To the martyrs

I'm not a writer but I still had this block. I couldn't write. And now suddenly I have a lot to write about.

A friend broke the news to us in the university. We showed the obvious reaction. With this attack on Sri Lankan players I thought the sports in Pakistan are over too. First they tried to bring an end to cultural activities by attacking the Arts Festival.

The only autopsy labs in Lahore are in our university, King Edward Medical University. All bodies are brought there. When we heard that they had brought the bodies of the Liberty carnage victims, we ran off to see them. There were six Edhi ambulances parked in the garage of Forensic Department, one body each. I stood there for a long time. There were people, two groups. One, the relatives and colleagues of the deceased, crying, shrieking, in deep shock. If I could understand one word that they were uttering, that was ALLAH. The other was the spectator group, not crying apparently, but their faces showed what they felt. From a few of them I could hear the word 'India'. Then there were the passers by who came, saw and went indifferently, again apparently. Some were coming back from Al-Karim Bakery; eating sandwiches and patties and drinking juices and I was like 'WTF, can't they just stop eating for a while, at least when they are passing by the ambulances? Can't they just stop there for a while and show that they feel, that they care, that they are human beings too? Can't they stand there and offer Fatiha, console the crying and show some solidarity? Can't they stop laughing for a while?' Or was it just me? Do I feel too much? Some people would say, 'kya hai yaar, roz hi to hota hai ye sab kuch, theek hai jo hona tha ho gaya, kya karain ab, move on.' I made this little over there



One of my friend's eyes welled up, I saw our Forensic demonstrator crying. Then I heard the siren of another ambulance and I thought, 'Oh no, another.' A guy asked a policeman who survived, 'None of the attackers were killed?' He replied, 'It takes a little while to load the rifles, we didn't even have time for that.' But I salute those martyrs who, as soon as they heard the firing, came out of their vans and surrounded the bus which was carrying the Sri Lankan players. This is exemplary braveness. I saw their blood, dripping from the edges of the ambulances and on the stretcher, gore, which had now become semi solid, black. Only if I could preserve it, the blood of the martyrs.

Later, Dr. Sajid was taking our class in his office. His cell rang. I could tell that someone just told him what had happened. He said after hanging up,
'Congratulations, Sri Lankan team has been attacked.'
'Yeah, we know Sir'
'Kitnay afsoos ki baat hai, agar ab bhi government na bolay to lanat hai in pe'
'Exactly Sir, this is so clear who has done it'
'Khair dafa karo, lets get back to the topic, so pyogenic meningitis has an acute history of headache, fever and vomiting while the history of tuberculous meningitis extends over weeks and months....you know Pakistan ke mukaddar main foj hi likhi hai, we can't go in normal way' Then he concluded his lecture way before time.

On my way back home the roads were deserted although, it were the rush hours and usually it takes my about 40 minutes to travel 12 kilometers. I must have reached back in half the time. There was harsh wind blowing which caused the leaves from the trees to fall down all along the Mall and Canal Road. It was cloudy. Water in the canal was stagnant; it flows otherwise. I felt they were all protesting. Pathetic fallacy? Is it just me?