^[1] In 2006, Khattak joined the Awami National Party and currently serving its senator to the Senate secretariat.

Biography[link]

Afrasiab Khattak is born in a small vlillage known as, Mandoori Khaderkhal, Kohat Division of the North-West Frontier Province of West-Pakistan. After receiving his early education from from Kohat, Khattak was admitted at the Peshawar University. There, Khattak obtained B.A. in Russian history and the B.Sc. in Political Science and wrote a senior thesis on Comparative law, and published through the university press. During this time, Khattak was also the student leader at the local university union and took active participation during his college times.

During this time, Khattak became an active member of Communist Party of Pakistan. He was an active leftist politician during the 1970s and 1980s. He spent many years in self-exile in Afghanistan in the 1980s, due to his strong opposition to General Zia-ul-Haq's military rule.^[2]

After his return from Afghanistan, Khattak contested the general elections from Karak in 1990 but lost to Aslam Khattak.

Communism[link]

Afrasiab Khattak joined the Communist Party of Pakistan (CPP) during 1960s and by some accounts became its Secretary General. However, Khattak later allied himself with left-wing Awami National Party and campaign during the 1977 parliamentary elections. However, after General Zia-ul-Haq authorized the purge to curbed down the communist-socialist mass, Khattak took refuge in Soviet Union and later returned to Afghanistan as top Russian adviser to Afghan government.

Afrasiab Khattak lived in self-exile in Kabul from August 1980 to January 1989. He never had any formal responsibility in Afghanistan and lived there along with other Pakistani opposition politicians like Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto’s sons, Ajmal Khattak, Khair Bakhsh Marri, and thousands of Baloch dissidents. Afrasiab had a very close personal relationship with Dr. Najibullah dating back to early 1980s. When Dr. Najeeb was brutally murdered by hidden hands in his connivance in September 1996, Afrasaib along with other progressive and nationalist politicians, foxily organized protest demonstrations in Peshawar for three days.

In 1990 Khattak formed the Quami Inquilabi Party (National Revolutionary Party), a Marxist party, after parting ways with the ANP of Abdul Wali Khan in 1989, he subsequently merged his group to form the Pakhtunkhwa Qaumi Party along with AbdulLatif Afridi and Afzal Khan Lala.

Human Rights Commission of Pakistan[link]

Afrasiab Khattak joined the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) in 1989, and served as the Vice Chairman of HRCP in North-West Frontier Province, for three years - he is also one of the founders of the Afghanistan Pakistan People's Friendship Association.^[3] In April 1999, he was threatened by extremist factions for demonstrating against “honour” killing in Peshawar^{[citation needed]}.

On May 2, 1999, he was unanimously elected Chairperson of HRCP for a three-year-term. Re-elected in 2002, he resigned from the post after he rejoined the Awami National Party. He is also a known constitutional expert and a practising lawyer of Supreme Court and High court.^{[citation needed]}

Rejoining the ANP[link]

He was elected in 2006 as the provincial president of the Awami National Party,^[4] leading the party to provincial victory in Pakistan's elections of 2008 and became the Peace Ambassador to Govt. of NWFP. He played a vital role in peace process between Taliban and Govt. of NWFP but all his efforts were sabotaged in typical Pakistani Politics. Nevertheless, the Govt of NWFP under Afrasiab’s leadership continued to work on the peace process with the Taliban of Swat, through the banned organization of TNSM and finally they agreed on a treaty about the implementation of NIFAZ E ADL in Malakand District and the Valley of Swat is once again moving towards the peace. Afrasiab khattak has been elected as Senator from the Pukhtoonkhwa Assembly in March, 2009.^[5] He has been elected as Chairman of the Senate Functional Committee on Human Rights.

See also[link]

• Human Rights Commission of Pakistan
• Khan Abdul Wali Khan
• Awami National Party

References[link]

External links[link]

• Khan, Ismail(2004) "From idealism to pragmatism" DAWN. DAWN Group
• Pakistan Link

Google Books: Out of Afghanistan [1]