Tragedy unfolds: Gone in the blink of an eye

Lecturer Farhat Begum, mother of two students, died at the hands of the militants.

PESHAWAR: While second year student Syed Satwat Shah was taking an exam at Army Public School, his mother Farhat Begum, a teacher, stepped out of the hall for a brief break, never to return.

Farhat was a lecturer in the college wing of the institute where her elder son Syed Satwat Shah was an intermediate student, while her younger Syed Baqir – who sustained injuries in the attack – studied in grade nine.

Satwat survived the brutal assault unhurt along with 35 of his class fellows because they hid under the benches and were later rescued by the armed forces.

The teenager told The Express Tribune that their exams are usually taken in the college wing but on that fateful day his class was shifted to the school wing and they went accompanied by their teachers, including Farhat.

“She had just left the hall for a few minutes and the next time we saw her she was in a hospital morgue,” said the bereaved student.

According to Satwat, his brother Baqir was in the auditorium when the militants entered and began shooting. The ninth-grader sustained injuries which will heal with time but recovering from the loss of his mother will perhaps take longer.

“These terrorists killed my mother. They should be eliminated from the face of the Earth to make it a better place,” said Satwat tearfully.

Farhat was a resident of Dhakki Naalbandi in the walled city. She was laid to rest on Tuesday night.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 18^th, 2014.