Collateral damage: WAPDA Colony resident falls prey to militants’ gun

Samuel Masih was gunned down when he left his house for work

PESHAWAR: Samuel Masih left his house in Water and Power Development Authority (Wapda) Colony in the early hours of Friday to go to work in Hayatabad. However, no measure of foresight could have prepared him for what lay ahead. As he left his house in the Christian’s colony, Samuel had never imagined he would fall prey to the militants’ gun.

“On leaving the house, he saw two terrorists,” Samuel’s brother Mushtaq told The Express Tribune. “He tried to run away, but the terrorists opened fire on him.”

His body was lying on the ground until the operation that the army launched soon after the attack, came to an ended, the bereaved brother said. Samuel, son of Sardar Masih, is survived by two sons and three daughters.

He had worked as a janitor for Wapda because of which he was given a house in the colony where he was living in for the past 30 years.

The colony was built by Wapda for sanitary workers employed with the authority.

However, Mushtaq added, Samuel retired earlier than his scheduled time. “His job was passed down to his sons – the house is in one of them, Waqar’s, name.”

Samuel was working as an employee for Peshawar Development Authority, the office of which is situated in Hayatabad, Phase VI. The 55-year-old used to leave his house early in the morning so that he could get to work in time as his workplace is around 25 kilometres away from his house.

Although he lost his brother to the terrorism bid, Mushtaq lauded the action taken by the guards of the colony. “They were injured while resisting the terrorists’ attempts to enter their houses.” He added the army also showed efficiency as they asked the residents of the colony to move in the church in the colony, before starting the operation. Samuel’s funeral prayers will take place on Saturday (today) at 10am.

Published in The Express Tribune, September 3^rd, 2016.