September 30 would have been one of the most important days in the life of five-year-old Areeba. It would have been the day she would go to school for the first time.
And from there, the world would have been hers to conquer, with even the sky not proving to be a limit.
If anything, Areeba had become a little impatient. She had already been made to wait too long to go to school because the government kept classrooms shut to keep the novel coronavirus (Covid-19) from spreading.
The announcement she had been waiting for finally came and the government announced to reopen schools.
She could picture herself wearing her crisp new uniform with polished shoes and brand new schoolbag which she had just bought.
But her hopes and those of her family were dashed after an improvised explosive device (IED) planted in a bicycle went off at Mardan’s Shaheedan Bazar on Tuesday evening, killing four people including her father and 10-year-old sister Emaan.
Emaan and Areeba were riding a motorbike driven by their father, 38-year-old Muhammad Arif. They had just bought school bags and shoes and were heading home when the bustling Shaheedan Bazar turned bloody as the bomb went off, killing four and critically injuring 17 others.
Mardan District Headquarters Hospital officials said another victim of the blast identified the fourth victim as Jehanzeb from the Akhun Baba area who succumbed to his injuries on Thursday.
A pall of gloom has descended upon Arif’s Drab Mohallah area, located just 200 meters away from the blast site.
Silence covers the street like a dense fog while every face is seen to be in mourning.
For his wife and two minor sons, they still look for the familiar faces of Arif, Emaan and Areeba amongst the crowd of people who have been visiting their home to express their condolences.
Arif’s cousin, Salahuddin, told The Express Tribune that they are devastated by the tragic incident.
“I never imagined that one day I would have to bury the small bodies of Emaan and Areeba whom I had held up in arms when they were infants,” the grief-stricken Salahuddin shared while peeking from behind tear-less eyes. “They felt much heavier that day.”
He said that Arif was a decent, honest, and hardworking man who worked at a juice shop in Jhanday Bazaar on the outskirts of Mardan.
He supported his family following his brother’s disappearance who had lost millions in the auto business.
Arif’s mother was already traumatised over the disappearance of her son, Salahuddin informed.
Such was Arif’s financial condition that he had taken a loan from his employer to buy Emaan and Areeba their school supplies.
But it was all in vain as they are no more, said Zulfiqar Ahmed, another relative.
Speaking to The Express Tribune, the mother of the deceased girls, Waseela, said that she still has Emaan’s fourth-grade school uniform which she ironed.
Emaan and her classmates from the neighbourhood were excited to resume their studies after a gap of nearly six months, she said, adding that Emaan was very passionate about education and that it was on her insistence that their father took them to the market on Tuesday evening to buy them new bags and shoes.
“Wednesday would have been Areeba’s first day at school and we all were so happy for her,” said the grieving mother.
Waseela said she will never recover from the loss of her precious daughters and husband.
“Who is responsible for the death of my husband, children and how will I support my two sons,” she asked, adding that the people who killed her daughters and husband should have been arrested by now.
Meanwhile, the Mardan Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD) has registered a case against unidentified culprits while the district police have also formed special teams to probe the incident.
Published in The Express Tribune, October 5th, 2020.
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