The news of the sudden death of a young government officer in Bannu district of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa on social media on Monday evening has left his friends, colleagues and students, including those who were inspired by his life's struggle story, saddened.
Bilal Pasha, who was working as the chief executive officer in Military Cantonment Bannu, was found dead in his room on Monday.
According to Bannu District Police Officer Iftikhar Shah, "Apparently, it appears to be a case of suicide", however, the post-mortem has been conducted and the medical report is awaited.
Bilal’s funeral prayer was offered on Tuesday morning in his native Abdul Hakim village. Bilal’s father Ahmedyar has given details of his last phone conversation with his son. He is a resident of Abdul Hakeem village in Khanewal, self-employed and head of his family.
He said, “I spoke to Bilal on Saturday and he was telling that he has been transferred.”
With tears rolling down his cheeks, Ahmedyar said: “Eight to 10 days ago, Bilal was saying on the phone that Baba I want to quit my job and come home or take a few days off so that I can sleep to my heart's content. Now, I will go to Rawalpindi and apply for a leave and come home.”
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The news of Bilal's sudden death shocked many not only because it was a young death but also because his story of struggle made him a beacon for civil services aspirants. Bilal is currently trending on social media and his colleagues and friends as well as his students are also paying tribute to him.
When they broke the door and entered, Bilal was not alive. Ahmedyar said that he had five sons, among whom Bilal was the youngest. Bashir Ahmed, one of Ahmedyar's brothers, had no children, so he adopted his nephew Bilal and being a joint family, Bilal was brought up by both families together.
Ahmedyar said about Sunday and Monday. He said, "I received a call from Bilal on Sunday during the Fajr prayer. I was surprised that he did not call at that time. I do not know why he called." He said that after that, Bilal spoke to his friend and he was telling that he was going to Islamabad, “if you need anything, tell me”. After that, “when I called Bilal, I could not talk because Bilal did not pick up the phone, I thought that he must have fallen asleep”.
Similarly, “I called again at 11 o'clock and half past 12, but Bilal did not pick up the phone. I was worried but kept thinking that Bilal must be sleeping”. According to the father, he sat in the mosque late at night and called Bilal but could not get in touch. “Then I thought that Bilal will wake up and see that Baba has made so many calls, so he will call himself”, but Bilal's phone did not come.
Ahmedyar said that on Monday morning I called a friend of Bilal who went to the room and saw that the door was locked from inside.
The friend told me that when they broke the door and entered, Bilal was not alive. “We don't know what happened, he didn't even say anything to us that would indicate any trouble.”
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According to him, Bilal got married two or three years ago, but after some time they got separated. He said, “Bilal was my son but he was also a very good friend. He often shared his heart with me.” Bilal was a cheerful boy, he was the life of every party. On the other hand, Bannu Assistant Commissioner Syed Abrar Ali Shah said that he was not able to contact Bilal on the phone, so he thought to go to his office and meet him.
“When I came to the office, I found that he did not even come there, so I went to his residence. When we reached there and asked the employees about Bilal, they said that we have knocked on his door several times but there is no response from inside.” Abrar said, “We tried to break the door, despite trying several times, the door did not break.” Abrar said that Bilal never said anything to him that suggested he was suffering from mental stress.
“Not at all. I never even thought about it, I don't understand how it happened.” He was talking about going to Rawalpindi, on Monday he was supposed to go to Pindi after handing over the charge. Abrar and Bilal became friends during the Civil Services Academy.
According to Abrar, “Bilal was a very cheerful boy, the life of every party and his attitude was always friendly.”
When Bilal first came into the limelight after passing the competitive exam, there was a heated debate on social media regarding CSS candidates and it was being said that this exam could only be passed by the children of elite class and influential.
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