Death of a Khan
Death of a Khan
By Khurshid Khan
Shamshir Ali Khan popularly known as Dr. Khan was assassinated in his native
village on the eve of the holy day of Eid ul Azha, the day Muslims all over the
world celebrate in the honour of the Prophet Ibrahim’s sacrifice of his son in
compliance to the will of Almighty. God was pleased by his remarkable submission
and instead of his dear son, the sacrifice of a sheep was accepted and from the
day onward, Muslims sacrifice animals to commemorate this sublime event in the
submission of God every year.
Dr. Khan was born in 1950 at Derai, Swat in the house of Abdur Rashid Khan
locally known as Derai Khan and Khan Baba. Khan Baba is famous for his integrity
and strict adherence to the Pukhtunwali-the Pukhtun code of life - across the
valley. To the People, he is the perfect embodiment of a typical Pukhtun. He was
a close companion of Bacha Khan, Wali Khan and still supports the nationalist
Awami National Party with extraordinary zeal and commitment. Derai Khan was
considered a strong opponent by the late Wali of Swat in the Swat State era.
Abdur Rahid Khan never bowed down in front of militants and remained in Swat
through out the insurgency. During this tumultuous period, militants incinerated
his Hujra and blew up his house abducted his two sons, Wakeel and Shawkat, and a
grand son. His grand son was accidentally killed in military shelling while
Shawkat was seriously wounded who was rescued by the military later, from
Kalakalai and Wakeel was, later on, rescued in a commando operation in Dardyal,
Swat.
Derai Khan endured all these catastrophes with a demonour that behooves a great
Pukhtun and never poured out his heart to anyone whosoever. He suffered with his
people in his village while the Army was dislodging the whole valley for
launching its decisive assault operation, Rahi-e-Rast in Swat.
The whole atmosphere was pregnant with apprehensions and bad omens on the doomed
day when a suicide bomber blew up himself in front of Shmasher Ali Khan
assassinating him and wounding fourteen persons including two children and his
two brothers, Wakeel and Shawkat on 1st December, 2009. The attack was
calculative, well planned and targeted which blasted all the security measures
separating the Khan from the rest of the world in mere seconds. The news spread
like a wild fire in the whole valley and the peaceful atmosphere of Swat once
again landed in chaos and uncertainty. The unexpected and untoward incident was
so sudden that it was hard for anyone to believe it.
Speaking on the occasion of the sad demise of his son, Abdur Rashid Khan, father
of the Dr. Khan, said, “I am proud of my son’s martyrdom as he laid down his
life for the cause of peace in Swat, serving the people of the area is the
mission of my family and nobody could dare deter us from this noble cause”.
Khan Baba again affirmed his commitment and said, “His family did not abandon
the people of Swat when the militants were active in the area. We didn’t bow to
the militants’ will and will not do so in future”.
The KhyberWatch
In : Khurshid Khan
Notes