Not just another statistic: Daddy’s little girl who had everything loses father
Ghazi Marjan’s family mourns his loss to a senseless murder
Ghazi Marjan’s family mourns his loss to a senseless murder .
PESHAWAR:
When her father was what seemed like a million miles away, Ghazi Marjan’s seven-year-old daughter Mehreen would take solace in the hope that he would return with clothes, chocolate, toys and all his love.
No box of chocolates
Though young, Mehreen understood her father, Marjan, left everyone behind in Peshawar to earn a livelihood for his beloved wife and children. The fact that he will never return will be much more difficult to accept.
It has been over 10 days since a robbery gone awry claimed his life, but the family has been unable to muster courage to tell his little girl. Life’s little pleasures like toys and chocolates have been snatched from Mehreen and her four-year-old brother Hasher. So has one of the greatest gifts of all; their father.
Marjan, a resident of Amin Colony, was an engineer. He worked in UAE for the last four years and was back home this month. On the night of October 9, his wife suddenly developed a kidney pain.
Marjan rushed her to Lady Reading Hospital (LRH) on his bike. As the couple travelled through Kohat Road, they were intercepted by two bikers who asked Marjan to hand over his valuables. His resistance, however, prompted the cold-blooded killers to shoot him multiple times. He died on the spot; in front of his wife.Just 37, he was one of the people to fall victim to the alarming spree of street crime in the city.
Home for a bit
“He was in Pakistan for Eid holidays and was scheduled to return on October 11,” says his elder brother Ali Jan. “However, his children insisted he extend his trip and he applied for leave till October 18,” he adds.
Marjan did his degree in electrical engineering from an engineering university in Peshawar some years ago and also taught at Cecos College Peshawar and FAST-NU University before landing a job in Dubai. The money was good and he took the assignment for the greater good of his family, sacrificing time with his wife and two children. The family hails from Achini village on the outskirts of the city.
Crime wave
Many like Marjan have been robbed of their hard-earned money or lives by the street criminals of the city. However, not everyone sees it this way, especially the police who are keen to prove it is anything but street crime.
Talking to The Express Tribune, an official of Banamarhi police station says this did not look like a robbery case. “I think this unfortunate man fell victim to a personal enmity rather than an armed robbery,” he said, adding the police suspected his wife had a hand in the murder.
The family members, unsurprisingly, are rejecting any such allegations. “We know about daylight robberies in the city. The police should investigate the matter and arrest the real culprits,” says Ali Jan. He reveals nobody has been arrested in the case while an autopsy report has not been produced in two weeks.
Although monthly data from the police does show a decline in the number of crimes in the district compared to the corresponding period last year, the rate is still alarmingly high.
“We have controlled extortionists and kidnappers after a full-fledged crackdown,” said a police official. “Now we are concentrating on street crimes. Several of these car snatchers have been killed in police encounters which also left many policemen dead or injured.” He said the police have now been able to pay more attention to criminal activity as militancy is on the decline.
Published in The Express Tribune, October 20th, 2015.
When her father was what seemed like a million miles away, Ghazi Marjan’s seven-year-old daughter Mehreen would take solace in the hope that he would return with clothes, chocolate, toys and all his love.
No box of chocolates
Though young, Mehreen understood her father, Marjan, left everyone behind in Peshawar to earn a livelihood for his beloved wife and children. The fact that he will never return will be much more difficult to accept.
It has been over 10 days since a robbery gone awry claimed his life, but the family has been unable to muster courage to tell his little girl. Life’s little pleasures like toys and chocolates have been snatched from Mehreen and her four-year-old brother Hasher. So has one of the greatest gifts of all; their father.
Marjan, a resident of Amin Colony, was an engineer. He worked in UAE for the last four years and was back home this month. On the night of October 9, his wife suddenly developed a kidney pain.
Marjan rushed her to Lady Reading Hospital (LRH) on his bike. As the couple travelled through Kohat Road, they were intercepted by two bikers who asked Marjan to hand over his valuables. His resistance, however, prompted the cold-blooded killers to shoot him multiple times. He died on the spot; in front of his wife.Just 37, he was one of the people to fall victim to the alarming spree of street crime in the city.
Home for a bit
“He was in Pakistan for Eid holidays and was scheduled to return on October 11,” says his elder brother Ali Jan. “However, his children insisted he extend his trip and he applied for leave till October 18,” he adds.
Marjan did his degree in electrical engineering from an engineering university in Peshawar some years ago and also taught at Cecos College Peshawar and FAST-NU University before landing a job in Dubai. The money was good and he took the assignment for the greater good of his family, sacrificing time with his wife and two children. The family hails from Achini village on the outskirts of the city.
Crime wave
Many like Marjan have been robbed of their hard-earned money or lives by the street criminals of the city. However, not everyone sees it this way, especially the police who are keen to prove it is anything but street crime.
Talking to The Express Tribune, an official of Banamarhi police station says this did not look like a robbery case. “I think this unfortunate man fell victim to a personal enmity rather than an armed robbery,” he said, adding the police suspected his wife had a hand in the murder.
The family members, unsurprisingly, are rejecting any such allegations. “We know about daylight robberies in the city. The police should investigate the matter and arrest the real culprits,” says Ali Jan. He reveals nobody has been arrested in the case while an autopsy report has not been produced in two weeks.
Although monthly data from the police does show a decline in the number of crimes in the district compared to the corresponding period last year, the rate is still alarmingly high.
“We have controlled extortionists and kidnappers after a full-fledged crackdown,” said a police official. “Now we are concentrating on street crimes. Several of these car snatchers have been killed in police encounters which also left many policemen dead or injured.” He said the police have now been able to pay more attention to criminal activity as militancy is on the decline.
Published in The Express Tribune, October 20th, 2015.