The Afghan Taliban has initiated an investigation into a man’s claims that he is 140 years old, which would make him the oldest person to have ever walked the face of the Earth, media reported on Saturday.
The man, identified as Aqel Nazir, residing in the eastern Khost province of the country, claims that he was born in the 1880s, though he does not have any documents to support his claim.
According to a report in The Telegraph, Mr. Nazir insists he was in his thirties during the Third Anglo-Afghan War in 1919. He claims to have celebrated the end of the war with King Amanullah Khan, the Afghan leader who led the campaign against the British.
“I was with King Amanullah Khan in the palace. I was over 30 at the time, and I remember saying that the British had fled and knelt,” Mr. Nazir stated. “Everyone was joyful and thanked King Amanullah Khan for driving the British away. Many leaders accompanied us to the Arg [presidential palace], but now all of them have passed away.”
Nazir lives with a large, multi-generational family, all of whom support his claim to be the world’s oldest person.
“I am 50 years old. He is my grandfather, and I have my grandchildren as well,” said Khyal Wazir, one of Mr. Nazir’s grandsons.
In response to Mr. Nazir’s claim, Mustaghfar Gurbaz, a Taliban spokesman for the province, announced that a special civil registration team had been tasked with verifying his age.
“If confirmed through documents or assessments, we will work to officially recognize him as the oldest person in the world,” Gurbaz stated.
If verified, Nazir would surpass Jeanne Calment, who holds the current record as the oldest person ever, living to 122 years from 1875 to 1997.
This is not the first instance when a person has claimed to be the world’s oldest person. In January, Deolira Gliceria Pedro da Silva, a great-grandmother from the state of Rio de Janeiro in Brazil, claimed to be the world’s oldest living person. Ms Pedro da Silva said she was a few months shy of celebrating her 120th birthday, having been born on March 10, 1905, in the rural area of Porciuncula, a small town in Rio.
However, Guinness, in a statement, said it couldn’t confirm receiving Pedro da Silva’s application, because it receives many applications from people around the world who claim to be the oldest living person.
