On mother’s day: Heartbroken boy awaits mother’s recovery

Tahira, 45, was injured in the blast near Gulbahar on Saturday.

PESHAWAR: “Will mom be like how she was before?” Sheraz asked curiously as he stood outside the surgical ward of Lady Reading Hospital (LRH) with his elder brother.

His mother, Tahira, was among those who were critically injured in a blast near Gulbahar on Saturday. The blast, which ripped through a police van carrying three prisoners to Mardan, killed a police constable and injured 18 others.

Shocked and frightened, the boy stood strong to inquire about her mother on the eve of mother’s day.

Tahira, who hails from Logar province in Afghanistan, was on her way home from the market with one of her sons when the roadside blast took place, leaving them both critically injured.

She was the only woman wounded in the deadly attack.

According to hospital sources, Tahira has recovered from coma, but her condition is unstable as she suffered multiple wounds on her head and legs, one of which has been amputated.

As the boy wandered outside the ward, other attendants could be seen surrounding Tahira’s bed praying for her early recovery.

“We don’t understand why militants are targeting innocent people to fulfil their mission,” said Imran, one of Tahira’s cousins.

“All I can say is, if the government is rendering sacrifices to eliminate terrorism, we are with them,” he added.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 14^th, 2012.