Shahida Raza laid to rest in Quetta

Shahida Raza, a female Pakistani hockey player, was laid to rest in Quetta amid tears and sorrows on Friday.

Shahida, along with 63 others, died when the boat full of migrants drowned off Italy in February 2023. She was trying to go to Europe to secure a better future for herself and treat her four-year-old disabled child when the tragedy struck.

Shahida, 29, belonged to the Hazara community in Quetta. She was a national hockey player but despite this, she could not get a job to take care of her family. Shahida was very concerned about her disabled child, her family members told The Express Tribune.

The body of Shahida was brought from Karachi to Quetta by road since the flight was cancelled because of extreme weather conditions.

“Her demise pained every sane person,” Abdul Khaliq Hazara, the provincial sports minister, said after offering her funeral prayer.

He noted that she was in search of the best future because of inflation, poverty, and unemployment in Pakistan. “This is an eye-opener for the policymakers,” Hazara said.

The family suffered mentally as they waited for more than 20 days after hearing the sad news of the drowning of the boat off Italy. “That news was a doomsday for our family,” Amjad Hussain Hazara, one of the relatives of the deceased, said.

Many members of the Hazara community participated in the funeral prayer of the national hockey player. Heart-wrenching scenes were witnessed when the body was brought to her Marriabad residence.

During the last two decades, scores of Hazara community members have left Quetta and migrated to Australia and other countries because of growing sectarian violence. The minority Hazara community has been repeatedly targeted in Quetta.