ISLAMABAD, Oct 21: The courage shown by two unsung heroes, including one who lost his life during the two suicide bombings in the International Islamic University (IIU), saved lives of hundreds of girl students in the institution’s cafeteria on Tuesday.
Pervez Masih, a 40-year-old Christian worker, saved scores of lives at the double-storey cafeteria, where around 400 female students were present at the time of the attack.
“There would have been dozens of deaths had the suicide bomber not been blocked by Pervez Masih,” said Saifur Rehman, a senior security official of the IIU.
The other hero, Mohammad Shaukat, survived the attack but he is fighting for his life on a bed in the surgical ward of Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences, as a shot fired by the suicide bomber hit him in lower abdomen.
Narrating the scene of the suicide attack on the cafeteria for women, Shaukat told Dawn that: “The attacker clad in a black burka was heading towards the cafeteria for female students at a time when they were having their lunch. I felt something wrong as no girl student, even one who observes veil, wears a head-to-toe burka on the women campus. I intercepted the bomber, who shot me, and I fell down but Pervez, who witnessed the scene, understood the designs of suicide bomber and held him at the entrance of the dining hall where the blast took place.”
Organs and flesh of the suicide bomber littered the entrance area and Pervez was thrown at the wall on the other side of the dining hall, said another eye-witness.
Pervez Masih, who leaves behind a three-year-old daughter and a widow, had joined the IIU on October 5. He was not only the sole breadwinner of his family, who live with him in a rented house in Dhoke Kala Khan, Rawalpindi.
“He was very simple and, by nature, he was quite different from others workers in the university,” said Amjad, the contractor (employer) who inducted Pervez Masih in his workforce on daily basis.
Two suicide attacks took place in two separate blocks of the IIU on Tuesday, killing seven people. Three girl students and the Christian worker died in the cafeteria, while three people, including two male students, died in the main block for men.
The university administration announced that it would extend monetary assistance to the bereaved family of Pervez Masih and injured Shaukat for the courage they showed in the tragic events in the international educational institution.
IIU President Dr Anwar Hussain Siddiqui in a press conference said there was no prior threat to the university and even then “best available” security had been provided.
No comments:
Post a Comment