Basant death devastates family

Tuesday, March 24, 2009

By Sajid Bashir:

LAHORE:

THE parents of a six years old boy, who died after being hit by a stray bullet on the eve of Basant has spoken of their devastation at losing their only son. 

Mohammad Asim Sheikh, the father of Zain-ul-Abideen, a resident of Rashi Bhawan, Nishtar Road, Branderth Road, Naulakha, said, “I don’t want to believe it’s real.” He added, “Lifting ban on kite flying has deprived me of my only son.” He showed his son’s pictures. 

He remembers the first time he held his newborn son Zain and the day he touched his cold body. He said, “His face looked fresh, he only had a small scratch on his arm. He just looked like he was sleeping.” 

He said, “I am poor and helpless to hold the responsible persons like Punjab governor and district nazim, accountable.” As he recalls the story of losing Zain, no tears run down his cheeks, but a seemingly permanent sadness reflects in his eyes. Zain, a student of class one at Muslim High School was the second one among his two sisters Taiba,10, and Mahnoor,3. Asim, dal tikkiwala, dropped Zain at the residence of his in-laws at Lunda Bazaar on March 14. Zain went to bazaar on March 15 at around 1:30 pm to buy juice and on return, he received a stray bullet in his head. He was rushed to Mayo Hospital where he yielded to his wound. 

Asim said that doctors told him that he had received a bullet wound in his skull. The Naulakha police contacted the senseless father and got a statement that he did not want to initiate any legal action. 

Ironically, the Naulakha police still claimed that the boy did not received the bullet wound but he fell on the ground and received a fatal head injury. Another dilemma is that no official representative or member of the ruling party visited the two-marla dingy house of Asim to console the heartbroken family. Zain’s father is one of dozens of grieving parents who can never turn their tragedies into a cause for a change. Asim knows nothing will bring his son back. He blamed the authorities that could have prevented families from suffering the pain of losing a child. “We are not the only family who has gone through this situation as many others have already been deprived of their dear ones in the past,” Asim regretted.

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