How can I promise my children that they will be safe in these barbaric times?
KARACHI: The man was a very pious, respectable gentleman and a kind-hearted person; a philanthrophist and a benefactor, who was always there for others in time of need. But no one was there for him, to pick him up as he lay on the road, with a gunshot to his chest, bleeding to death. A relative took him to hospital, but the gunshot proved fatal.
I toss and turn at night wondering if human beings become worse than animals? Did his murderers not think twice before they fired at an innocent man? Does it not bother them that the person they killed was someone’s husband, father or brother? We read of countless murders in the newspapers and don’t even flinch. But when a loved one is the victim of such brutality, is when we realise how hard and heartbreaking it is.
My children stood around me at my father-in-law’s funeral, looking at his bruised face. They asked me who had done this to their dada. It was time to tell them the truth. “Dear, he was shot by a bad man for money.”
“Will he shoot me too?”, came the innocent question from my five-year-old son. I didn’t know what to tell him. How can I promise my children that they will be safe in these barbaric times?
I wipe tears off my face, as I write this, wondering how far his murderers can run or hide, for one day they will have to appear before Allah and account for their actions.
I see no stop to this barbarism from the government or concerned authorities and I have stopped expecting anything. I present my case only to Allah Almighty, for only He can punish those criminals and avenge our sorrow. My letter is about the cold-blooded murder of the well-known industrialist Khalid Iqbal who was killed outside a bank in broad daylight on a busy street on August 30, the last day of Ramazan. I hope he is given a status of a shaheed who gave up his life while fasting for Allah. I would like to request all who read this to recite a dua’ for him and also to pray to Allah to keep all of us in His protection.
Sadaf Khalid
Published in The Express Tribune, September 12th, 2011.
