Broken promises: The dinner that never was

Killed by a speeding car driven by a US diplomat, Muzzamil Shah was forced to break a promise to his wife and daughter

ISLAMABAD:

We’re going out for dinner tonight, Muzzamil Hussain Shah promised his wife, as he left for work on Thursday morning. Shah had wanted to let his wife and young daughter enjoy themselves and let someone else do the cooking.

But Shah never kept that promise.

His widow, Talat Nazir, still can’t believe that was the last conversation they had.



Muzzamil’s last breakfast was simply fried eggs and paratha, but “Muzzamil enjoyed it so much, he wanted to take us out for dinner”.

Muzzamil, an elevator operator at the Capital Development Authority’s office, lost his life on Thursday after the motorcycle he was riding on was hit by a car driven by a US diplomat.

An uncertain pale descended upon Muhammad Shah’s house after the sole breadwinner of the family was killed.

“He was a good man, and a good son. Today it seems as if I have lost everything,” said Muzzamil’s father Muhammad Shah, while talking to The Express Tribune. 

Muzzamil was a strong believer in the value of hard work and often said that without it, nothing is possible in this world. It was a value he tried to instil in his only child —a seven-year old daughter named Kainat.

“He used to work at a workshop when he was a student to cover his education expenses and also help the family during tough times,” Shah said.



Shah described his son as a responsible person who never hesitated to help shoulder responsibilities. Muzzamil had been planning his younger brother’s wedding in the days before his death.

“I used to consult him on every issue. He would give the most suitable and honest suggestion,” he said.

Two days after his accident, the news of his death still seems to be sinking in. Family members exhibit various stages of denial, and none of them seem close to acceptance.

“My brother was a good person who lost his life due to the mistake and carelessness of a man,” said Akbar Shah, the victim’s younger brother.

He said it was Muzzamil’s desire to see his siblings get educated and become responsible citizens — a basic right that poverty denied them.

“My brother had a cheerful personality. He always tried his best to keep everyone happy and never made anyone complain,” Akhtar said.

He was always smiling and would meet everyone warmly. “He was very friendly and the life of every social gathering,” said Muzzamil’s friend Asif Shah.

“Though he was living pay check-to-pay check, Muzzamil never spared a chance to help his friends monetarily,” he said.

An eyewitness to the accident told The Express Tribune that Rescue 15 and the Secretariat police took two hours to reach the site. “Muzzamil and his friend Shozeb Raza — who broke a leg but survived the accident — were on a bike when a speeding SUV struck them from behind,” he said, adding that the driver seemed to be a foreigner who stopped the car to see if the victims had survived the accident.

“The US embassy should compensate us as the diplomat’s mistake has cost us our sole breadwinner,” said Muhammad Shah, adding that no one from the embassy had even tried to directly contact them.

The US embassy’s press officer, Kellee Farmer said the embassy will cooperate fully with Pakistani authorities on the investigation. While offering the embassy’s deepest regrets, she hinted that compensation may be forthcoming. “We are working through our local insurance company to address financial questions or concerns.”

While the insurers mull those concerns, all the Shah family can do, is wait.

Published in The Express Tribune, February 17^th, 2013.