Forever young: Popular UoP assistant professor killed in thunderstorm

Students and friends remember Ali Askar Sheikh with great fondness.

PESHAWAR:

His ambitions of completing his PhD were cut tragically short, as was Ali Askar Sheikh’s life, when a huge tree fell on a taxi the University of Peshawar assistant professor was travelling in.

Just 37 years of age, the popular faculty member of the Anthropology department will be greatly missed by students and friends alike.

He was among the scores of people who lost their lives as a result of heavy rain and thunderstorm on Sunday evening in different parts of the province that were dubbed by the Met department as a “mini-cyclone.”

Ali Askar Sheikh was on his way to the varsity in a taxi from Charssada at 6pm along with three other people, including the driver. When the vehicle neared Shah Alam Bridge, a huge tree uprooted by the heavy winds fell on the front end of the car. Shiekh and the taxi driver died on the spot, while the other two passengers in the back seat remained safe. The driver and professor were later officially pronounced deceased at the Lady Reading Hospital in Peshawar.

Sheikh had completed his primary education from Old Bazaar in his native Charsadda. He went on to obtain a Master’s degree in Anthropology from the University of Peshawar and completed his MPhil in Sociology in 2006 from the same varsity. His PhD was currently under way in Quaid-e-Azam University Islamabad.

His close friend and fellow teacher at the UoP, Jamil Chitrali, said Sheikh’s death was a great loss for the varsity. He said the young assistant professor had just six months left to complete his PhD. Chitrali said Sheikh was currently on leave and was coming to the university to meet him and some other friends.

“He called me in the afternoon and said we will have dinner together.” That was the last time these best friends spoke.

Chitrali recalled Sheikh was a kind soul who put others before himself. He remembered that his colleague joined the university in 2006 as a contract-based lecturer and was promoted to an assistant professor position as a regular employee in the Anthropology department in 2009.

Waqar Ahmed, one of his students, said the assistant professor was always very positive. He said his behaviour with students was more like that of a friend than a teacher, especially since he was young.

The assistant professor belonged to an educated family of Charsadda. Sheikh’s father, Ali Gohar, Khan was a bank employee and the president of a union in his hometown. Sheikh had three brothers; one of whom is in Korea, the other in Qatar, and the third is a police officer in Charsadda.

Chitrali said Sheikh’s funeral prayers were offered on Monday at 11am and many of his relatives, colleagues, friends and students were present.

Published in The Express Tribune, April 28^th, 2015.