None of them was able to vote, but that didn’t stop them from experiencing palpable excitement at the thought of their country going for the polls. For the 1,000-odd students from Afghanistan studying in Pune, the landmark event on Thursday is a reason to hope that things may change for the better in their strife-torn land.

“It’s really sad that none of us outside Afghanistan were able to vote, unlike the Iranians who recently cast their ballot from here or US citizens, who are allowed to post their votes. But this being the first elections, controlled and held by the Afghanistan government itself, it was logistically not possible for them to make arrangements for those staying outside the country to cast their ballot,” rues Mohammad Riaz Sadat, a third year BCom student at Symbiosis. Sadat was a temporary staffer with the election commission three months ago, when he was home on vacation.

With about four million Afghanis staying outside Afghanistan at present, Ghulam Habib Wardak, a BA student at the University of Pune, said it is too big a number that has been unable to vote. “Every vote counts. I wish a provision had been made for us to vote too. Last time, Afghanis in Pakistan and Iran — the two countries that account for half of the refugees — were allowed to vote, but this year because of the situation in Pakistan it was not possible and Iran also backed out,” says Wardak.

Nangialai Yosufzei, who is doing his PhD in Pali, says those outside Afghanistan should not feel bad as many within the country too have not been able to exercise the right because of security reasons. “I have 42 members in my family - not one voted on Thursday because they were scared for their lives.”

... contd.