Islamabad - “Islam is peace and Pakistan is peaceful” is the message of Hafiz Muhammad Sajjad Khan Moosa who has covered a distance of hundreds of miles to reach Islamabad from Lahore while travelling by his handcrafted 48 feet long pentacycle.
Sajjad Moosa, 24, who is a graduate in arts works of management, claims that his pentacycle is “world’s true longest cycle” with 48 feet length. The pentacycle is with five wheels, one wheel in front, and one pair each in middle and rear part of it. “Making world’s largest cycle was my dream, so I designed and made this cycle. I spent almost Rs 150, 000 over it,” said Moosa who is found wearing green shirt and white shilwar to resemble with the national flag of Pakistan. A large-sized flying flag over his cycle also highlights his love for his country. Sometime he wears the green kit of Pakistani cricket team. The cycle is without breaks and it took almost 52 hours to drive it from Lahore to Islamabad. “At plain roads the cycle could be driven at a speed of 15-km per hour,” he said.
The pentacycle is made of iron, stainless steel and fabric. “It took me 35 days to make the cycle,” he said. He has decorated his bicycle with the photographs of national heroes and historical places of the country. “Islam is peace; Pakistan is peaceful” is the main message written over it that catches attention at the first look. At the front side of the cycle, there is a nameplate which reads: “48-feets, true longest pentacycle; 5 wheels, easy to drive, made by Hafiz M Sajjad Khan Moosa.” Apart from a large-sized picture of Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah, the cycle is decorated with the pictures of Allama Muhammad Iqbal, Chaudhry Rahmat Ali, Prime Minister Muhammad Nawaz Sharif, Army Chief General Raheel Sharif, the recipients of Nishan-e-Haider, Mian Shahbaz Sharif and Abdus Satar Edhi. It also contains saying of Quaid-e-Azam about the importance of education and excerpts from Allama Iqbal’s Shikwa and Jawab-e-Shikwa.
Sajjad Moosa is welcomed everywhere in the capital, especially by children who take photographs with him. “I have received warmed welcome from the people of Islamabad.” According to the craftsman, if he is encouraged, he can design and invent many other things. “I want recognition of my work, as artists have been encouraged by Punjab government; it is my desire to meet CM Punjab Mian Shahbaz Sharif,” he wished.