12:00 pm is the Evening Time in Kabul

Surprising it is and it should be. 12:00 is the noon time. That’s what everyone across the globe is familiar with but a statement saying that 12:00 pm is the evening time finds the listener surprised and bewildered. This statement stands applicable only in Kabul, Afghanistan. Still confused about the clarity of the concept behind this statement, read this story and hopefully you will understand how it all goes by.

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Ahmad is a boy who has spent 15 years of his life in Pakistan. Throughout his life he has run after education. His dreams from his childhood remains working for his nation that needs people like him. After getting his degree in one of the rare subjects in Afghanistan i.e., geology, he decided to return home. Happily for him that he got a job with an International Organization working in Afghanistan. Apart from other requirements, he needed to get a passport for his work would require him to travel abroad as well. To get a passport Ahmad had to get a Takira, the name for the Afghan National Identity Card. Ahmad’s Tazkira was lost or burnt in the days of civil war, an event that he doesn’t remember. As soon as he was told about getting his Tazkira and Passport issued, he rushed out to get a taxi to the Tazkira issuing office. Since he had left the office at around 11:00 am and had to brave through the traffic jam, he had to return to his office by 12:30 in awe because he had discovered that for the government employees in Kabul, the sun sits earlier and the evening sits in at 12:00. And that’s the time when they sit around their tables after a day of toil to have their supper and rest for the rest of the day (Oops! for the rest of the night) to get relaxed and prepare for the next day of the hard toil that they are supposed to carry out as part of their merciless duty. Hence, Ahmad has to wait till the next day and make sure not to get to the Tazkira office by 12:00 pm the next day.

This has become part of the normal routine in Afghan government offices. Whether it could be categorized as a type of corruption or not can’t be argued. The official timing of these government offices as per the notices displayed is 8:00 am – 4:00 pm. However, acting on their own, these government employees have made it a rule to have lunch and then off to their homes. It’s equally a pity that there’s no one to monitor such ill-practices. But what for the poor citizens like Ahmad? They will have to wait and see what the next day brings in. For the moment, he can only pray for a better tomorrow.