This is an open letter to Principal Cadet College Larkana written by me regarding Martyrdom of Maj. Mujahid Ali Mirani Shaheed.


To,
The Principal & Project Director,
Cadet College Larkana.

Respected Sir,

It is agreed upon by many that Pakistan is passing through very difficult times. In the wake of the complex situation in the country, the role of uniformed services can not be neglected. Many of sons of soil are busy day and night to make sure that we stand respected among the nations of the world. In these endeavors to preserve our freedom and sovereignty, many have laid their lives. Among them, one of our Ex-Cadets from Cadet College Larkana (CCL), Maj. Mujahid Ali Mirani Shaheed is worthy of mention.

Maj. Mujahid Ali Mirani Shaheed joined CCL in 1994 as part of the third batch of College. Latter, after passing his Higher School Certificate Examination, joined Pakistan Army with 105 long Course. Having passed out from Pakistan Military Academy, he got commissioned and joined 07 AK as his unit. Allah Almighty had a great honor for him in his stock and he was destined to achieve the immortality.

Reportedly, it was the fateful night of 26-27 November, 2011, when a chopper of NATO tried to enter the premises of our motherland in Mahmand Agency near Silala check post. Maj. Mujahid Ali Mirani Shaheed was posted at Silala check post, who having seen this breach of territorial integrity of Pakistan, retaliated but there was no balance of power and around 25 soldiers including Maj. Mujahid Ali Mirani accepted martyrdom.

Maj. Mujahid Ali Mirani Shaheed was the one such brave son of soil who lost his life in the line of duty. He is an ideal for all those who love their country. Allah blessed him with martyrdom and he can be identified with the soldier who is referred in literature as true patriot.

Here, I will not consider it an exaggeration, if I say that he is the hero, we used to fantasize about after hearing motivational speeches and lectures back there at CCL. He is the first Shaheed of our alma mater who tried to prove his love for the country by presenting his life and fought till last drop of blood. He is the real pride of our country, province, area, his family and alma mater. No doubt, his life and death has potential to serve as a role model for the young blood of this nation generally and CCL specifically because he lived and learnt the ideals of scarifying his life at CCL.

Revered Sir, with this letter, I would like to request your attention and submit that it is the time when we ought to do something in order to pay tribute to this son of CCL. It will not be out of place if you name the Auditorium or a building or build a monument or at least name a road at CCL in the memory of Maj. Mujahid Ali Mirani Shaheed. This small gesture will go a long way in generating the spirit of sacrifice for the country among all those who are studying at CCL. Not doubt, Maj. Mujahid Ali Mirani Shaheed can serve as a real life example for those who are studying at CCL since he studied there and proved himself extra-ordinary by his great deed of laying his life for our beloved Country.

Sir, in last, I hope that you will ponder over my humble submission and wish that steps will be taken at CCL which will make the name of Maj. Mujahid Ali Mirani immortal among all those who are and will be studying at CCL.

I Thank you for your time.

Yours truly,

I happened to read this piece somewhere; I don’t know about the author who wrote it but since it touched my heart, I felt like sharing it with you. In my point of view, in this piece the writer has beautiful covered all the aspects of a Police officer’s life

When the Lord was creating Police Officers, he was into his sixth day of overtime when an angel appeared and said,

“You’re doing a lot of fiddling around on this one.”

And the Lord said, “Have you read the spec on this order? A Police Officer has to be able to run five miles through alleys in the dark, scale walls, enter homes the health inspector wouldn’t touch, and not wrinkle his uniform.


“He has to be able to sit in an undercover car all day on a stakeout, cover a homicide scene that night, canvass the neighborhood for witnesses, and testify in court the next day.

“He has to be in top physical condition at all times, running on black coffee and half-eaten meals. And he has to have six pairs of hands.”

The angel shook her head slowly and said, “Six pairs of hands… no way.”

“It’s not the hands that are causing me problems,” said the Lord, “it’s the three pairs of eyes an officer has to have.”

“That’s on the standard model?” asked the angel.

The Lord nodded. One pair that sees through a bulge in a pocket before he asks, “May I see what’s in there, sir?” (When he already knows and wishes he’d taken that accounting job.) “Another pair here in the side of his head for his partners’ safety. And another pair of eyes here in front that can look reassuringly at a bleeding victim and say, ‘You’ll be all right ma’am, when he knows it isn’t so.”

“Lord,” said the angel, touching his sleeve, “rest and work on this tomorrow.”

“I can’t,” said the Lord, “I already have a model that can talk a 250 pound drunk into a patrol car without incident and feed a family of five on a civil service paycheck.”

The angel circled the model of the Police Officer very slowly, “Can it think?” she asked.

“You bet,” said the Lord. “It can tell you the elements of a hundred crimes; recite Miranda warnings in its sleep; detain, investigate, search, and arrest a gang member on the street in less time than it takes five learned judges to debate the legality of the stop… and still it keeps its sense of humor.

This officer also has phenomenal personal control. He can deal with crime scenes painted in hell, coax a confession from a child abuser, comfort a murder victim’s family, and then read in the daily paper how law enforcement isn’t sensitive to the rights of criminal suspects.”

Finally, the angel bent over and ran her finger across the cheek of the peace officer. “There’s a leak,” she pronounced. “I told you that you were trying to put too much into this model.”

“That’s not a leak,” said the lord, “it’s a tear.”

“What’s the tear for?” asked the angel.

“It’s for bottled-up emotions, for fallen comrades, for commitment to that  piece of cloth called the flag.”

“You’re a genius,” said the angel.

The Lord looked somber. “I didn’t put it there,” he said.

“The Search for something permanent is one of the deepest of instincts leading men to philosophy. It is derived, no doubt, from love of home and desire for a refuge from danger; we find accordingly, that it is most passionate in those whose lives are most exposed to catastrophe. Religion seeks permanence in two forms, God and immortality. In God is no variables neither shadow of turning; the life after death is eternal and unchanging.”

Bertrand Russel

History of Western Philosophy

Chapter on Heraclitus

I am down tonight,do I get disappointed? My inner most self denies disappointment and my heart aches. Fellas two opposite forces are colliding inside me and I am trying to punch the negative down to the place it came from but both are equally exerting…I hope by morning, the dust will settle down and sky will be clear…..Civil Services, Army, Politicians and my country??? Feeling sorry about sorry state of affairs!

It is an established fact that Smoking kills. The smoking kills a person step by step over a long period of time by developing different diseased states. It is a cheap death because tobacco is available to everyone easily and at cheap rates. The government is reluctant to stop it; the law enforcement agencies are silent over it. No checks are there in place to and even a minor can buy tobacco without being stop. In this sorry state of affair, what can be done?According to WHO, Tobacco use (including smoking) is causally linked to a number of chronic diseases including several cancers, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), and cardiovascular diseases. There is also increasing evidence of an association between smoking and tuberculosis, especially in China and India. A recent study suggests that 4.83 million deaths were attributable to smoking in 2000 (Ezzati and Lopez 2004). Over half of these (2.69 million deaths) were among people aged 30 to 69 years, resulting in a large number of premature deaths. Comparisons between developing and developed countries showed equal numbers of deaths due to tobacco but the burden of disease associated with smoking was much higher in developing countries. A study conducted in Karachi states that the cancer of lung is ranked the most frequent malignancy in men in the entire 1995-2002 period. It is however a cause of concern that the overall lung cancer incidence rates continue to rise. These rates correspond with the trends of smoking prevalence in the younger age groups in the last 2 decades. Published studies have given alerts to increase in the smoking habits of the present day youngsters and with an expanding population the country can expect a substantial increase in lung cancer (Bhurgari Y et al, 2006).

Keeping in view the hazardous effects of smoking, strategy is required to prevent this menace in form anti-tobacco rules and health education; prohibition of smoking in educational institutions at all levels and a ban on the sale of cigarettes to minors (Bhurgari Y et al, 2006).

These are high sounding words. Who will step ahead? No one from outside will come to rescue us! It is we, who can make some difference. Let’s do it, let’s campaign against this hazard, else will be questioned by our coming generation for all the disease burden and deaths. One last thing, if you are a smoker yourself, even then you can make some difference.

I read this post at The CEP Forum and found it quite helpful for aspirants therefore felt like sharing it with you. I hope you will come to like it too.

Hello Dear Friends,

I will in this thread share with you my experience of CSS exams. I have cleared the written part of CSS exams in my first attempt and I already know that I am going to be allocated for 39th Commons Training Program. In other words my seat is confirmed because (fortunately) I am from Sindh (Urban).

My Background

I am a son of an army officer. I have been a very spoiled person. I never took interest in academic activities but managed to complete my BBA (hons. in Marketing) and MBA (HRM) from Szabist Karachi. All my life I have been facilitated by my father in ‘getting things done’ my way. But for the CSS, there was no ‘sifarish’ and no way to rely on my father’s charm. So I had to apply myself and utilized all my energies to their full potential.

My Journey to the CSS

Since 7th grade I have been doing three things consistently; listening to all kinds of music, playing guitar and reading Dawn Newspaper. So my listening and reading skills were always getting better as the years passed by. These two skills ultimately proved to be my biggest assets.

In the year 2008, my father got me into National Accountability Bureau as a grade 17 investigation officer. During my NAB interview, the General advised me, “although you are being selected but this job is not for you son. Spend some time here and get the exposure but you must go for CSS exams. You can do it son. Just commit to it and apply yourself.” My listening skills were playing their part. So I quit NAB within a year and went on to explore the world of CSS. My reading skills helped me in that regard.

Exams Preparation

I selected the following optional subjects after thorough analysis

Indo Pak History (it covers Pakistan affairs and is also useful for current affairs)
Political Science (I am deeply in love with this subject. It automatically covers constitutional law. It also helps in essay and in my case it helped me in Islamiat paper as well. Plus it provides a great arsenal of quotations)
Constitutional Law (Easy to prepare and a very useful subject for CSS)
Business Administration (It was a natural choice as I am an MBA)

I was told by many seniors to drop history and political science and instead go for scoring subjects like geography, sociology, journalism etc. But I stuck to my decision. I believe one should go for those subjects that one finds interesting, enjoyable and easy to prepare without considering the scoring trends)

I started making my own notes in August 2009 and finished this process by mid November 2009. After that I started the revision process and never looked back.

Now I am going to share some useful tips regarding Compulsory Subjects.

Essay

Just stick to the basics which are:
1.   solid but brief outline covering all the aspects of topic
2.   reasonable opening and a sound conclusion.
3.   paragraphs must be equal in length
4.   paras must be cohesive and one para must deal with one topic at a time
5.   the opening words of a para must match the words in outline. To make it more clear have a look at the following outline on the topic “Global Warming”:

1. The sky is falling
1.1. Global warming
1.2. Greenhouse gases
1.3. Greenhouse effect

2. Causes of global warming
2.1. Ice ages theory
2.2. Ocean activity theory
2.3. Sunspot activity theory
2.4. Human activity theory
• Burning Fossil fuels
• Correlation between population growth and rising temperatures
• Cutting the forests

3. Effects of global warming
3.1. Rising of the sea level
3.2. Changing climate and weather patterns
3.3. Changing ecosystems

4.  Solutions
4.1. Common people’s actions
4.2. What states can do
• What Pakistanis can do
• Alternative sources of power
• Public transportation
• Subsidies against taxes
• Natural gas
• planting and protecting the forests
• Public education
4.3. International solutions

5.  Conclusion

Now the opening para should be like…

(1. The Sky is Falling) —–> From outline.
The sky is falling, the sky is falling! Growing up we heard this phrase in folktales as a “wolf cry”. A cry that is so ridiculous that nobody would believe it. Now that global warming is a major environmental issue, the saying doesn’t sound so out of place. Most people might say: what is global warming? But if they look around and observe the environment around them then they might find the answer to this question. Years are becoming warmer and weather patterns are finding it difficult to stay at the same course. The changes are small so far, but these are expected to accelerate uncontrollably. Within the next fifty to hundred years the earth may be much hotter place than it has been in past million years.  However, the real question is why this is happening and what is the connection of humanity with global warming?

(1.2. Global Warming) —–> From outline.
Global warming is commonly referred to as an increase in the temperature of the lowest layers of Earth’s atmosphere. Scientists estimate that average temperature could climb up to two degree Celsius in twenty years time because of global warming. Global warming has occurred in the distant past as the result of natural influences, but the term is most often used to refer to the warming predicted to occur as a result of increased emissions of greenhouse gases………. ……………..and so on…

In my view diagrams and headings must be avoided in an essay.

Précis and Composition

Prepare and solve the last 10-20 past papers. “Exploring the world of English” by Saadat Ali Shah is the ultimate authority regarding English papers i.e. essay and composition.

General Knowledge

Everyday Science

For objective portion prepare all the MCQs from 1990 to the last paper.
For subjective Kashmiri’s book and past papers are enough.

Current Affairs

Dawn Newspaper especially the editorial section and the articles. Read the news and topic of the editorial and then try to write your own editorial on that news topic. Then match with the Dawn’s editor. Other sources like internet, TV, mags etc are also very useful.

Pakistan Affairs

I only covered the topics before1947 Independence of Pakistan. Learn by heart all the dates and events. Draw a timeline and memorize it. All the events from 1857 to 1947 must be crystal clear to you. Also cover all the prominent religious and political personalities like Mujadid Alf Sani, Sha Wali Ullah, Haji Shariatullah, Syed Ahmed Shaheed, Dudhu Mian, Sir Syed, Allama Iqbal, Quaid e Azam, Liaqat Ali Khan etc. Read all the events after 1947 at least once.

Islamiat

Only attempt in Urdu if you are 110% confident otherwise always go for English. I prepared Islamiat in Urdu for about a month but when I saw the paper, I instantly decided to attempt in English. I was damn right. This year Islamiat has proved to be a disaster for those who attempted this paper in Urdu. Anyway, go for English and at least learn 15 – 20 verses by heart with correct chapter and verse references. Memorize 6 to 8 verses in Arabic as well with English translation.

Some Suggestions

The best course of action is to prepare own notes. Consult at least three different sources for preparing an answer to a particular question. Also search the Internet for your answers.

I suggest that one should prepare three types of notes for a particular question. That are; full length notes, short notes (only headings and main points in bullet form) and code notes (code words for headings and main points).

Take command of your subject. You should strive to become an authority on your subjects. Always be willing to walk an extra mile. Consistent hard work, determination and will to succeed are the key ingredients for success in CSS. Tell yourself that failure is not an option for you. Write as much as possible on blank papers. Test yourself by randomly choosing a question from any past paper and try to solve it.

Save the last month before exams for revision.

Never use fancy words. Just write in simple readable English. Avoid overuse of quotations, poetry, diagrams, idioms, jargons etc. Such things only waste the time and create confusion. Stick to the basics please.

Go out for running, walking, jogging for at least 30 mins 5 days a weak. Eat healthy food and sleep minimum 8 hours everyday.

Most importantly say your prayers and ask Allah to open up your mind. Constantly seek your Lord’s help, mercy and blessings. Believe in yourself and have blind faith in Allah’s help. Inshallah success will be yours in the exams.

And Remember

When a person really desires something, all the universe conspires to help that person to realize his dream. (Paulo Coelho, The Alchemist)

Best luck for your preparation and exams.

regards,
pinkfloyd

Source: My Journey to the CSS by Pinkfloyd

The Result of CSS 2010 (Written Examination) got announced on Oct 14, 2010. Like past few attempts, the pass percentage is encouraging this time too. Following is the summary of result:

Candidates Applied :11887
Candidates Appeared :7759
Candidates Passed :638
Male Candidates Passed :480
Female Candidates Passed :158
Pass Percentage :8.22

For complete list of passing candidates, Click Here

Today, I was watching this beautiful movie about a young genius. The name of movie was Good Will Hunting. Will (Matt Damon) who is a born Mathametics Genius is a problem young man who is going through Psychotherapy session as a condition for staying out of jail. His therapist Sean Maguire (Robbin Williams) had a very depressing first session with him and in the second session, when Will visits him, he takes him out and speaks to him. The dialogues in that scence spoken by Robin Williams were simply splendid so felt like sharing with you:

Sean Maguire: So if I asked you about art, you’d probably give me the skinny on every art book ever written. Michelangelo, you know a lot about him. Life’s work, political aspirations, him and the pope, sexual orientations, the whole works, right? But I’ll bet you can’t tell me what it smells like in the Sistine Chapel. You’ve never actually stood there and looked up at that beautiful ceiling; seen that.

If I ask you about women, you’d probably give me a syllabus about your personal favorites. You may have even been laid a few times. But you can’t tell me what it feels like to wake up next to a woman and feel truly happy. You’re a tough kid.

And I’d ask you about war, you’d probably throw Shakespeare at me, right, “once more unto the breach dear friends.” But you’ve never been near one. You’ve never held your best friend’s head in your lap, watch him gasp his last breath looking to you for help.

I’d ask you about love, you’d probably quote me a sonnet. But you’ve never looked at a woman and been totally vulnerable. Known someone that could level you with her eyes, feeling like God put an angel on earth just for you. Who could rescue you from the depths of hell. And you wouldn’t know what it’s like to be her angel, to have that love for her, be there forever, through anything, through cancer. And you wouldn’t know about sleeping sitting up in the hospital room for two months, holding her hand, because the doctors could see in your eyes, that the terms “visiting hours” don’t apply to you. You don’t know about real loss, ’cause it only occurs when you’ve loved something more than you love yourself. And I doubt you’ve ever dared to love anybody that much. And look at you… I don’t see an intelligent, confident man… I see a cocky, scared shitless kid. But you’re a genius Will. No one denies that. No one could possibly understand the depths of you. But you presume to know everything about me because you saw a painting of mine, and you ripped my fucking life apart.

(This post is in response to a comment that was left by a Gentleman on a Forum about a Blog post of mine regarding news of ‘Martyrdom’ of Sifwat Ghayur. The commenter wanted to make the point that Sifwat Ghayyur might not be categorized as Martyr. Here goes my response with Original comment first)

Dear Farrukh Sahab,

when I visited your blog recently, I found that you have written a piece of article on the sad demise of Mr Safwat. While writing the title of the article, you have clearly maintained that Mr Sifwat “accepted martyr doom”.

I respect your opinion if you wish to categorize him as a martyr, but at the same time, I would like to share with you another pieces of articles which may convince you to review your decision of calling him as a martyr. Dear Farrukh Sahab, I strongly recommend you to please read these two articles on following links.

Shaheed, an Exploited Word

A Cause Worth Dying for

I hope that after reading these articles, you will prefer reaching a rational decision instead of an emotional one.

God bless you.

Dear Sikandar Sahab,

I hope you are doing fine and are in best of your health.

I happened to gather your point of view about ‘use of word martyrdom’ for demise of anyone, in the light of two Articles (part of same series) you recommended written by worthy Amar Jaleel and published with Daily Dawn on September 17 and 24, 2006 respectively.

Here, I would like to put forward that Mr. Amar Jaleel has rightly pointed out that the word Martyrdom is misused by a lot of people specially in countries like Pakistan. Moreover, I feel like agreeing with Mr. Jaleel in his definition of Martyrdom who writes in one of his articles:

A person earns the status of a shaheed, a martyr, when he dies fighting against the evil forces either in the way of his God or for his country or for a noble cause.

And at some other point in the other article Mr. Jaleel further defines his concept of martyrdom:

Martyrdom is a great honour that a Muslim achieves if the cause for which he gives his life happens to be noble, it serves humanity and is overall praised….Shahadat is a distinction that never comes effortlessly to every person….In conventional Sufi doctrine, any person, irrespective of his faith, attains martyrdom when he dies while performing a noble act.

Having understood the concept of ‘Martyrdom’ and problems of usage of word ‘Martyr’, lets apply this concept in case of ‘sad demise’ of Mr. Sifwat Ghayur.

when I visited your blog recently, I found that you have written a piece of article on the sad demise of Mr Safwat. While writing the title of the article, you have clearly maintained that Mr Sifwat “accepted martyr doom”…I respect your opinion if you wish to categorize him as a martyr, but at the same time, I would like to share with you another pieces of articles which may convince you to review your decision of calling him as a martyr.

In my point of view, Martyrdom was the right word for Mr. Ghayur’s death since I am not able to find any better word to suit the description of his demise because:

1. He was a honest and humble man serving the nation selflessly (in light of Sufi Doctrine of Martyrdom).
2. His actions had a strong impact on the well being of the people of the area and humanity in broader context.
3. His cause was noble.
4. He was fighting the evil forces for his country.

And he died while performing the above mentioned acts selflessly. One might claim that he was doing his ordinary job for which he was getting paid, but those who knew Sifwat Ghayur, knew it as well that his work was more than ordinary policing job for which he was getting paid with a meager salary.

I hope that after reading these articles, you will prefer reaching a rational decision instead of an emotional one.

Dear, when I categorized Mr. Ghayur as Martyr, my such act was not emotional in anyway. Further, after reading both the articles you happened to recommend, I am more than convinced that he accepted Martyrdom in both religious and Sufi contexts.

Lastly, I would like to Thank you for your candid analysis and starting this healthy discussion. I don’t know if I was able to communicate my humble point of reference while calling Mr. Ghayur a martyr. I am not sure if you find it agreeable or not (and you have every right to disagree), but I would say that for those who knew Mr. Sifwat Ghayur, his ‘Martyrdom’ was a great loss to Pakistani nation.

The Discussion Continues

Dear Farrukh Sahab,

I regret to inform you that I disagree with your contention for calling an on-duty police man as a martyr.

I am surprised that why the words of Amar Jaleel did not catch your attention when he writes,

“In conventional Sufi doctrine, any person, irrespective of his faith, attains martyrdom when he dies while performing a noble act. If a person dies while rescuing trapped men, women and children from a blazing building, he invariably attains martyrdom. He was not a paid fireman. Rescuing people from flames was not his duty. He was a passer-by. He saw children surrounded by leaping flames. In the spur of a moment, he plunged into the burning building and saved a few lives before he himself was burnt to ashes. In his death he attains martyrdom.”

(This indicates that a person performing a duty, however honestly, can not be called as martyr because he was being paid for it no matter how meagerly)

Amar Jaleel clearly argues again, “Unfortunately, dying in the performance of paid duties, no doubt a gallant way of dying is mixed-up with shahadat.”

I was further disappointed that you had conveniently drawn para-meters of why Mr Sifwat should be called as a martyr. You did it without realizing what the worthy writer says about drawing parameters of martyrdom.

He writes, “It is not at all possible to draw parameters, inculcate conditions and device principles for attaining martyrdom. The hallmark of martyrdom is that it is achieved without eyeing for rewards either in this world and the world hereafter.”

(Even a lay man knows that a law enforcement personnel tries to perform well in order to get rewards from his or her seniors. Mr Sifwat had received a number of medals for his participation in going against the militants. This shows that he was looking for rewards and medals. But, a martyr on the contrary, does not have any greed for such rewards and medals.)

Finally, Mr Amar Jaleel says, “A pickup carrying law enforcing personnel turns turtle and falls in a ditch. A few of the personnel die in the accident. The news agencies bestow upon them the honour of martyrdom.”

(I think no other argument of Mr Jaleel is stronger than this when he calls news  agencies tempering the title of Martyr for the law enforcement personnel).

To me and Mr Jaleel, Mr Sifwat is not a martyr because:

1. He was being paid for his official duties.
2. The track record of his service conveys that he was fond of achieving medals, awards and promotions. What he did, he did not do it selflessly, but for a clear motive of attaining medals, awards and promotions.
3. Apart from official duties, Mr Sifwat is not reported to have done anything on his own against militants. What he did, he did it while using official perks and privileges. A martyr on the other hand does all his best on his own without the support from any other side.

Farrukh Sahab, you are still entitled for your right to disagree with me or with Mr Amar Jaleel. Moreover, you may be knowing more than me about “Policing” because you yourself are a police man, with such a background, you may be in a good position to reach a rational decision.

Thank you for your time.
Take care. And have a good day!

My Response

Dear Sikandar Sahab,

Hope you are doing fine.

I am glad that once again you did a candid analysis of my take. Well, I still disagree with your frame of reference (since your point of view is an out come of ‘frame of reference’).

Apart from this, I am still ‘on board’ with worthy Amar Jaleel and find him on my side (another beauty of a prolific writer that we both are referring to his writings and getting two different meanings ). I think, the difference of opinion between you and me, based on reading of same piece of writing, is an out come of our different sets of experiences and to me it is justifiable and fair.

Therefore, I feel like stopping here in exchange of this healthy argument.

Further, I would recommend you to please try finding some material on Sifwat Ghayyur and work done by him selflessly; you might consider interviewing some his junior and Senior colleagues or others related to him, only than you will be able to realize to what sort of person he remained throughout his life.

I wish you all the best and God bless you.

This Article was originally Published by Daily Dawn Karachi. The Writer of the Article is Ismail Khan and we are publishing it as guest post for our readers.

The bugle was blown. A gun-salute rang in the air as the casket was lowered into the grave. At that moment the tears could no longer be held back as memories flashed through my head like the reel of a film: Safwat Ghayyur’s hearty laugh, his characteristic way of lighting up his cigarette, the way his eyes would crinkle up when he teased me about this or that.

Safwat had never hankered after a job or a particular post. An excellent police officer, the best postings dropped into his lap. But the Frontier Constabulary was one force that he wanted to command. “The force is in a bad shape. It is badly demoralised”, he told me.

So when the opportunity presented itself in December 2009 he took up the job without a second thought for his personal welfare.

Even though just a couple of months earlier in September he had sought to be relieved of his job as the Deputy Inspector General of Peshawar Range and the Capital City Police Chief of Peshawar for medical reasons –- under pressure from his family, friends and well wishers.

He was suffering from hepatitis -– a disease he had contracted because of a blood transfusion he was given after a bullet pierced his left shoulder following a shootout with an outlaw in Mardan in 1997.

At that time, he was the Assistant Inspector General, Traffic, NWFP, and had no business being part of a shoot out.

But Safwat being Safwat, he joined the force that had encircled a criminal in an encounter.It was a crippling wound for the left-handed Safwat.

The unaware doctor who operated on Safwat’s shoulder thought he was consoling his patient when he said “the good news is that it was your left shoulder that has been hit.” The quick-witted Safi retorted, “And the bad news is that I am left handed.”

But the real bad news was unbeknown to Safi then. Over a decade later, the old bullet wound came back to haunt him in the form of hepatitis C, when he was hunting down militants in the Peshawar region as the DIG/CCP, Peshawar Range.

He was a relentless man, who took his job very seriously. And therefore, when routine medical tests revealed the infectious disease, Safi called his doctor in Rawalpindi for the medicines over the phone.

A frustrated Dr Amir Bilal, a cardiothoracic surgeon and Safi’s brother-in-law said that Safi should have been in Rawalpindi for the medical check-up. “But he can’t even be bothered to take time off from his work to go as far as Hashtnagri,” Amir Bilal said, referring to a locality in the old part of Peshawar City.

Dr Amir was worried because Safi was not responding to his treatment. His platelets level had dropped and any wound from a bullet or flying shrapnel from a bomb explosion could have proved fatal for Safwat.

But then Safwat was not an armchair police officer; he never had been. And this worried his friends and relatives. He was a man who led from the front. He liked to be with his troops, rain or sunshine.

He would spend nights with his men in tents in far-away wilderness, swim through the cold river Kabul during the frosty winters drills and sweat it out in humid summers.

A real officer, who believed in action, he had no respect for colleagues who would avoid hot-zones. In his words, the “talcum-powdered, starched-uniform wearing officers.”

An MP-5 slinging from his shoulder and a wireless radio in his hand, he would always be in the forefront. No wonder then that those who cared and knew about his conditions realised that a bullet or shrapnel wound was a real possibility. It caused them nightmares.

Very few people knew in fact that six units of platelets were always kept for him in the blood bank which had to be replaced with fresh blood after every five days; the shelf life of platelets. But Safi was undeterred.

He even declined an offer from Chief Minister Akram Hoti to seek medical treatment abroad. He was too busy carrying out operations against the militants in Peshawar, the Frontier Regions and even as far as Kala Dhaka.

But while the undeterred police officer was winning the battle against militancy in the Peshawar region, the man was losing the battle against the disease. “Handsome!” (his way of addressing his friends), he would says, “One day, you will hear that your brother is no more.”

I never saw him snap under pressure. But he did feel the heat when, following an attack on the Pearl Continental Hotel, Peshawar in June last year, a whispering campaign of sorts was initiated against him.

This upset him in a way that the death threats from the Taliban against him and his family -– a wife and two kids -– did not. “I have put my life on the line and those of my family. I am not going to tolerate any talk,” a seemingly angry Safwat told me.

He was a no-nonsense, blunt man, who never shied away from calling a spade as spade, often to the embarrassment of his seniors, some of whom had no love lost for him either.

Safwat had always had a penchant for intelligence operations, something he developed a passion for while serving as the AIG, Criminal Investigation Department (CID). And he was not an ordinary criminal investigator. His work would at times take him across the border into Afghanistan.

He was probably the only police officer of his generation in Pakistan to have complete knowledge of the various militant groups and their training camps in Afghanistan including those run and operated by Osama bin Laden and his associates.

This even got him in trouble with security and intelligence apparatus and a series of inquiries were launched against him. But he was always cleared.

After interrogating a rabid anti-Shia militant he had captured in 1995, he sent a report to the government, asking for a “dispassionate review” of Pakistan’s policy of patronising the various militants groups. “These are nameless, faceless people”, he would say then. “One day, these chickens will come home to roost.”

But then Safwat’s encounters with militants started back in the 90s, with local ones as well as foreigners, when he was SSP, Peshawar.

Then he rounded up hundreds of foreign militants, after Islamabad ordered a crackdown following an attack on the World Trade Centre in New York which was traced to a Peshawar-based group led by Ramzi Yousaf.

Later, in April 1997, he planned and executed Operation Garbage Dump to flush out a group of foreign militants holed up inside a compound in Jalozai just outside of Peshawar.

That and his four years of stint at the Intelligence Bureau proved handy for him when he took over as the DIG/CCP Peshawar Range to confront the surging militancy. And he did it by first improving the sagging morale of his police force.

He was a good commander, who would take pains to look after his men; he knew most of them by name. He was a strict disciplinarian and tough task master, who took duty and professional matters very seriously.

But he was no less a human being in his personal life. The super cop, who was always on the trail of hardened criminals, kidnappers and terrorists, was also an elder brother and a dependable friend. Hardly a day would go by, when we would not meet or speak — this had been so for almost two decades.

I knew he was on the hit list of the militants but it never occurred to me that one day, I would be standing beside his grave, looking down at his coffin. That one day, I would bid him farewell forever.

He knew he was losing the fight against the disease. But I am certain that he too would have chosen to die with his boots on than to lose life’s battle against a disease.

The hero, who was killed in a suicide attack on Aug 4 in Peshawar, has now joined the galaxy of the many other illustrious stars of our proud police force -– Malik Mohammad Saad, Abid Ali, Khan Raziq and so many others.

Courtesy: Dawn