Mattani attack: Inside the trauma ward - an amalgam of silence, panic

First-ever attack on children in Mattani leaves residents confused and angry.

PESHAWAR:

The air inside the surgical trauma ward at the Lady Reading Hospital (LRH) reeks of panic. The heat is unbearable and those present are drenched in sweat. Each bed is surrounded by around six people — parents, brothers and sisters worrying for their family.

These school children from the semi tribal area of Kalakhel were ambushed by suspected militants in the volatile town of Mattani, some 20 kilometers south of the city, going home after attending school.

Haleema, a student of class three is lying on a bed, her yellow school uniform still on, but stained with blood. Her tiny head is covered in heavy bandages. She appears pale and talks in whispers. She was on that ill-fated bus, which came under attack on Tuesday noon at Ghazi Abad in Mattani. Four children and the school bus driver were killed. Eighteen others were injured.

“I did not understand what happened; all of a sudden, firing started,” Haleema told The Express Tribune. She was either lucky or her reflexes were good, but she ducked immediately after the firing started. She does not remember what happened after that and stares blankly at the people surrounding her bed.

Madad, a student of class three, lies on a bed next to Haleema. He tells me his name and goes silent. He turns his face away, unwilling to talk. Scrub marks are visible on his face and chest.

Farhad Shah, another student in the ward, says the children fell upon each other and he only remembers their cries. He does not remember when and how they were brought to the hospital.

Akhtar Ali, his cousin, says there are police check posts in the area. “It is beyond my comprehension that how this attack took place.”

Outside, in the corridors, anxious relatives wait. They have no one to blame — they are still in a state of shock.

Arshad Khan, a resident of Kalakhel, says they have no enmity with anyone. “What have the attackers achieved after attacking a school bus and innocent children?” he says.

It was the third attack on Kalakhel bound vehicles in the past few months. Earlier, two public transport vehicles were attacked with bombs. Following those attacks, the bus stands in Mattani stopped allowing vehicles from Kalakhel to park.

The semi-tribal Kalakhel shares borders with FR Kohat, Adezai and Akakhel in Khyber Agency; it is situated a few kilometres from Mattani Town.

Militants have destroyed hundreds of schools doing the ongoing insurgency across Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa and Federally Administered Tribal Areas. Previously militants had targeted two school buses using improvised explosive devices, but the Tuesday attacks came as a new kind of threat. It was also the first time that children were attacked in or around Mattani.

Published in The Express Tribune, September 14^th, 2011.