Razzakabad police bus attack: Lost to a blast, survived by many

Deceased policemen laid to rest in their hometowns, families try to reconcile with their loss.

HYDERABAD/ KARACHI:

The attack on the bus of Razzakabad Police Training Center in Karachi didn't only claim 13 lives but also destroyed as many families and left dozens of young children orphaned.

Seven of the eight deceased policemen, who belonged to Matiari, Benazirabad and Naushehro Feroze districts and laid to rest in their respective towns on Friday, were married with children.

Aisha Jalbani, wife of Saleem Jalbani who passed away in Thursday's blast, planned to settle in Karachi with her two daughters and her husband who was working in the police department. "My brother used to visit [home] only once a month. He was trying to rent a small house in the city so that his family could live together," said the policeman's grieving brother, Ghulam Murtaza Jalbani.

Saleem, who lived in Zahoor Colony in Sakrand town of Benazirabad and had joined the police department three years ago, was laid to rest in Shaheed Dio Jung graveyard. He is survived by his widow and two daughters. Murtaza, his younger brother, is jobless and is hoping to work in the force on the martyr quota. "Despite my brother's death, I am not afraid of joining the police."

Two other policemen, Sajid Zardari and Yaseen Zardari, both cousins and residents of Bochehri in Daur taluka, had also joined the police three years ago. Both of them were married - Sajid leaves behind a son and two daughters while Yaseen was father of two daughters.

"Their families are very poor. Even their small house is not fully constructed," constable Hashmat Khaskheli, who works in the area's police, told The Express Tribune. Sajid and Yaseen hailed from Ghulam Rasool Zardari village. They were laid to rest in a local graveyard.

Gulshan Narejo, who is also one of the victims of the Razzakabad blast, belonged to Bhit Shah's Jam Khan Narejo village. His funeral on Friday, before his burial in Dargah Pir Muhammad graveyard, was attended by a large number of people and notables. "Now who will look after his four children and young wife," cried his brother.

Among the deceased was the newly engaged Asad Ali Siyal. "We were preparing for his marriage but his posting in Karachi delayed the ceremony," said his grief-stricken father, Muhammad Haroon Siyal. Asad lived in Pad Edan, a small town in Naushehro Feroze district. He was buried after his Namaz-e-Janaza at Mehmudia madarsa.

Asad's comrade Saeed Ahmed Kalhoro also belonged to Naushehro Feroze. His last rites were offered in the small town of Khanwahan and he was laid to rest in the Pir Qarar Shah graveyard. Saeed is survived by his widow and an infant son.

Policemen Sarfaraz Hussain Zardari and Dost Mohammad Brohi were buried in their native villages Allah Wasayo Zardari and Raheemdad Brohi in Benazirabad.

Meanwhile, the Sindh police have nominated Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) Chief Mullah Fazlullah and his spokesperson Shahidullah Shahid in the FIR registered for the bomb attack.

According to Shah Latif Town SHO Ali Hasan, the FIR No. 77/14 was registered on the complaint of ASI Israr under section 302, 324/34 of the Pakistan Penal Code along with section 7 of the Anti-Terrorism Act, 1997 and section 3 and 4 of the Explosive Act. The FIR reads that the banned TTP activists, on instigation of Mullah Fazlullah and Shahidullah Shahid, attacked the police bus on Thursday, killing 13 policemen and injuring 57.

The funeral prayers in Karachi were held at the Special Security Unit's head office near Hasan Square on Thursday night from where the bodies were taken to the officers' native towns for burial.

Separately, the German Deputy Consul General Hans Juergen Paschke Lauins laid a floral wreath at the Central Police Office on Friday in memory of the policemen who were killed.

Published in The Express Tribune, February 15^th, 2014.