Remembering Aitzaz Hussain

Daily Times

Aitzaz Hussain, the brave 15-year-old who saved his entire school from a sure tragedy, is being hailed by every single person in this country as a hero. Sacrificing his own life to prevent a suicide bomber from entering his school’s premises, this innocent soul has committed the noblest act of all. However, whilst the entire country mourns the loss and admires the strength of character of Aitzaz Hussain, the government of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, the boy’s home province, has been conspicuous by its silence over the matter. So much so that chief of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf (PTI) Imran Khan has chastised his government in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) for not acting appropriately over this national tragedy. It seems Chief Minister KP Pervez Khattak failed to make an appearance at the funeral of the young hero, which did not go down well with the PTI chief or the rest of the country. The KP government seemed indifferent and unconcerned, a deplorable attitude considering the magnitude of the matter. After being told off by Imran Khan, the provincial government has announced a compensation of Rs five million for Hussain’s family and other commemorations, such as naming the boy’s school after him.

The government of KP should be ashamed of itself. It has to be rattled into shape by the party chief to actually stand by the nation at this time of remembering a hero. It is extremely ironic the double act that the PTI and the provincial government of the PTI and Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) seem to be playing. Whenever militants are killed by either drones or the security forces, the PTI and JI harp on about the deaths, going as far as launching protests and stopping NATO supply routes. However, when a true hero such as Aitzaz Hussain is killed by the militants, we hear not a peep from these parties. This only goes to show the blinkers these political representatives have on and the misplaced priorities they harbour. Whilst Imran Khan’s intervention is welcome, it is extremely sad that he had to intervene in the first place. The real tragedy in this situation is that the government has failed to do its job by failing to acknowledge, in a timely manner, the heroism of Aitzaz Hussain. This country is facing a dearth of true heroes; they must be properly honoured.