Blinded by the blast

LAHORE: There are those who lose their lives in blasts, and then there are survivors who become handicapped, like Qasim, a 27-year-old software engineer who lost his sight in the twin blasts that occurred in Data Darbar on July 1.

Qasim had been visiting the shrine for over a decade to pray. On the night of the blast, he was standing with his hands raised in prayers when he heard the first blast. Qasim said that soon afterwards, he heard an announcement that a generator had blown up.

The second blast, which occurred within minutes of the first one, took away his eyesight.

“I could no longer see. It felt like curtains had fallen over my eyes. I lost my sense of hearing as well,” he said. He said that when he touched himself to see if he was hurt, he found that his clothes had been disintegrated by the intensity of the blast.

He said that after the blasts created an “absolute chaos”. Amidst the confusion,  Qasim said, he stood on his knees. “I took out my cell phone to call my family, but I could not dial because I was unable to see anything,” Qasim said.

About difficulties he faces now, Qasim said that if he got his sight back, he would continue with his old routine . “God gives you strength. He tests us by plunging us into difficulties and He is the one who ultimately resolves them,” he added.

Qasim’s father, a man of considerable determination, said he had not attended business matters for the past two or three months to spend more time with his son. “I have just one aim in my life now: to get my son treated,” he said.

Referring to Qasim’s treatment, his father said: “Qasim can regain his vision. But we cannot afford the treatment. We need government help, but we don’t have proper connections.”

Glad for being afforded an opportunity to convey his message to the government, Qasim’s father said that hospitals in Singapore and Britain could help his son, but their services could only be availed if the government cooperated.

Express 24/7 approached the Punjab government in this regard. After hearing the story, Punjab government officials have promised to help Qasim.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 19^th, 2010.