Precious lives cut short

Sani Sultan Ali, 17, was returning home after spending the night at a friend's place to prepare for his exams

As the city comes to terms with the loss of 45 men and women of the Ismaili community, details unfurl on the lives of the innocent people who boarded the pink alAzhar Gardens bus.

A husband and wife heading to Ayesha Manzil to shop, a girl who was married two months ago, and a father who had dropped his son to the airport a night before.

Among them was a 17-year-old Sani Sultan Ali, who was travelling on the bus to return home after spending the night at a friend's place to prepare for his exams. Ali, an A' Levels student at The City School, was preparing for two exams scheduled for Thursday. Unfortunately, he became a victim of senseless terrorism in the country on Wednesday. He was laid to rest the same day.

On Facebook, pages have been created to honour his memory, showing his charming smile. Most of his older classmates and friends commented on one page, remembering him for the nice person he was. A girl had commented that he was her childhood friend and she can never forget him. Another said that she was his teacher in class nine.

The official Facebook page of The City School's Gulshan branch also shared his picture and confirmed that he was a student at their school. They asked everyone to pray for him.

The only brother of two sisters, Ali was lovingly called 'Sunny'. His friends said he was interested in computers and wanted to become a software engineer.