Targeted attack: DHQ nurse leaves behind inconsolable family, neighbourhood
Farzana Kausar ran a maternity clinic at home and offered free treatment for the needy.
The family said no government official had visited the deceased’s house to pay condolences, nor had anyone approached them to offer compensation. PHOTO: FILE
PESHAWAR:
Farzana Kausar’s murder created a void which will be near impossible to fill both for her family and neighbourhood.
Kausar was a dedicated paramedic at the District Headquarters Hospital (DHQ) Nowshera. She was the only nurse in her neighbourhood and provided free treatment to those unable to afford it otherwise. For the last eight years, she also ran a maternity clinic at home.
On January 12, as she stepped out of her house to go to work, Kausar was shot at point blank range by a masked man and died on the spot. The incident took place in front of her husband Sajawal Khan Khattak at approximately 8am.
Talking to The Express Tribune, her grieving husband said Kausar’s presence was missed by residents who felt like they had lost a leader.
Both husband and wife ran the maternity clinic from their house in Hakeemabad, which was built on land bought for them by her father.
“After the death of my wife, I sent our children to my father-in-law’s as we cannot live in the same house where we spent 12 years together. It’s unbearable without her,” said Khattak.
Now, Khattak lives in the house alone without his wife and children. “My children often say ‘Why [do] you pray for my mother’s soul because she was martyred and will go directly to heaven’” said the gutted husband.
Kauser is survived by her husband and four children – Mehak, 13, Shah Zab 11, Alina, 9 and seven-month infant Fatima.
The family said no government official had visited the deceased’s house to pay condolences, nor had anyone approached them to offer compensation, making them feel like they were alone in their ordeal.
The day of the incident, DHQ workers shut down the hospital in protest and demanded the government take action. Kausar’s family filed an FIR, but the police have made no headway.
Sajawal Khattak told the police his wife was targeted because she was running a maternity centre. He added that she received anonymous threats a month ago warning her of dire consequences.
Farzana Kausar started her career in 1999 as a nurse in Landi Kotal, Khyber Agency Hospital – just two years after her engagement with Sajawal Khattak. After a year, security concerns compelled the family to move and she was relocated to Emergency Satellite Hospital, Kohat where she served for seven months.
Kausar was then transferred to DHQ, Nowshera where she served as a BPS-16 grade nurse till her demise.
Health workers in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa have consistently been targeted and four members of polio teams were killed last month. Six aid workers and a male technician were killed in Swabi on January 1.
Published in The Express Tribune, February 4th, 2013.
Farzana Kausar’s murder created a void which will be near impossible to fill both for her family and neighbourhood.
Kausar was a dedicated paramedic at the District Headquarters Hospital (DHQ) Nowshera. She was the only nurse in her neighbourhood and provided free treatment to those unable to afford it otherwise. For the last eight years, she also ran a maternity clinic at home.
On January 12, as she stepped out of her house to go to work, Kausar was shot at point blank range by a masked man and died on the spot. The incident took place in front of her husband Sajawal Khan Khattak at approximately 8am.
Talking to The Express Tribune, her grieving husband said Kausar’s presence was missed by residents who felt like they had lost a leader.
Both husband and wife ran the maternity clinic from their house in Hakeemabad, which was built on land bought for them by her father.
“After the death of my wife, I sent our children to my father-in-law’s as we cannot live in the same house where we spent 12 years together. It’s unbearable without her,” said Khattak.
Now, Khattak lives in the house alone without his wife and children. “My children often say ‘Why [do] you pray for my mother’s soul because she was martyred and will go directly to heaven’” said the gutted husband.
Kauser is survived by her husband and four children – Mehak, 13, Shah Zab 11, Alina, 9 and seven-month infant Fatima.
The family said no government official had visited the deceased’s house to pay condolences, nor had anyone approached them to offer compensation, making them feel like they were alone in their ordeal.
The day of the incident, DHQ workers shut down the hospital in protest and demanded the government take action. Kausar’s family filed an FIR, but the police have made no headway.
Sajawal Khattak told the police his wife was targeted because she was running a maternity centre. He added that she received anonymous threats a month ago warning her of dire consequences.
Farzana Kausar started her career in 1999 as a nurse in Landi Kotal, Khyber Agency Hospital – just two years after her engagement with Sajawal Khattak. After a year, security concerns compelled the family to move and she was relocated to Emergency Satellite Hospital, Kohat where she served for seven months.
Kausar was then transferred to DHQ, Nowshera where she served as a BPS-16 grade nurse till her demise.
Health workers in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa have consistently been targeted and four members of polio teams were killed last month. Six aid workers and a male technician were killed in Swabi on January 1.
Published in The Express Tribune, February 4th, 2013.