Calling out: The forgotten victim of Shabqadar Bazaar blast

15-year-old Sajid was the breadwinner of his family after they were displaced.

SHABQADAR:

“I was working in the shop when the bomb went off in front of the CD stores, not a thing could be seen amidst the rubble and the smoke,” recalled 15-year-old Sajid Khan. “I somehow managed to escape the wreckage and found the shop owner I worked for; he could not recognise me because of my condition…then I passed out.”

An improvised explosive device (IED) blast targeting CD shops in Shabqadar Bazaar changed Sajid Khan’s life on November 15. Sajid used to run errands at a tikka shop in the bazaar along with his 13-year-old brother Imtiaz Khan. The attack left the family’s primary breadwinner bedridden. Sajjad sustained severe head injuries which might damage his sight and speech permanently. The shrapnel also wounded both feet and the boy suffered excessive blood loss.

“Upon gaining consciousness, I found myself on the hospital bed,” said 15-year-old Sajid Khan, his voice weak.

Missing the silence

Talking about their turbulent childhood, Imtiaz said the two siblings used to study at a primary school and life was calm—almost stagnant—before militants entered Qandharo village, Mohmand Agency seven years ago. He said fellow villager Abdul Wali alias Omar Khalid Khorasani rose in prominence as a dreaded Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) commander and used to lead militant attacks on government machinery in the agency.

All hell broke loose for the locals when the Pakistan Army retaliated after a suicide attack at Nahqi check post, said the young boy. The gunfight was so intense, Imtiaz recalled, that they could not sleep at night.

Wary of getting caught in the crossfire, their father decided to move the family. They had to walk by foot for at least 50 miles due to a curfew. Upon reaching Shabqadar, they decided to stay at a relative’s place for a bit.

All for a living

The younger brother remembered how they later had to move from one IDP camp to another in search of adequate shelter. In 2010, Jalozai camp authorities ordered the family to return home.

“Since our house was completely totalled in the military operation, we decided to return to Shabqadar.” He added, “Here Sajid and I work at this tikka shop to make ends meet while an older brother Adil works in Karachi and sends some money every now and then.”

With Sajid incapacitated, Imtiaz said the responsibility of taking care of the family now fell on his shoulders as their father, a heart patient, can work no more. Sajid’s father Sher Zameer said while he was struggling to set up a silver business, he was diagnosed with coronary problems and was forced to quit work.

Worried about militants in Mohmand, Zameer said the family is compelled to rent a space in Shabqadar for Rs4,000 a month and wait for a miracle as the eight-member family is now entirely dependent on the children to not only put food on the table but also figure out how to find Rs0.5 million for Zameer’s cardiac surgery.

“Sajid’s injury has made matters worse. We had to borrow and pay Rs40,000 at Lady Reading Hospital for his medical bills,” said Zameer. “We might have to vacate the quarters because we cannot afford it anymore.”

‘Through proper channels’

Charsadda DC Fazal Rehman told The Express Tribune the government has a compensation policy for blast victims.  If the case is forwarded by the relevant assistant commissioner, tehsildar or MPA, the matter can be considered.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 2^nd, 2014.