Martyred schoolboy Aitzaz's brother writes to PM, says family left without security, aid

Mujtaba Hassan says the government has completely ignored the family which makes them feel abandoned

PESHAWAR: The brother of Aitzaz Hassan, who sacrificed his life while preventing a suicide bombing in Hangu in 2014, has written to Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi, saying the family has been left without security or aid.

"Aitzaz not being with us anymore is an unimaginable tragedy and an irreplaceable loss for us, but we are proud that my brother sacrificed his life for his country," Mujtaba Hassan said.

"However, I would like to say that the government has completely ignored us which makes us feel abandoned," he added.

Mujtaba said that a suicide bomber tried to target the boys’ government high school on January 06, 2014, but his younger brother sacrificed his life to foil the terror plot, saving the lives of 2,000 teachers and students.

He said the chief minister's adviser Amjad Afridi had promised to build two degree colleges for boys and girls and one sports stadium, a promise still awaited to be fulfilled.

The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government had announced that the road being constructed from Hangu to Kohat will be named after Aitzaz, but no such notification has been issued.



Further, Mujtaba added, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf chairman Imran Khan had promised if the family won’t be able to earn a livelihood, the provincial government would provide them with a monthly financial aid, but that, too, hasn't happened.

Senator Nabi Bangash and provincial minister Qalbe Hassan had also promised to include story of Aitzaz's bravery in the academic syllabus, so the coming generation would draw inspiration from his sacrifice.

“In recognition for his brave sacrifice, the government of Pakistan awarded shaheed Aitzaz Hassan with Sitara-e-Shujaat and renamed the school after him. We are grateful to the government for this acknowledgement,” Mujtaba concluded.

Meanwhile, Mujtaba told The Express Tribune the authorities haven't fulfilled a single promise made to them. He said his family has not been unable to lead a normal life since his brother selflessly laid down his life.

"The incident has left my family in a never ending chain of disturbing events," he said. "We have received numerous death threats from terrorists, owing to which my family hasn't been able to earn a livelihood.

"I also received death threats from the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) on April 3 last year," Mujtaba revealed.

He said that the school which was renamed in honour of his brother has also been at the receiving end of these death threats with no additional security provided by authorities despite several requests.

"After being let down by the government, residents made necessary security arrangements with donations collected from the academia."

"My father was working abroad but after my brother's martyrdom, my mother's health deteriorated which forced him to return back home," he added.