Most drivers decorate vehicles with Quranic verses

KABUL (Pajhwok): Most vehicles’ owners have decorated their vehicles with Kalema-i-Tayyiba and short verses from the Holy Quran, a trend emerged after the political change in the country almost a year ago.

Shopkeepers who sell vehicles’ decorative items say in the past, vehicles’ owners pasted stickers on their vehicles that maintained local proverbs or romantic poems.

Before the takeover of the ‘Islamic Emirate,’ vehicles were decorated with romantic poems, local proverbs, names of provinces, nicknames, photos of heart, flowers and other items.

These shopkeepers say after the fall of the past regime, people changed their mind and most vehicle owners have now pasted stickers that maintain Kalema-i-Tayyiba or short verses from the Holy Quran.

Mohammad Arif Rahimi, one of the sticker sellers in the Qowa-i-Markaz locality, said he was associated with the vehicle decoration business from the past 12 years.

He said: “Before the fall of the republic, our business was booming but now the situation has changed and our business declined by 80 percent.”

He termed the declining business and growing unemployment a matter of great concern and said: “In the past our business was good and our sales were high, but today all shopkeepers await customers.”

“In the past too people pasted the stickers of Kaleema-i-Tayyiba on their vehicles but not to the extent that is used these days.”

In the past, drivers pasted local proverbs, nicknames, flags and other items on their back screen and windowpanes, he added.

JavedYousufi, another shopkeeper in the Baraki Barak area of Kabul, said: “Currently most drivers use Kalema-i-Tayyiba while in the past people had different interest, some pasted their names, some pasted signs and other different items.”

ZiaullahSaeedi, another shopkeeper, in the Baraki area of Kabul, said: “Vehicles decoration and sticker pasting business has declined. Decoration trend has declined because the economic situation of people is not sound.”

“In the past, most vehicles owners pasted the photos of warlords and their signs but now most used Kaleema-i-Tayyiba,” he said.

Rahmatullah, one of the vehicles’ owners in the Taimani area of Kabul, said: “Most drivers pasted stickers on their vehicles for the sake of style and decoration.”

A driver who pasted Kaleema-i-Tayyiba on the back screen of his vehicle said: “It varies with the time, now that the Islamic Emirate is in power, I also pasted Kaleema-i-Tayyiba.”

He wished not to be named and said in the past he decorated his car with romantic poems which was not suitable this time.

nh/ma